What Does a Product Marketing Manager Do? 2026 Career Guide

Product marketing managers work at the intersection of product development, marketing, and sales. Their broad responsibility is to develop and implement a marketing strategy roadmap for a specific product. Product marketing managers typically collaborate with colleagues across many departments throughout the product’s life cycle to reach their goals.

As the title suggests, product marketing managers focus heavily on marketing, so you can expect to often coordinate efforts with strategists across various marketing disciplines, including digital, social media, brand, and market research.

Cross-departmentally, as a product marketing manager, you may also work closely with user experience (UX) designers, engineering managers, and stakeholders in the product’s launch, including communications and sales teams. It can be helpful for product marketing managers to know a bit about how each of these departments works to work together efficiently. Learn more about what a product marketing manager does and how to become one.

Product manager vs. product marketing manager

A product manager oversees strategy as a product moves through the design and build process. A product manager with a marketing speciality oversees the public-facing communication strategy about a product.

Product marketing manager role and responsibilities

A product marketing manager communicates a specific product's value to people outside the organization, such as potential buyers, clients, or investors. Although the role can vary across different companies, some everyday responsibilities you may see in product marketing manager job descriptions include the following:

• Before a product launch, product marketing managers may interpret market research and apply relevant findings to the development process. Their insights may impact product features, user experience, naming, and packaging.

• During a product launch, product marketing managers will own the product’s go-to-market strategy. They’ll ensure that all messaging regarding the product is accurate and presented in a way that potential customers will care about. They may also oversee the creation of content about the product, including videos, blog posts, or slide presentations.

• After a product launch, product marketing managers will oversee customer response, reacting as necessary to any feedback. They may pursue additional growth campaigns and experiments or suggest potential improvements to future product iterations.

Product marketing manager skills

From stellar communication skills to a robust understanding of a company’s customers, the skills necessary to succeed in this position vary greatly. You can expect to use various skills as a product marketing manager, many of which are common among both marketers and product managers, including the following:

• Communication

• Storytelling

• Asset development

• Project management

• Collaboration

• Negotiation

• Understanding customers' needs and behaviors

What tools do product marketing managers use?

Product marketing managers may use different tools depending on their specific responsibilities and company. In general, the tools you can expect to use may fall into the following categories:

• Market research and analysis: Typeform, UserTesting, Segment, Amplitude

• Workflow and project management: Trello, Asana, Slack, InVision, ProductBoard, ProdPad

• Content creation: Sketch, Wistia, Venngage, Canva

• Marketing: MailChimp, HubSpot, Customer.io, Chameleon, Ahrefs, BuzzSumo

Product marketing manager salary

The average annual salary for a product marketing manager in Canada is $92,561. However, various factors can impact that. For example, product marketing managers working in Vancouver, British Columbia, earn an average of $108,341 CAD, while those working in Markham, Ontario, make $67,786 [1]. 

How to become a product marketing manager

Many paths exist when becoming a product marketing manager. Often, getting where you want to be professionally will require a combination of education and experience. Take these steps to pursue a career as a product marketing manager.

Consider a degree.

Many product marketing manager positions require or prefer a bachelor’s degree, so earning your degree can be a productive starting point. A marketing degree is not always necessary; however, if you know you want to go into marketing, the coursework can be helpful when you enter the workforce.

Beyond a bachelor’s degree, some jobs may require or prefer candidates with a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Typically, people will have a few years of work experience on their resume before applying for MBA programs. So, if you’re just starting, it may be beneficial to seek an entry-level position before pursuing your MBA.

Develop product marketing skills.

Product marketing manager roles may require three to 10 years of work experience, depending on the company. Start building the skills you’ll need with entry-level marketing positions. For responsibilities directly related to product marketing, look for a marketing specialist or role. For broad marketing experience, seek marketing assistant or marketing associate roles.

Product marketing managers work across many industries, so if you have an idea of the products, industries, or companies you’d like to work with, look at current job descriptions in those areas to get a better idea of the qualifications you should focus on building. 

Product marketing manager career trajectory

After becoming a product marketing manager, people may move into varying levels of seniority, with designations such as senior, principal, director, and senior director. Some companies may also have vice president and senior vice president designations.

Some product marketing managers may also shift into other marketing specializations or product roles during the course of their careers. For example, some people transition from product marketing management into product management, or a product marketing manager may lean into the research aspect of their position and become a market researcher. As you gain more experience in the field, you’ll likely notice the areas you gravitate toward and will be able to hone your expertise and career path accordingly.

Continue your product marketing manager learning journey

A career as a product marketing manager can be rewarding and thriving, allowing you to work collaboratively to promote brands or products. If you’re interested in pursuing a career as a product marketing manager, earning a bachelor’s degree could be an excellent place to start. You can learn marketing theory and practice from renowned experts online with a BSc in Marketing from the University of London on Coursera.

To learn on a condensed timeline, consider the Meta Marketing Analytics Professional Certificate or the Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate on Coursera. Each program enhances your understanding of the respective fields through online courses and applied learning projects.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)