AMA: Gong Former Director, Product Marketing, Victoria Chernova on Product Marketing vs Product Management

This is always a gray area :) At Gong, most UX copy is owned by the product writing team, except for naming "Tier 1" products. Together with that team, we established a list of criteria that qualifies features or products as "Tier 1;" such as, the feature/product changes core product pillar messaging, or requires customer change management, or changes how we sell or demo the product. These are really dependent on your business. For in-app cues (like announcement banners/modals, etc), we've established a RASCI model based on the objectives of the copy / in-app cue. I highly recommend starting here. For example, if the objectives are awareness, monetization, activation, adoption—then PMM is the "Responsible/R," product design "Supports" on visual cues by handing the latest designs to the brand design team to stylize, PM is "Consulted," and product writing is "Informed." When the objectives are to educate, support the UX, or onboard new users—then product writing is the "R," PMM is the "I." Even this framework isn't perfect, but aligning on a RASCI for the various types of in-app copy/cues that exist is a very helpful first step.

One area where I've seen PMM historically drive a ton of value is with market and competitive insights. By bringing insights from the market, competitive landscape, buyers, and/or analysts, PMM can ensure that product has considered all inputs when they narrow down on their target user, pain points, and finally solutioning. Here is a deck we've used internally to help build collaboration between PM & PMM. If you're still struggling with being brought in too late, my advice is to focus on 1-2 deliverables that could really drive value for your product org. Pilot that with a product group or PM, and then go from there. Timing is hard. This requires coordination on the CMO/CPO level. The business and product orgs would need to align on a few major product launches for the year, and aim for a general launch date range. I still say “general” because it's really hard to predict how product development will go, and it's always important to prioritize what's best for the customer. For other feature launches, I recommend giving your PM more visibility into the marketing calendar. For example, if there's a major opportunity coming up to promote their product (an upcoming event or roadshow), it would also be in their best interest to aim for that date. Again, it still depends on the development process, but that can align PMM and PM on timing.

There are different levels of information PMM needs from their PM partners throughout the development process. Depending on how your product documentation works, this information could entirely live in a product/feature brief or be split up between the brief and the product spec. At a high level, here's a deck we've used internally to build collaboration between PM and PMM. To be honest, we don't always get the answers to these questions in document format (or early enough), so sometimes this information is shared in meetings. Of course the size of the feature is a consideration as well. We have a tiering system, so the most depth is needed for Tier 1 features vs less information for Tier 3. 

In terms of roadmap, one area where I've seen PMM historically drive a ton of value is through market and competitive insights. By bringing insights from the market, competitive landscape, buyers, and/or analysts, PMM can ensure that product has considered all inputs when they build their roadmap. Here is a deck we've used internally to help build collaboration between PM & PMM. If you're still struggling with being brought in too late, my advice is to focus on 1-2 deliverables that could really drive value for your product org. Pilot that with a product group or PM, and then go from there.

This question hits home for me. In a previous role, I explored the opportunity to move to the PM org, so I did a bunch of research. First, at a high level, I love the book "Designing Your Life." If you're into self-reflection and personal growth books, this one's for you. It'll help you zero in on the type of work that gives you energy vs drains your energy. Then, I would do some candid interviews with PMs to understand what a day in the life is like, because sometimes from the PMM perspective we're only seeing half of the story. My own personal takeaway was that a PM's process is methodical—which I gravitated towards. And whereas both PMM and PM must be analytical, PMs are much more focused on existing end users vs PMMs are focused on market, competitive, and buyer insights. Their expertise diverges most when it comes to technical and creative work. PM goes deep into technical requirements, whereas PMM goes deeper into messaging and creative work. This is also reflected in the stakeholders they work with everyday. PM works closest with engineers, product designers, and user researchers; PMM works closest with the field/enablement, marketing, and creative teams. So another way to gauge your interest is thinking about which teams you'd enjoy working with every day.

Ideally, PMM comes in during the product roadmap process. One area where I've seen PMM historically drive value is through market and competitive insights. Especially at Gong, given our product, Product Managers have access to customer insights but oftentimes don't have visibility into opportunities outside of the customer base. When it comes to the product lifecycle, PMM should proactively come in very early on. For the same reasons as above, PMM brings a complementary perspective to the decision-making process. By bringing insights from the market, competitive landscape, buyers, and analysts, PMM can ensure that product has considered all inputs when they narrow down on their target user, pain points, and finally solutioning. Here is a deck we use internally to help build collaboration between PM & PMM. If you're still struggling with being brought in too late, my advice is to focus on 1-2 deliverables that could really drive value for your product org. Pilot that with a product group or PM, and then go from there. Good luck :) 

This really depends on your business model, the org structure, and company norms, but I can share the mission we developed for the PMM team here at Gong. PMM deeply understands our customers, products, and market in order to deliver the right product, to the right audience, with the right message. This is the #1 objective, and the way you accomplish this is through a variety of intiatives. Our top ones are: 1. Develop GTM strategy 2. Inform product strategy 3. Prioritize customer segments 4. Serve as subject matter experts for enabling the field 5. Evangelize our category, customers, and products

Both are super valuable, and gaining experience in both will make you a well-rounded PMM. Great for when you lead a team in the future :) That being said, it also depends on what you enjoy. Having done both, PLG PMM work feels more B2C to me, where most of my time was spent working with campaigns, brand, and copy teams (other than product of course!). So if you enjoy working on customer journeys, creative briefs, and marketing assets, then that's a great fit for you. Whereas with SLG motions, your primary stakeholders are enablement and the field. In these roles, I've worked on messaging projects that help shape the sales process, as well as programs that help enable the field on new product releases. I find this line of work more complex because you need a deep understanding of the sales process, which is unique to every company. To summarize: Ideally you could try out both and see what you like. But experience in both is definitely a plus.

This depends on the company's norms and how different teams have been set up. I've seen user research lead this entirely, and I've also seen a dedicated "Voice of the Customer" program manager who wrangled all internal listening channels. One area where I've seen PMM historically drive a ton of value is with market and competitive insights. Especially at Gong, given our product, Product Managers have access to customer insights but oftentimes don't have visibility into opportunities outside of the customer base. Focusing specifically on customer feedback (or user feedback), PMs generally own collecting and synthesizing feedback during the design partner and beta periods. After the release - it depends. The Product team should own end user feedback post-launch on a systematic level; where PMM can add value is staying close to the field and new segments you're prioritizing on the GTM side. For example, if the GTM team is going after a new industry, PMM should be listening to product feedback from these new customers and potential customers separately and differently from how we'd treat feedback from core end users. What about new personas or teams? For these high priority segments, the PMM org should be packaging up their feedback, market requirements, and market size to inform product roadmapping.