AMA: Amplitude Former Head of Product Marketing, Suyog Deshpande on Developing Your Product Marketing Career

First, you can not decouple analytical skills from brand marketing skills. They are not mutually exclusive. You are right that there is more emphasis on analytical skills in job description for product marketers. Primarily because analytical skills are easier to evaluate. They are also critical because analytical mindset helps you have a solid foundation for your marketing strategy (including brand marketing). However, these strategies come to life with creativity. You can not undermine creative ...Read More

There is no one path but let’s unpack what it means to be a director. It isn’t that the directors know exponentially more or they suddenly become better decision makers. When we all start our careers, we search for the right answers. In fact, we are judged by our ability to find the right answers. However, as we grow, we acknowledge that we don’t and won’t know the answers to all the questions asked of us. At that point, the ability to ask the right questions (of yourself and of the team) takes ...Read More

It is tough. If you are planning to move internally, it starts with finding a sponsor - someone who is willing to take risk for you. That is not going to happen automatically.  I answered a similar question so posting that reply.  There are multiple entry paths into product marketing If you are fresh out of college (MBA) and want to switch to product marketing - - Problem solving (Can you identify the right problem and can you analyze the problem to identify the root cause?), Creativity (Will yo ...Read More

Know your ARR/Pipegen numbers and analytics tools: Get comfortable with building reports and dashboards. Know how to run reports and play around with that data. You will start uncovering interesting things - ex: we are weak in a certain market segment or we tend to have higher win rate for certain industries or deal cycles are longer for certain regions - Each of these insights can lead you to move from being tactical to being strategic. Learn, experiment and gain new skills: So, am I suggesting ...Read More

Salespeople are NOT your customers, they are team members: This will change how you look at your marketing strategy and deliverables. It is fair to say that the content product marketers develop will be consumed, used and delivered by sales. However, the content should resonate with your prospects and customers. Invest resources in thought leadership content: Thought leadership may not yield pipeline right away. However, if you invest in thought leadership consistently, you will see it impacting ...Read More

Not just product marketing but overall marketing has relatively higher turnover compared to other functions. This is true for CMO vs other CXOs as well. If it is initiated by the candidate, then in most cases, it would be fair to say that the job market is hot and we all should be happy. Of course, I am not considering people who left jobs because they did not like their manager or their company. That problem is hard to generalize and answer.If the move is initiated by the company - then the fir ...Read More

It is different in different companies but you will most likely see the content divison as follows -  Product Marketing content: Product focused, long-form, strategic, longer shelf life, consumed by sales (in addition to customers), not all content PMMs do is technical or semi-technical but between content and product marketing, product marketing would be responsible for technical content. Examples: Sales collaterals, whitepapers, customer case studies (jointly with content team), ROI studies, p ...Read More

There are multiple entry paths for product marketing If you are fresh out of college (MBA) and want to switch to product marketing - Problem solving (Can you identify the right problem and can you analyze the problem to identify the root cause?), Creativity (Will you bring a fresh perspective to the table?), Presentation skills (Can you articulate your POV?) and Coachability (Can you work with the team, seek their guidance and learn fast) If you want to move within an organization - Your career ...Read More

Answered a similar question on "Sr.PMM to Director". Here's my response for that question:  There is no one path but let’s unpack what it means to be a director. It isn’t that the directors know exponentially more or they suddenly become better decision makers.When we all start our careers, we search for the right answers. In fact, we are judged by our ability to find the right answers. However, as we grow, we acknowledge that we don’t and won’t know the answers to all the questions asked of us. ...Read More

You already are a marketer, which is a good starting point. Key differences:  In B2C, you are focused on users. In B2B, you also need to think about accounts: That means you are moving from a “a buyer” to “ a committee of buyers” for your product. That means additional personas, objections, processes and challenge.  In B2C, marketing could directly result in revenue. In B2B, you will have a sophisticated sales team to generate revenue.  In B2C, sales cycles can be short. In B2B, they typically t ...Read More