PRODUCT MARKETING is the engine that propels things to the market and keeps them there. In order to attain this aim, the product marketing position becomes reliant on and supportive of consumers. Competitive intelligence, win/loss analysis, product use, case studies, customer feedback, and market needs are all things that product marketers seek from the market. Positioning, internal enablement, field, and growth marketing methods are all used to demonstrate value and ship items to the market. While product marketing is in charge of many of these responsibilities, it is not usually the case that they own or carry out all of them. This necessitates intentional and purposeful coordination across their organization's many divisions and operations. In order to efficiently obtain market insights and scale product releases, Product Marketing is one of the few jobs that works closely with sales, sales enablement, product, product enablement, partnerships, marketing, communications, client success, engineering, and more. Consider these cross-functional teams to be your stakeholders when working with them.

 

What exactly are stakeholders, and why are they important?
"A stakeholder is either a person, group, or organization that is influenced by the result of a project," according to Projectmanager.com. They have a vested stake in the project's success." Many of us mistakenly feel that a stakeholder is someone to whom you owe work or who requires permission. Stakeholders may grease the wheels of advancement for product teams...However, stakeholders can make [your] life tough when they are not totally onboard, as Product Plan puts it. Here's how to collaborate with your stakeholders, set clear objectives, and, most importantly, make your next launch a success due to your stakeholders!

 

Why Are Stakeholders Important?
For an organization to be productive, responsible, and ethical, it must consider its stakeholders (e.g., maintaining equitable power dynamics).

Effectiveness. In previous decades, nonprofits concentrated on cultivating connections with individuals with whom they had direct contact, such as the people they helped and donors. Because the complex challenges that NGOs deal with span across industries and transcend regional borders, organizations are increasingly recognizing that mission execution demands a more holistic approach. Hospitals, for example, must pay attention to aspects that are directly relevant to patient care, such as the ability to attract and retain skilled personnel. They must, however, consider bigger concerns like national healthcare regulations (e.g., insurance coverage and reimbursement rates) and socioeconomic variables that influence public health (e.g., homelessness, nutrition)—what are known as "social determinants of health." To solve complex challenges, various parties with diverse points of view must collaborate and provide input.

 

It's one of the reasons why advocacy has become so crucial at the corporate level. Organizations are increasingly aware that their capacity to achieve their goals is influenced by a variety of factors outside their direct control. 1 Understanding who has a stake in an organization's success is one method to get a more holistic view, since it sheds light on a variety of challenges and their interconnections.

 

Accountability. "Who are we responsible to, and what is essential to them?" is another approach to think about stakeholders. 2 Accountability entails accepting responsibility for our decisions and the consequences of those decisions. It also entails avoiding and correcting power abuses. 3 As a result, accountability is multifaceted. Vertical accountability emphasizes on compliance—keeping our formal responsibilities (such as laws, contracts, and regulations) and having legal recourse if things go wrong. Horizontal responsibility, also known as relational accountability4, comprises choosing to preserve parity and reciprocity in our relationships rather than being required to do so by law.

 

Promoting Equitable Power Dynamics is an example of ethics. Relational responsibility is at the heart of the nonprofit industry. It promotes civil society trust while simultaneously relying on the public's trust to stay afloat. 5 Business pressures, on the other hand, may sometimes drive nonprofit organizations to lose sight of this, resulting in mission creep and the abandonment of critical initiatives that cannot be funded. Explicitly identifying stakeholders, as outlined by the editors of Nonprofit Quarterly, is an effective strategy to combat such pressures since it puts ethics and relational responsibility to the center of corporate decision-making. 6 It guarantees that people with the least power have a voice and equal opportunity to accomplish their goals.

 

Different sorts of stakeholders and their functions
Internal and external stakeholders may be divided into two categories. Each has their own goals and expectations from the company.

(Primary) internal stakeholders

Internal stakeholders include workers, management, and the board of directors of a corporation.

 

Employees are involved in the company's success in order to guarantee that they are compensated and keep their employment. Employees may have a health and safety emphasis depending on the nature of the company. Many people value congruence between their personal sense of purpose and the company's goals.

Shareholders are focused on a high performance in order to maximize their investment returns. Many organizations have traditionally pursued a shareholder-centric business strategy, but they are increasingly understanding that a broader emphasis on all stakeholders makes more sense in the long run.

Managers are concerned with project management and the operation of particular pieces or divisions of the company. Their top priorities are the amount of autonomy they have, the level of influence they have over their teams, and the assistance they get to accomplish their jobs.

The board of directors is concerned with increasing the company's earnings and providing a return to investors. As a result, they place a high priority on efficient corporate processes.

Stakeholders from the outside (secondary)

Clients or consumers, investors and shareholders, suppliers, government organizations, and the general public are all examples of external stakeholders. For a variety of reasons, they want the firm to succeed.

 

Customers expect to obtain the greatest product or service available. They may also wish to see the company contribute positively to society and reduce its environmental effect.

Suppliers want to see growing demand for the company's goods or services so that they can meet that demand.

To assist the economy, governments and regulatory authorities want the corporation to obey the law, hire more people, and maintain excellent financial practices.

The firm is seen as a source of local employment, a provider of local products and services, and a buyer of local resources by the communities. They're also concerned about the company's influence on the environment and its engagement in community programs.

Step-by-step explanation

Statement one means that every member of the community is a stakeholder or interested party in business operations in one way or another. Their interest might be in the operations, products or inputs or any other procedure or activity of an organization. It mostly applies to those living around the organization and its consumers whether far or near the organization.

However, there are others in other communities who are not affected by the organization in any way. These are the ones represented in the second statement. It mostly applies those living far away from the organization and also they do not consume this organization's products. Such people or other organization is not a stakeholder in any way.