AMA: Amazon Head of Product Marketing, AWS OpenSource Data Analytics, Kate Hodgins on Product Launches

Incorporating in-product experiences into a launch can boost awareness and adoption, and it's a great way for customers to discover new value. Plus, it gives you the chance to get immediate feedback on what you've just rolled out. But it's important to remember that creating valuable experiences is key—most users aren't fans of being marketed to directly within the product. The best approach I've found for introducing and launching new features within the product UI is through a clear, structured four-step process. 1.Set the Strategy: * Define the Strategy: Start by pinpointing your objectives, like increasing user engagement, improving conversion rates, or enhancing satisfaction. * Segment Users: Dive into your user data to identify who will benefit the most from the new features. Look at their usage patterns and preferences to tailor your messaging and user experience. * Highlight Value: Clearly explain the benefits of the new features. Your buyers and users may be different, be sure your messaging is tailored to the users of the product, showing how the features solve specific problems or improve their experience. 2.Decide on Engagement Methods: When choosing content and methods of engagement, I'll take into account the complexity of the features and the technical aptitude of the audience. * Low complexity: Quick tips or FAQs that provide brief instructions can be effectively delivered through in-app notifications to keep users updated on new features. * Moderate complexity: Tutorial videos that demonstrate features step-by-step, along with infographics that clearly explain features, benefits, and usage, can be presented via an in-product overlay modal or through an onboarding experience. * More complex or entirely new user experiences: More detailed educational content, such as in-product guided walkthroughs or comprehensive tutorials, have been effective. Also, consider the user journey and aim to trigger experiences at moments when they make the most sense. 3:Design the launch experience rollout: To ensure effectiveness, it's crucial to target alerts only to the customers who should see them. Communicating messages that are not relevant or contextual can lead to noise, causing users to ignore them or, worse, stop using your service. It's also important to test the effectiveness of your messages and delivery methods. Start with a small group of users or opt for a phased rollout. This approach allows you to monitor engagement, gather feedback, and make necessary adjustments before expanding the release to a broader audience. 4.Measure, learn, and iterate: Monitor how users interact with the new features. This data will inform you whether users can find and effectively use the features, enabling continuous improvement based on actual usage insights. It will also give you insights that can inform future launches. This approach ensures that your in-product feature launches are well-planned, user-focused, and flexible, adapting based on real feedback from users.

Once a launch happens, it’s tempting to move on to the next big thing. However, the launch is really just the beginning. Post-launch, I focus on tracking whether our strategies are hitting the target goals. I keep an eye on key metrics like conversion rates, customer adoption, and revenue growth. Monitoring product usage metrics, such as active users and feature adoption rates, helps me understand how well the product meets user needs. Sales metrics such as pipeline creation, new opportunities, and cross-sell/up-sell rates show the product's market traction and our sales and customer success teams' effectiveness in articulating the value of the new offering. Staying connected with key teams like marketing, sales, customer success, and product management is essential. After a launch, I conduct a retrospective with various stakeholders to discuss what worked and where we can improve. Around week six, I send an update on launch metrics to the leadership team. Depending on the launch size, I then set up bi-weekly or monthly meetings with the launch team to monitor key metrics, share insights, and adjust strategies as needed. The meetings ensure we remain aligned and can quickly respond to issues or opportunities that arise post-launch.

When preparing for a launch, I start by creating personas because it allows me to effectively represent and advocate for the customer's voice. By understanding who the customers are, their challenges, and what motivates their buying decisions, you'll craft a more impactful product launch, deliver relevant messages, and develop strategies that effectively drive demand and adoption. As I've transitioned between companies and industries, I've had to quickly familiarize myself with different personas. Here's the approach I've found helpful: 1. Do the research: Product marketers should be the SME and know your customers deeply. To do this, begin by collecting both qualitative and quantitative data through market research, surveys, analysis of existing customer data, and direct customer interviews. Allocate enough time to this work - it is the foundation of all your efforts as a product marketer. I can't stress enough two points here. The first is talking to customers - do the interviews, join sales or support calls. Hearing from customers first hand will help you get to them deeply. The second is time allocation. Product marketers are stretched thin. Block the time to focus on customer research - and not just for launches. 2. Categorize and segment: Analyze the data collected from your research. Identify common characteristics and differences across personas. Take note of industry type, company size, role within the company, and business maturity. 3. Create Persona documents: Whether you use slides or documents, create easy-to-consume persona documentation. Include: * Demographics or firmographics such as industry, company size, and location. * Psychographics such as goals, challenges, values, and fears. * Behavioral traits such as buying behaviors, preferred communication channels, and product/service usage. * Role-specific concerns focusing on decision-making authority, influence within the company, and specific outcomes they are accountable for. 4. Validate and Refine: Share the draft personas with stakeholders in sales, marketing, customer service, and product management to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments. Validate persona profiles with real clients when possible, and analyst inquiries can also help confirm accuracy. 5. Educate and enable: Ensure the organization understands the personas. This is crucial for alignment across teams in building, marketing/selling to, and supporting the personas. I make it a point to review personas at least every half year. Typically, they don't require a complete overhaul, but needs, challenges, and opportunities do change as companies grow, market conditions shift, or technical advances (Gen AI, anyone?) disrupt how organizations think about their business.

