Dan Laufer

AMA: Nextdoor Former Head of Growth and Product Marketing, Dan Laufer on Influencing the Product Roadmap

January 14 @ 10:00AM PST
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Nextdoor Former Head of Growth and Product Marketing, Dan Laufer on Influencing the Product Roadmap
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Dan Laufer
Dan Laufer
PipeDreams Ventures CEOJanuary 15
There are good arguments for either. My team is in the marketing org so I have a bias towards that structure :) Ultimately it comes down to people and where you think PMM can have the most impact and benefit from a resourcing and influence standpoint. I don't think there's a dogmatic answer or a......Read More
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How do I influence the roadmap of our product, when my product team isn't very open to it?
I spend a lot of time with customers and prospects, and constantly hear feedback on our product. But my product management team doesn't seem to value this feedback.
Dan Laufer
Dan Laufer
PipeDreams Ventures CEOJanuary 15
That's tough since a lot of it is interpersonal dynamics. I don't think there's a silver bullet but a couple thoughts that might help:  1. Bring product into some of the meetings/focus groups where you're hearing the feedback. That may help them crystallize what you're hearing. 2. Set up a 1:......Read More
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Dan Laufer
Dan Laufer
PipeDreams Ventures CEOJanuary 15
I think a good PMM should take the stance that "I'm going to know everything about the product, competitive landscape and our customers." If you do that well there are several ways to prove value to PMs, for example:  1. Provide competitive insights/positioning they may be missing.  2. Share a ......Read More
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Dan Laufer
Dan Laufer
PipeDreams Ventures CEOJanuary 15
That's a great question. It depends a lot on the product of course. There are some products that lend itself to a soft launch before we put any marketing effort behind it in which case quantifying marketing impact is pretty straightforward. More generally, I'm a fan of PMM and PM co-owning sever......Read More
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Dan Laufer
Dan Laufer
PipeDreams Ventures CEOJanuary 15
There are a few touchpoints here: 1. Our sales team posts a report after meeting with a prospective client that gets shared with all revenue stakeholders including marketing and product. So we're all seeing feedback on a per client basis although admittedly that can be a lot to con......Read More
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Dan Laufer
Dan Laufer
PipeDreams Ventures CEOJanuary 15
I think there are three stages to product planning that involve a product marketer: 1. Before the roadmap is set (helping inform what the product should be),  2. While the product is being built (ensuring it'll make sense to customers), 3. When the product is getting ready to launch (positionin......Read More
1273 Views
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How can I start making a change in my organization to influence the roadmap based on consumer insights?
I am at a company where Product builds the roadmap without many insights from Marketing or research.
Dan Laufer
Dan Laufer
PipeDreams Ventures CEOJanuary 15
That can be very tough. Similar to another answer I wrote, I think a lot of this is interpersonal which makes specific feedback tough without more context. A few ideas to hopefully help: 1. Assume best intentions. Presumably product wants the same end outcome as marketing/research.  2. Given ......Read More
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