AMA: Codecademy Group Product Marketing Manager, Marissa Hastings on Influencing the Product Roadmap

June 22 @ 10:00AM PT

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What did you wish you knew at the very beginning of your product marketing career as a Product Marketing Manager?

Marissa Hastings•

Change.org Director of Product Management • 4y

Two things I wish I knew: The importance of building trust and establishing good relationships My unique capabilities/value as a PMM and how to communicate that to my pa...

492 Views

1 request

How do product marketers lead a product launch when roadmaps and priorities are constantly changing?

There is a lack of alignment at my company and our teams act in silos. Consequently, my roadmap and goals seem to change on a weekly if not bi-weekly basis because marketing keeps getting pulled in different directions. There needs to be some sort of roadmap and role that aligns sales with product, but I'm not sure if that should come from product marketing or not. I want to initiate this conversation, but I don't know if it's overstepping my role or not. Advice here?

Marissa Hastings•

Change.org Director of Product Management • 4y

I think PMM is the perfect function to initiate this because you sit at the intersection of both teams. What my team usually does is work with Product to inform the produ...

421 Views

2 requests

How do you influence the product roadmap so that features and/or fixes stemming from VOC/customer feedback make it into the priority?

Marissa Hastings•

Change.org Director of Product Management • 4y

There are a few aspects to this. The first involves being proactive and enabling your team with insights ahead of time. The second involves bringing in other data/busines...

418 Views

2 requests

How do influence the product roadmap when you need extra validation i.e. balance opportunity with risk?

Marissa Hastings•

Change.org Director of Product Management • 4y

I would first make sure that any assumptions you've made when crafting your proposed idea are clearly documented so that everyone is aligned on the risks. When thinking a...

789 Views

3 requests

How do you deal with product managers who don't think marketing provides value or isn't technical?

Marissa Hastings•

Change.org Director of Product Management • 4y

I would first try to understand where the product manager is coming from, i.e. what knowledge or perceptions are they starting with about Marketing? What context might th...

393 Views

1 request

What are mistakes product marketers make when trying to influence the roadmap that end up damaging their relationship with product managers?

Marissa Hastings•

Change.org Director of Product Management • 4y

The biggest mistakes to avoid when influencing the product roadmap: Being too prescriptive with the idea/solution, rather than presenting the problem space and enlisting...

753 Views

3 requests