Director, Product Marketing

Position Summary:

As the Director of Product Marketing at Follett Software, you will lead the Product Marketing department, setting the overall strategy, frameworks, and processes for all product lines. In this key leadership role, you will own the end-to-end marketing strategy, ensuring product launches, messaging, and campaigns align with Follett's values of collaboration, innovation, and customer focus. You will also build and maintain a strong partnership with Product Management to drive alignment across departments. In addition to overseeing the strategic direction for the entire portfolio, you will directly deliver the product marketing tactics for one of our core product suites, ensuring its success in the market while advancing Follett’s mission of enhancing education through technology.

You will be responsible for overseeing marketing processes at all stages of product development, from initial concept to post-launch performance. This includes leveraging data analysis to inform strategy, optimize messaging, and measure the success of campaigns after products hit the market. You will track and analyze key metrics—such as customer engagement, adoption rates, and ROI—to continuously improve our go-to-market strategies. By using data-driven insights, you will ensure that each product meets customer needs and aligns with our commitment to innovation in education technology.

This role requires a blend of strategic vision, customer understanding, and cross-functional leadership to ensure that marketing and product development work in harmony to deliver solutions that meet the evolving needs of K-12 institutions.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead Product Marketing Strategy:

• Develop and execute scalable go-to-market strategies for all product suites, ensuring alignment product management
• Create differentiated product positioning and messaging that resonates with key personas, addressing customer pain points and aligning with their educational goals.
• Work cross-functionally to ensure that product marketing initiatives

Market Research and Insights:

• Conduct comprehensive market research to understand educational technology trends, customer needs, and the competitive landscape.
• Use data insights to inform marketing decisions, ensuring customer-focused solutions that drive product adoption.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Collaborate closely with product management, C-level executives, and the broader marketing team to ensure alignment between product development and market demands.
• Lead cross-functional teams to drive marketing campaigns, product launches, reporting and data collection, and post-launch initiatives.
• Ensure close collaboration between marketing and product teams, driving seamless product launches that reflect Follett’s commitment to excellence and customer success. This includes identifying the need for optimization post launch.

Content Marketing and Thought Leadership:

• Develop content marketing strategies that position Follett as a thought leader in educational technology.
• Align content with broader industry trends, thought leadership opportunities, and product developments to build trust and credibility with our customers.
• Lead the creation of high-quality, customer-focused content, including blogs, articles, webinars, and white papers that drive top-of-funnel engagement.

Product Lifecycle Management:

• Oversee the full lifecycle of products, ensuring marketing efforts are aligned with each stage of the product’s journey.
• Manage product launches, ensuring timely and successful execution that aligns with Follett’s standards of excellence.
• Develop policies and strategies that reflect the company’s commitment to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

Sales Enablement and Training:

• Ensure that sales and customer success teams are equipped with the tools, training, and messaging needed to effectively communicate the product roadmap and engage customers.
• Collaborate with sales enablement teams to create training materials, talking points, and resources that allow sales teams to build meaningful relationships with customers.

Data-Driven Marketing Optimization:

• Track and analyze campaign performance, using metrics to optimize future marketing efforts.
• Absorb data insights from marketing campaigns, customer feedback, and product performance to drive continuous improvement and shape future strategies.
• Ensure Follett’s marketing approach is both innovative and responsive to market demands.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field. (MBA or advanced degree preferred.) 
• 7-10 years of experience in product marketing or a related field, with at least 5 years in a leadership or managerial role. 
• Deep expertise in go-to-market strategies, product positioning, and lifecycle management. 
• Strong background in market research, competitive analysis, and A/B testing. 
• Proven track record of cross-functional leadership, with a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with product management, marketing, and sales teams. 
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a passion for driving customer success. 
• Ability to manage complex projects while ensuring alignment with company values and goals.

Skills & Competencies:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Proficient in leveraging data and analytics to inform product marketing strategies, track performance, and optimize campaigns. Strong ability to interpret key metrics such as customer engagement, adoption rates, and ROI to continuously improve go-to-market strategies. 
• Product Marketing Expertise: Deep knowledge of product marketing principles, including positioning, messaging, and market segmentation, with a track record of driving successful product launches. 
• Strategic Leadership: Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and set the strategic direction for product marketing, ensuring alignment between marketing, sales, and product development teams. 
• Collaboration and Communication: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to foster collaboration across departments and influence stakeholders at all levels. 
• Market Research and Competitive Analysis: Strong background in conducting and applying market research and competitive analysis to inform product positioning and marketing strategies. 
• Project Management: Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects, meet deadlines, and deliver results in a fast-paced environment. 
• Content Development: Experience in developing high-impact content marketing strategies that align with the customer journey and support the sales cycle.