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AMA: Iterable Former Director of Product Marketing, Jeffrey Vocell on Product Launches
September 1 @ 10:00AM PST
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Iterable Former Director of Product Marketing, Jeffrey Vocell on Product Launches
Top Questions
How do you test messaging before launching a new product? What are different approaches that would help us be confident about the message that would result in better conversion?
I took a survey and in person interviews with customers and did different exercises but I am wondering what would make me more confident about the message
Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
This is a great question. I think there are a few ways of testing messaging effectively: * Ask one rep, or a small team, to position your product in a specific way. This is a very clear feedback loop, and you'll see what works and what doesn't really quickly. Depending on the size of your......Read More
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Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
I feel like the answer to this could be it's own book. 😊 Ultimately, a PMM should be the "quarterback" of a launch and should be driving success at each stage. From the moment you hear about a large launch coming you should focus on: * Aligning the team around that product * Communicating c......Read More
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Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
It depends on the launch, but I will usually do a mix of these: Customer Research: Talk with existing customers, or survey your existing customer base (or a segment of it) if a solution your launching is directly related or adjacent to an existing product you have. If you need deep insight into ......Read More
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Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
I think I eluded to some of these in the answer below on tracking the success of a product post-launch, but to summarize: Product Launches: * Awareness: PR mentions, organic social traffic, product page traffic, social conversations, etc. * Interest: Growth in leads, MQLs, demos or k......Read More
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How do you decide when a product launch has ended in order to determine the success of the 'launch'?
Product is being iterated all the time, so where exactly do you consider to be the end of a product launch period.
Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
Good question. I typically look at 90-days post launch as the end point. Ideally all of the key teams within marketing - like product marketing, content, brand, social, demand gen, customer marketing, and others are all working together to plan integrated campaigns. There should be some natural a......Read More
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Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
Oof, I’m not sure I want to relive those memories! I think every product launch is an opportunity, there are new challenges that arise and problems to solve. I’ve led and managed a ton of launches - and in pretty much every single case there has always been some last minute changes. For me though......Read More
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Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
Yeah! Look at all the ways your company communicates with the market. Talk to various people across the business - PR, CSMs, Support, and others. You will find ways to promote your product that you may not be aware of through these conversations. For creativity, I like keeping a "swipe file" ......Read More
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Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
Your positioning and messaging should be written in parallel with development, and ideally should be finalized before the product goes into a wide beta. But if you're working on a larger launch, it's likely you'll need to start other activities ahead of time too like: * Video: Any video asse......Read More
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Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
This is something I discuss with a lot of product marketing leaders because we naturally want to figure out how to do better. I’ll offer 3 mistakes I see a fair amount - but if you have a particular challenge, reach out to me on LinkedIn and I’m happy to help. * Communication: Regardless of the......Read More
1296 Views
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What is your blueprint for developing a ‘go to market plan’?
What core elements must it encompass?
Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
I think every product marketing team should! Ultimately, at Iterable we have 3 key documents: * Product GTM Launch Plan - This is a spreadsheet that includes every team involved in a launch, what set of activities are being done, where they are in the development process, and more. It's r......Read More
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Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
It really depends on what you’re launching, where your product fits into the customer’s journey, and the broader market. Generally speaking I think really large notable product launches can be measured by all, or just some of the following: Awareness: Organic search traffic before/after launch, ......Read More
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Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
Yes! At HubSpot we had a template for this, and I’ve created one at Iterable as well. I think there are a few phases of a launch that include different people from your organization. Phase 1: Research - Every product launch HAS to start with research. This is a phase I find many PMMs skip, but t......Read More
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Jeffrey Vocell
Panorama Education Head of Product Marketing • September 1
Great questions. Product Marketing should be involved, or at least aware of, every launch in my opinion. I think it's important to establish launch levels, or some process around it though - a very minor feature update shouldn't get the same amount of time dedicated as an all-new product line. At......Read More
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