When selecting and prioritizing channels for a product launch, my approach takes into consideration topics like launch tier and goals, audience preferences, channel engagement and efficiency, and budget/resource constraints. Below, I've detailed the framework that guides my decision-making process, highlighting the key information I consider to shape my strategy. It's important to remember that more channels aren't always better; focusing on the right ones is crucial. 1. Launch Tier & Goals: Start with the objectives and goals for each tier of your launch. Are you aiming for brand awareness, lead generation, or drive feature adoption? Is your launch a Tier 1 (top tier), then you may want want to invest in more channels, versus a lighter Tier 2. Staying focused on the goals will help guide your channel selection and allocation of resources. 2. Audience: Know your target audience inside out. Which channels are they most active on? Where do they seek information related to your product or industry? This will help you prioritize more effectively. 3. Channel Engagement & Quality: Take the time to thoroughly analyze the engagement and effectiveness of each potential channel, examining factors like reach, interaction rates, and conversion rates. Certain channels might be more effective for building awareness, while others could be better at driving conversions. If you don't have all the answers yet, it's perfectly fine to adopt a test-and-learn approach. Additionally, it's beneficial to review your content strategy to ensure that your existing or planned content is appropriate for the selected channels. 4. Budget & Resources: Evaluate the budget available for your launch and allocate resources accordingly. Identify which channels provide the best return on investment (ROI), considering your goals and target audience. Be aware that some channels might require a higher investment but can yield greater results, whereas others might be more cost-effective. Additionally, ensure you have the necessary personnel and time to effectively manage these channels.

Launching an acquired product isn't just business as usual; it adds several layers of complexity beyond typical product marketing. While the core principles like market analysis and strategic positioning still apply, you also have to navigate challenges like product integration, pricing adjustments, and managing an existing customer base. * Product integration: It’s key to figure out how the new acquisition fits with what you already offer. Does it fill a gap, or does it bring something totally unique to the table? This differs from in-house products, where the team is usually well-versed in the product's history and market fit, making marketing and support strategies more straightforward. * Pricing and packaging: You'll have to align the acquired product’s pricing with your existing portfolio, and potentially, integrate it into current bundles. Since the product has its own established customer base, any price changes need to be communicated thoughtfully to keep their trust and loyalty. As part of pricing and packaging, you'll want to consider existing contracts require adhering to pre-existing agreements, honoring legacy pricing commitments, and ensuring compliance with any sector-specific regulations that were in place prior to the acquisition * Customer management: A clear communication strategy that focuses on the benefits of the acquisition and proactively answer questions can help maintain customer trust and loyalty. * Branding: This is often a hot topic—will the acquired product keep its brand, or will it take on the new company's branding? If it's the latter, you’ll need to rebrand marketing materials, which can be a hefty task. * Enablement and field support: Sales, customer success, partners - all need to speed on what the acquired product offers and how it stands out in the market. * Cultural differences. An acquired product often means blending distinct company cultures and operational styles, which could influence everything from the marketing approach to how product updates are handled. While the list above provides a good starting point for launching an acquired product, there are other important factors that may fall beyond the product marketing team's direct control that can impact the launch. For example, setting up an effective market funnel ensures that the customer journey from awareness to purchase is smooth and effective, helping to convert leads into sales. And creating motivating field incentives and compensation models can encourage sales and support teams to actively promote the product and achieve sales targets, aligning their efforts with the launch's success.

