AMA: Bill.com Director of Product Marketing, Angus Maclaurin on Establishing Product Marketing

Product Marketing plays a critical role in launching products, but it is harder to measure. This question can come up frequently in performance reviews and setting OKRs for the coming year. Product Marketing owns several key areas of product launch - from defining customer needs and key features to launch strategy and target channels. Multiple goals may be binary - Did you do customer research? Did you create a launch plan? The challenge comes when you want to tie these activities to specific re ...Read More

I’ve been a one person PMM-team several times in the last decade and encountered the same challenges. More of my management experience comes from my analytics and innovation roles in the past. I'd recommend that you find ways to onboard people or be a mentor or teacher to others. A chunk of these management skills are transferable, but I would consider three points as you grow: What do you need to be a better manager? Many general management (and people) skills can be transferable. Your experien ...Read More

My experience in PMM has often been defined more by organizational structure and openness more than a type of product. The three biggest factors I’ve seen that impact product marketing’s role in an organization are the following: Reporting structure: Where does PMM report to? To the CEO, the CMO, or the CPO? Depending on who Product Marketing reports to, the goals will likely be different. When you report to the CMO, you may focus on driving GTM. When reporting to the CPO, you may spend more tim ...Read More

I use every resource I can to gather customer and user feedback, both internally and externally. First and foremost, I always prioritize talking directly to customers. Make time for customer conversations every month at a minimum. In addition, I leverage many of the following sources of feedback: Outreach to target audience about general needs (not product specific) Customer support tickets NPS and in-product surveys Comments from the sales team Regular check-ins with the support team Direct out ...Read More

I’ve come in as the first PMM at several companies. My experience has been different every time, and I’ve learned a few hard lessons on rushing in too quickly. A large chunk of the first 90 days centers around education and getting quick wins. 30 days: Understand Figure out who does what. If you’re the first PMM, then someone else is probably doing some work that PMM would normally do. See how the team is structured, where they need help, and where you may be taking over someone else’s role Talk ...Read More

PMMs are often tied to specific products more than lifecycle stages. In general we aim for a 3:1 PMM to PM ratio - meaning the PMM needs to have deep knowledge about each of those products, market needs, and personas. They should be the expert in a product from end to end. It’s not ideal if a PM has to go to one PMM for personas, and another for pricing. I’m a big believer in developing close relationships with PM and partnering closely with them on all parts of the customer lifecycle. That said ...Read More

In the ideal state, I consider Product Marketing to have 5 stages starting from market insights. Understand the Market: outline the potential opportunity and existing competition Define Personas and Needs: define the core customer, their needs, and their current solution Develop Product and Features: influence key features needed for both table-stakes and differentiation in the market Create Messaging and GTM: create the GTM plan, the value prop and messaging, and key channels for launch Launch ...Read More

First off, I would say that Product Marketing is in demand in the market and the most critical skill set is a passion for understanding the customer and crafting messaging. If you can show a deep empathy for customers and research how a product actually matches a specific customer need, then you have a strong start for interviews. I would start with talking with PMMs or “shadowing” a PMM at your company. Find out what skill sets they recommend you develop further. Find out what you already have ...Read More