AMA: Cisco Meraki Head of Product Marketing, Grant Shirk on Influencing the Product Roadmap

There are two big categories here.  Speaking with a customer after specific feature feedback Re-introducing a product to a prospect/customer who said "no"  I'll address the first one in the question about capturing beta feedback. Quick summary: Show the customer how you listened and incorporated their feedback, and how it impacted the product and other customers.  The second is truly difficult. Once a customer has told you "no," or "this doesn't work for me," they have made a decision, and eithe ...Read More

I strongly recommend against providing ANY incentive for alpha and beta users to provide feedback or engagement. I find it creates bias and influences the kind of feedback you receive. You want real users with real problems running into your software; otherwise you get nice-to-haves or less thoughtful comments.  It's hard to set expectations for the kind of feedback you receive. Early on, you don't know what customers will react to, or even where the real bumps will be. I'd recommend starting su ...Read More

I find that there are two times when it makes sense to truly invest in deep market research like what you mention:  When you're considering starting a company or building a completely new product When you're a very mature company (public, large revenue, growth slowing) and you need to evaluate options for a next growth trajectory In those situations, you're trying to learn something completely new, identify risks, and plot a course forward. You don't have product yet, you don't have customers, a ...Read More

Roadmaps are a living, breathing plan. This should be a continual conversation with product (and sales, and cs, and...) to make sure you always know what is happening and changing. And, I've never seen a roadmap that's truly "final." It's technology. "Stuff happens." But, there are multipltae stages when you should have both input and visibility into the plan: Early/vison setting. What's the long-term target we're trying to hit, and what are the key investments/stages on the way? Here you're get ...Read More

The great thing about roadmaps is they're like the Pirates' Code. "It's more of a guideline."  First, never lose sight of the fact that if you have a concrete roadmap from your product team (like really concrete, more than 6 months laid out), that's heaven for PMM. A vision for where you're going, commitment from engineering, and a view a few quarters out of what stories you get to tell? Sign me up. Anecdotally, that's why I love the world of hardware so much. In networking, IoT, and even comput ...Read More

Repeatability.  Customers are asking for a feature because they believe the need it. Nobody has time to invent frivolous features for companies they don't work for. As a result, there's always an element of truth to every request. The trick to determine whether you should add a capability to your roadmap most frequently comes down to, "how many other companies would benefit from this feature?" If it's a one-off, you still have to value that one-off. But if it's something that's broadly applicabl ...Read More

Currently, we do not. I don't believe it's the product marketing team's role to quantify the technical costs of a product or solution investment. That's stepping too far into the role and expertise of product and engineering, and frankly it's just an inefficient use of resources.  That's not to say you should wave a magic wand and wish for the impossible. Product marketers must have the technical depth to understand the limitations, constraints, and possibilities of a technology. Without it, the ...Read More

Okay, this is a fun one, so I'm going to start here. As a former UI designer (at Pixo and Tellme Networks**), this is probably the most fun you'll have in product marketing. You're bringing together three functions that thrive on different kinds of creativity. Words, emotion, and structural design all coming together.  Other than "strap in and see what happens," there are a few things you can do to escalate the fun and the output of this dynamic mix: Don't start cold. For a group to really gel, ...Read More

I'm currently the Head of Product Marketing at Cisco Meraki. I also have responsibility for the Cisco Wireless product portfolio. In the Meraki business, Product Marketing is a core pillar of our Market Strategy team. Market Strategy encompasses: Audience Marketing Customer Marketing  Solutions Marketing Product Marketing Together, we're ultimately accountable for Meraki's go-to-market strategy. From whom we target (Audience) and their unique priorities, to the unique value propostiion of our pr ...Read More

If I understand your question correctly, constantly. No matter if you're the lead product marketer for an enterprise product, SMB, or consumer; whether you have a product-led go-to-market or a traditional enterprise sale; product marketing and design are inextricable partners in a product's success. Just like pricing is marketing, product design is also marketing. It's how you (your product) explain your value, function, and potential use cases to the end user. If you need to show how your produ ...Read More

This is an inteesting one. My first question is, "Why are you pitching to Product leadership?" A pitch is a judgemental situation. Instead, I'd urge you to discuss your ideas with them. Invite their feedback, instead of seeking approval. Try it - it will change the conversation instantly. There's no single template for this. Your PM team probably has an existing rubric they use to vet and prioritize roadmap items. Lean into that as much as you can. If you're using their language, it's easier for ...Read More