When working with the broader marketing team, I establish alignment early and check in frequently. Collaboration begins during planning cycles, where we align on goals, finalize marketing themes, identify key market moments, and share details about priority launches. When managing a specific launch, I follow a framework that emphasizes early alignment and buy-in, fosters effective collaboration, and sets clear goals while measuring progress. What I appreciate about the framework below is its flexibility, allowing adaptation based on the launch's scope, team size, and available resources. * Create a Launch Brief: I write a launch brief covering topics such as goals, target audience, key messaging, benefit and value statements, and use cases. This document serves as the foundational blueprint for all teams involved. * Kickoff Meeting: I organize a kickoff meeting to bring stakeholders together to discuss the launch. Depending on the launch and team size, this could involve just a few people or several. This meeting is a platform to review the briefs in detail, clarify any details, and ensure everyone is on the same page. * Collaborate on Marketing Strategy: I work closely with marketing teams to identify the most effective channels to reach our intended audience. I partner closely with them to develop a plan that includes chosen channels, content plans, metric dashboards, projected timelines, responsibilities, and any necessary approvals (I am a proponent of using a RACI matrix). * Regular Launch Status Check-ins: I conduct regular status check-ins to monitor the launch's progress. Initially, these meetings might be monthly or bi-weekly, but as the launch date approaches, we increase the frequency. These check-ins are crucial for staying updated on each workstream’s status, addressing challenges promptly, and keeping the launch on track. * Measure Success and Adapt Strategies: Throughout the launch process, I closely monitor the effectiveness of different strategies and channels. This enables the launch team to adapt and optimize ongoing strategies based on performance data. Although this framework has consistently led to successful launches, it is crucial to recognize that each launch—and company—is unique. Allow for flexibility within the framework to accommodate different types of launches, scales, and resource availability.

Several times in my career, I have joined organizations where I had to shift the perception of Product Marketing from being just a launch arm to a strategic player within the company. During this transition, I’ve found that three foundational areas help product marketing teams develop the credibility needed to get a seat at the table: developing deep market, competitive, and customer insights; aligning product marketing strategies with broader business goals; and knowing the business inside and out. First, Product Marketers must become experts on industry trends, competitive landscapes, customer needs, and the product itself. This is a non-negotiable part of being a strategic product marketer. This knowledge allows you to provide valuable strategic insights that can shape the product roadmap and ensure products meet market demands. It also helps influence the creation of more impactful marketing campaigns, boosts the effectiveness of enablement, and shapes sales programs—initiatives that contribute to top-line business goals. Second, aligning product marketing strategies with the company's broader business goals is crucial for demonstrating the team's strategic value. Often, product marketing teams are measured by soft metrics like the number of launches or enablement sessions. Elevating Product Marketing to a strategic role requires setting clear goals that support objectives like market expansion, customer retention, revenue growth, and adoption, and prioritizing activities that align with these objectives. Product marketers are often the team that gets things done, and it can be easy to assume others recognize the impact. Don’t assume this. Report your impact back to the business through weekly or monthly updates, and don’t just tell the news (what you did); highlight metrics that the business cares about. These are also great times to bring data about the business, what’s working and what’s not, to earn credibility and influence the company's direction. Lastly, developing a deep understanding of the business itself is essential. For example, know your competitive win rate, why you win or lose, which markets are growing, and your top industries. This comprehensive understanding allows you to participate in conversations as a business owner, ensuring that Product Marketing is seen as a strategic partner driving the company's growth and success.

This is a great question! There are three areas that I believe are crucial to launches, and to being an effective product marketer overall. The first is to really get to know your target audience. This goes beyond simply identifying who they are. It’s about deeply exploring their challenges, needs, and behaviors. During product launches, you'll encounter a flood of opinions and ideas about tactics, channels, and messaging. Using your audience as your North Star will guide you through these discussions. By tailoring your messages to address their specific needs and resonate on a personal level, you not only engage them more effectively but also stand out in a competitive marketplace. The second key piece of advice centers on communication and alignment. Ensure strong alignment not only within your marketing team but also across other departments like Sales, Product Development, and Customer Service. Clearly define your RACI (or your preferred framework), establish detailed workback plans, and set clear timelines for approvals. When everyone is synchronized and following a unified strategy, it significantly amplifies the impact of your launch. And don't forget the role of data. Leveraging data-driven insights from the development stage all the way through to after the launch can really steer your strategy in the right direction. Set clear goals, keep an eye on how things are going, and be ready to adjust based on what the data is telling you. This not only helps fine-tune your efforts but can also dramatically boost your outcomes.