Product Marketing Worksheet

A common reason small businesses lose sales is due to poor, inaccurate, or confusing product descriptions in their marketing materials. These descriptions leave consumers distrustful, unsure, or simply uninterested in a product they would otherwise be rushing to purchase. Therefore, it is important to reassess your product, outline its key elements, and develop a beautiful product description that will resonate with your target market. Using this product marketing worksheet will help you identify these elements so that you will be better equipped to create a compelling product description. Below is the content in the template, which can be accessed in a Microsoft Word document using the link above.

Section	What to Write?
Business Name	Your business name.
Product/Service Title	Provide the name of the specific product or service you are offering. Keep it clear and descriptive; customers should be able to develop a basic understanding of your product from its title.
Value Proposition / Key Benefits	Explain the main value your product or service offers customers. What problems does it solve? What primary benefits do customers get by using/consuming your product? Why does your product belong in the market?
Unique Features / Differentiators	Describe what differentiates your product or service from those offered by your competitors. In what aspect(s) is your product superior? Is it quality, special features, price, innovations, etc? These unique features justify why customers would want to buy your product over the ones offered by your competitors. You might also include a discussion about whether the target market for these differentiators is large enough to justify the product’s existence.
Limits and Liabilities	List any important disclaimers, restrictions, or legal limitations customers should know about your product/service. Mention liability protections if applicable. Acknowledging these issues will ensure you advertise the proper disclaimers, retain your customers’ trust, and steer clear of fines.
Production or Service Delivery Process	Explain how you create (or order) and deliver your product or service. Include the specific processes used to manufacture or obtain your product, including timeline, material, overhead, and labor constraints. Also include how you plan to deliver the product to the customer (e.g., fix the car in the warehouse, ship through FedEx, place it on the shelf, etc.). Identifying the entire process, from beginning to end, will help you realize the true cost of the product; better understand what exactly you are producing and delivering to the customer; and identify how your processes differ from competitors’.   Perhaps you employ more labor on your product than competitors, resulting in a higher quality product, which is delivered by an in-house delivery van instead of UPS, resulting in better quality products. If you find a way to communicate this higher quality to customers, it can drive increased sales in your target market and develop a positive brand reputation.
Suppliers / Third-Party Dependencies	Identify any vendors, manufacturers, or service providers you rely on. This will help you pinpoint any critical partnerships or supply chain channels that your business relies on. This is important because it impacts the unique features your product possesses.
Intellectual Property / Special Permits	List any patents, trademarks, copyrights, or special licenses/permits required to sell or operate legally. Highlighting the fact that the product is proprietary may excite consumers as they feel the product is new and exciting.
Product/Service Description (for Marketing Use)	Look over your answers to the previous questions and identify the most compelling answers. It will be nearly impossible to use all of them, so pick the few that are most important. Write an accurate, short, and compelling description you would use in marketing materials to attract customers. Make it clear, exciting, and focused on benefits. It may make sense to look at how competitors describe their products. For example, the way candy companies advertise a new flavor will be vastly different from how glass repair companies advertise their services (quick, witty, and excited vs. practical, lengthier, and a focus on ease).