AMA: Intercom Director, PMM - Support & Platform, Jasmine Jaume on Establishing Product Marketing

It depends a little on what the situation is with PMM in the company you join (i.e. size and maturity, what the team is currently doing, what your role is going to be, whether you're an IC or a manager), but here's some things to think about:30 days - this first month is all about getting the lay of the land and meeting everyone you'll be working with, building relationships and establishing your credibility! You won't get all of this done in the first 30 days but it's good to get started on the ...Read More

We've changed our structure several times over the years as the business has grown and priorities have shifted, but because PMM at Intercom works very closely with product we have always largely mapped PMMs to specific solutions or product areas. Our current team structure roughly mirrors that of the product team. That means we have 1 or more PMMs mapped to each specific product group, which are either focused on a solution (for example our support solution) or a product area (for example, platf ...Read More

I don't have a set framework as such, but this is the approach I'd take: Meet with stakeholders across the business to understand what's working, where the gaps are that PMM might be able to fill, and ask what they think is the highest priority. Ask lots of questions to understand what the underlying need/problem is, as the 'solution' people ask for might not always be the best way to solve the problem or might be better solved by another team. This is also a great opportunity to start educating ...Read More

It is classically difficult to directly measure PMM work, given our work is so cross-functional and many goals will be co-owned with other teams. It also depends on the focus of your team and each PMM - for example, we measure the effectiveness of our Enablement group differently to that of a group focused on a specific product. Your measurement may also look different depending on your business model and goals, and whether your product is enterprise vs. freemium for example.  At Intercom, we te ...Read More

This is a big question! It would be impossible for me to detail all the ways we work with these teams, but at a high level: Sales & CSM: I'm bundling these two together, as the type of work we do with each is similar at a high level. We work closely with sales leaders and the sales enablement team to understand sales' needs, develop messaging and content for them to use with both existing and prospective customers, understand how that messaging is resonating, and creating training and other ...Read More

Being clear about what PMM's role and mission is, and ensuring other marketing leaders understand what your team does and doesn't do. Have open discussions about where there might be overlap between teams, and agree on how you'll handle it. Building relationships with others across the marketing org - both leaders but also at the IC level - and communicating openly, sharing your goals and plans, developing processes together, and getting buy-in as you plan  Having a clear framework for prioritis ...Read More

This is a classic challenge for PMM teams and the unhelpful answer is it will somewhat depend on how your company is set up. However, ultimately it comes down to demonstrating the value you can bring and building credibility with stakeholders so that PMM get a 'seat at the table'.  Some tips that I've found effective: Show how you can add value, outside of launches (and be proactive - don't wait to be asked to do so!). This could be packaging up competitive and market insights for the product te ...Read More

I'm biased of course, but I believe PMMs should be one of your first marketing hires. The insight PMMs can bring in terms of product-market fit, positioning and messaging are just as valuable, if not moreso, at a smaller org as in a big one. Having a PMM early on will help you set the foundations for the future, and help ensure you have the right product, the right target audience, and them messaging that's going to resonate with them before you start spending a ton of money and resources on mar ...Read More

My experience was actually the other way round - I went from a company where I was the first PMM and helped establish the PMM team, to a company where there was already an established PMM team (and PMM already had 'a seat at the table'). Some of the learnings from that experience: It's much easier to create effective messaging for a launch when you were involved in the development of the feature in the first place (i.e. giving input on the customer pain points, inputting into scoping decisions e ...Read More

When thinking about team structure and new roles, we think about 3 things: What does the business need? Are there areas we need to support better? New areas coming up we'll need to support? Where are we over capacity? What does the individual want to be doing? What are their strengths?  Will this person have a clear career path? Is it clear what their next step will be? How will they be able to expand in this role? How do they fit into the wider team? How we structure our team:We've changed our ...Read More

Many of us in PMM came from a different discipline, so know that it's very common and very doable! I myself came from an editorial background (I studied journalism and worked for an online magazine), then moved into an analytics/reporting role, then into community management, and then into PMM! It depends on what your existing experience is, but some general tips: Look for opportunities to do PMM-related work. Many times, especially in smaller companies, other roles are doing bits of PMM such as ...Read More