In a previous column, we defined product marketing and today we’ll dive deeper into what it is and how it can be done in the most meaningful way. Product marketing refers to utilizing the features and benefits of the tangible good as the main reasons for purchasing.
RV marketers utilize product marketing throughout their various marketing tactics across the board because product marketing is the most traditional form of marketing for RV manufacturers and sellers. While product marketing may have a long history of success for RV companies, it’s certainly not outdated. Product marketing should be a cornerstone of your marketing efforts for 2022, as it has in the past, even as it’s only a piece of the puzzle.
One area to be aware of, however, is that product marketing is inherently very “check the box” in its orientation. For example, it becomes easy to fall into the trap of listing product specifications such as number of beds, and the type of finishes in the unit, and believing you’ve effectively talked about the product. As with all marketing, there is a mix of art and science. The science is telling the consumers what they can expect in the product. But art is where the magic happens, and product marketing needs to be executed in a creative way which your audience will engage with.
Here’s what RV manufacturers and sellers need to know about product marketing and how to make the most of it.
Product marketing converts: Product marketing is incredibly important for RV companies. When Element Three, the marketing consultancy I work for, started working with Airstream, a leading luxury travel trailer and touring coach manufacturer, the product web pages were the top-performing pages on the company’s website. They still are, despite the fact we’ve added much more lifestyle marketing in the years since. Because product marketing pages convert, it’s important they receive particular attention from RV marketers.
Product pages should answer key questions buyers have, including:
- What are the features?
- How much space is there?
- What are the internal and external specs?
- How many people can sleep in it?
- What is the price point?
Keep traffic paths top of mind: Product marketing cannot live on an island. Your user experience will likely push people to blog posts, lifestyle marketing content and more. But because of their conversion importance, the path should lead to product pages, including product line landing pages, feature tools and model-specific pages. For this reason and others, your product marketing efforts will need to be strategically integrated with your lifestyle and brand marketing efforts. As with any marketing effort, plan, test and tweak to ensure all paths lead to your buyer taking the action you want them to take.
Create meaningful tools: It’s important that RV product marketing is informative and straight-forward; that doesn’t mean it needs to be boring. Custom, meaningful tools like a tool to build your own RV, or a video tour of the RV they’re considering buying,are visually-appealing while still being product-focused. These can be housed on product web pages, home pages and more.
These interactive tools are a more modern component of product marketing, and not every RV manufacturer uses them. Still, they offer an effective way to capture a buyer’s attention and push them to envision themselves using the RV.
Providing consumers with product marketing that is as beautiful as it is informative is essential for RV manufacturers and dealers looking to stand out in this market. While product marketing is the most common type of marketing RV companies will deploy, it by no means needs to be the most boring. Spicing up your product marketing and ensuring it is well-integrated with other marketing efforts ensures people learn more about your product while also falling more in love with it.
Joe Mills is the Business Development Manager at Element Three, a marketing consultancy that does work to transform brands and generate demand in their markets.