AMA: Customer.io Chief Marketing Officer, Jason Lyman on Developing Your Product Marketing Career

I would ask your manager what are the top priorities for the broader organization and then push to get projects that support those efforts. In a bigger organization, a lot of good work goes unnoticed because the executive team tends to just focus on the “big rocks” that they are trying to move forward. Therefore, the best way to deliver impact is to complete work that aligns with the things that they care about. 

I believe that the best PMMs demonstrate the following characteristics - Customer-centric, Metrics-driven, and Strategically-aligned. I would seek out experiences that help you develop these skills. Here some examples of how to do that: * Customer-centric: Most PMM projects would benefit from new insights from customers or prospects. Therefore, I would make sure that you build out time to complete those conversations into your project plan(s) and weave those learnings into the deliverables of the projects. Efforts like these really resonate with hiring managers. * Metrics-driven: Inexperienced Product Marketers tend to think about their role in a binary way (i.e., did I execute this product launch, did I deliver this new marketing asset). Therefore, I would seek out ways to measure your work so you can quantify your impact. * Strategically aligned: PMM work is inherently cross-functional. However, you want to show that you are proactive in driving alignment with your closest partners. For example, I completed primary and secondary research on recently launched features and used those insights with PMs to influence future roadmap decisions.

I would seek out frameworks or templates that help you deliver on key product marketing activities. For example, leading product launches is a common task, so find a launch project plan that helps you deliver high-quality output and consistent execution for this important initiative. Given that people have personal preferences and companies have different expectations, no single template or framework is consistently used by everyone. Therefore, I would research the most common options and pick the one that works best for your approach.

I was the second PMM at Dropbox, and when I left 4.5 years later, I managed a team of more than 20 PMMs, so I can empathize with your situation. I found that self-reflection is extremely important. You need to constantly evaluate the performance of different projects or initiatives so you can know where to double down on what worked and understand where iteration is needed. Also, you need to observe what other top performers are doing and replicate their approach. You don’t have time to “recreate the wheel” when growth is fast. These top performers have likely optimized their approach for the startup's culture and learned what works best inside the organization, so copy them. Finally, you should not be afraid to ask for feedback. You won’t know where to focus your skill development unless you ask. Most managers will appreciate that you are proactive about your performance, and they will know the best places to focus on skill development.

While it is always easier if your past experience is directly related to the new role you are exploring, it does not mean that you can’t get a job outside of that scope. The key is figuring out what skills or attributes that they are looking for. Then, you need to figure out how to position your past experience so it appears to apply to the challenges that they are trying to solve. PMMs need to be great storytellers, so this is your opportunity to apply those skills to get the job you want!

Career development is not a ladder but a winding path so there is never a clear cut answer that I can share. However, I tend to push people to answer the following questions when deciding whether to stay or move on from a role: * Am I challenged in my current role and still learning new things? * Am I happy working in my current role? If you answer “yes” to these questions, I would lean toward staying in your current role because it means that you will continue to grow professionally and it is a good environment for you. If you answer “no” to any of these questions, it tends to mean that you are potentially ready for that next challenge.

The answer to this question really depends on the size of the company where you want to be CMO. Larger companies with massive scale and sell more mature products must implement successful brand marketing strategies to compete. Therefore, I would optimize your development of that brand marketing skill set. However, if you want to work for a smaller company or an organization selling products in a newer product category, they value that product marketing skill set when selecting a CMO. While there is no “hard and fast” rule to which I can point you, this broad guidance should help give helpful direction on where to focus.

I have seen product marketers move into various roles as their careers evolve. The PMM skill set is very applicable in most marketing roles. For example, a successful PMM should be able to translate insights into strategy, build power narratives that engage customers, and drive cross-functional alignment/execution. Therefore, you can apply those skills in a more data-driven way on the demand gen side, or you could use those abilities to have more ownership over product decision-making as a PM, or you could help sell more of a given product in a GTM role. I loved being a PMM because it offers you a lot of flexibility for the future.