AMA: Bumble Head of Product Marketing, Bumble For Friends, Lindsay (Saran) Gatta on Consumer Product Marketing

I've had the pleasure of working across both and there are some key differences I'd take into account if you have the opportunity to pick a lane: -B2B planning cycles are a bit more predictable than B2C ones- i.e. you have a good sense for what the key buying patterns might look like for your product/service, what the key events that reach that audience are and when they happen, etc. I personally found there isn't a ton of reactive planning in the B2B world unless there is a massive competitor s ...Read More

Generally, I find 90+% of the core skills do overlap across B2B and B2C. I wouldn't call these skillsets, but two things to keep in mind: 1) I have personally experienced a much closer relationship to my tech (eng, PM, etc) team on the B2C side than B2B side. B2B PMMs are influential over the product roadmap but so are sellers and other internal stakeholders, so I didn't find the direct impact I had on the product itself to be as significant. 2) The GTM channels you activate will be different. I ...Read More

Here are some I like: -What's good product you believe is marketed poorly? -What's a product you believe is not a market category leader but is because of its marketing? -Tell me about the last time you promoted someone on your team. What was that process like? -What inspired you to pursue a career in product marketing? What do you think is unique about product marketing than other types of marketing? -This is not a personal favorite but I always get it personally: Tell me about a time when you ...Read More

Skills are ABSOLUTELY transferrable! Being the voice of the customer, influencing product development, building positioning & messaging and leading GTM are all transferrable skills. I have not written off a candidate in the past if they only had B2B or B2C experience, pending their level of seniority and the role I was looking to fill. More than anything, I really look at the TYPES of projects they have lead and the impact they have driven. For the most part, deeply understanding your produc ...Read More

I would ask about a few things:-What types of marketing decisions do the founders want to be involved with? What types of decisions are they comfortable giving you autonomy to run? -What is your budgeting process? Are the founders involved in that? -Has the founder worked with a product marketer before? What did and didn't go well in their working relationship? Can you talk to that person? -How does your founder(s) define product marketing? -(If more than 1 founder), what types of approvals and ...Read More

Regardless of B2B or B2C, translating data to insights to inform your positioning (and product strategy and GTM strategy) is critical. Understanding your product, its competitors, the market and your customer needs/ motivations are the inputs you need for both types of positioning. The question is: How do you get to that level of understanding? In the B2B world, sellers were a huge asset to get deeper understanding, but in the B2C world, social media listening is an incredible treasure trove of ...Read More