AMA: Amazon Product Marketing Lead, AI/ML Acceleration, AWS, Shruti Koparkar on Product Marketing Skills

I think my superpower skills is my engineering and technology background. I am able to dive deep and understand any technology quickly and easily, faster than my counterparts. The other is my experience working for a diverse set of companies across different departments - this allows me to understand various customer personas in Fortune 500 enterprises as well as startups, from business decision makers to hands-on developers.

You need to network with other teams and find ways to get involved. Choose initiatives that can move the needle for the company but also contribute to your growth as only these type of win-win situations are sustainable long term. As an example, I really enjoyed being a guest on the AWS podcast for one of my service launches. That made me get interested in being a host as I thought it would allow me to learn more about other AWS services organically, while also being able to bring my story telling skills to our podcast. So when an opportunity opened up I seized it, applied to be a host, and have so far greatly enjoyed and found (and added) value.

The most important thing to be able to scale content is to create a messaging framework that can be a north star for all your sister teams in marketing, product, and sales e.g. social team, campaign team, sales enablement, product management etc. There are many templates for messaging framework - so use whatever is most suitable for your organization. This framework can multiply your efforts by providing a guiding document that you and your colleagues can rely on. Beyond that following are some ways to scale content: * Content Repurposing: Repurpose existing content into different formats. A white paper can become a blog series, for example. * Content Collaboration: Work with other teams (e.g. product, sales, solution architects) to create content relevant for different audiences. Put easy mechanisms in place to propose, create, review and publish content. * Content generation (Automated): With the advent of generative AI there are many tools that can help you create new ideas for content and also provide outlines for them. Use these tools wisely following the best practices that your organization has outlined.

These are the skills I look for in a PMM: * Communication & Relationship building: Ability to bridge gaps & translate complex ideas across departments. * Writing Expertise: Craft clear, concise messaging that resonates with diverse audiences. * Balance of analytical, technical & storytelling skills: Understand complex technology, analyze data & weave insights into compelling product narratives. * Go-getter with focus: Get things done proactively. * Prioritization Pro: Master the art of saying "no" to manage workload.

Product marketing needs several soft skills including strong verbal and written communication, negotiation, mediation, time management, influencing people, building trust–the list goes on. You can weave these into many of your answers. In choosing your STAR scenarios think of examples where you can highlight that while the hard skills were necessary, they weren't sufficient - and it is the soft skill that really helped you succeed. E.g. Getting sales team trained on the product messaging and pitch takes a lot of influence and communication skills.

Marketing measurement has been, is, and will likely continue to be imperfect - attribution in particular is so tricky. So you can't always rely completely on data. Same thing with revenue pipeline metrics - the quality of pipeline depends on sales discipline. Revenue is a good measure, but it is often a lagging metric, especially when the buyer journey can span several months to a year. And often times you don't have sufficient data and have to make decisions, make bets, allocate marketing budgets based on a combination of factors. So PMMs should be data-informed. Use data as one of the key factors that guide your decisions, but also consider your understanding of the market and customer needs, anecdotes gathered from customers or your sister teams, as well as your gut feel and intuition. Intuition comes from experience, use data to validate or refine your assumptions.

Large companies can mean limited scope, but you can still be a well-rounded PMM! Here are some tips: * Be Proactive: Seek opportunities to learn from other PMMs. Shadow colleagues working on launches, offer to cover competitive events and lead competitive responses * Focus on Depth within Your Scope: Master your area and bring those insights to other areas of PMM. For e.g. if you work in sales enablement you are close to your sales teams, their needs, and through them the customer needs and market trends. Bring these insights to the PMMs working on launches and create differentiated value so they'll involve you in creating and reviewing product positioning/messaging. * External Learning: Take online courses, attend industry conferences, and network with PMMs from other companies. Gain knowledge beyond your immediate role.

Create messaging that is compelling to your customers, differentiated than your competitors, and articulates a clear advantage for your customers. You have to have a clear understanding of your ideal customer profile, and also the various personas in your target audience. Messaging pillars need to convey the primary benefits of your product/solutions for the specific audience. This is done through an integrated and iterative analysis of market trends, customer needs, competitive options, and product differentiators. Messaging is the guiding north star document for content creation. When creating content or copy, I also like to think about it as the 4S of messaging. 1. Simplicity (Clear, Concise): Keep it succinct by focusing on key benefits and features. Try to avoid jargon wherever possible and use simple language. 2. Suprise (spark curiosity) : Use humor, a surprising visual, or a thought-provoking question to get the audience to lean in. 3. Specificity (Concrete, Credible): Back up your claims with evidence like data or customer success stories to build trust and credibility. 4. Story telling: Using clear structure tell your customers a story where they can see themselves as the protagonist in the story. Clearly articulate how you can help them on their hero’s journey.

Here are some quick tips: * Value First: Focus on how your message benefits the sales team and their customers (new product info, sales tools etc.). * Actionable & Clear: Tell them what to do with the information by including clear call-to-actions (CTAs) and keep your message concise. * Scannable & Engaging: Use bullet points, headings, and a compelling subject line. * Helpful & Accessible: Offer ongoing support and provide your contact information.

I don't think one is better than the other. When joining a new team, the best skills are the ones you already have. Play your strengths while making sure you have a actionable plan to work on your weaknesses. For e.g. if you have switched industries as a PMM, you'll need some time to ramp up on the technology, the market, the specific customer needs. But use your other transferable skills such as analytical skills, communication/writing, coordination, negotiation etc. to build trust. In fact because you are new you will be able to provide an outside in perspective and point out things that others who have been there for long may not be able to see.