AMA: MobileCoin Head Of Marketing, Natalie Louie on Product Marketing 30/60/90 Day Plan

Hire contractors to fill in gaps as they pop up and if they are rockstars and you find yourself with open head count, convert them to full time. Know what your weaknesses are and hire PMMs who balance those. Hire PMMs with different superpowers – you want a well rounded team. PMM teams are in constant reorg pending what our marketing, product or sales teams are doing, given we support them all. You will want PMMs with different skill sets to be able to dive in quickly when needed. Spend time developing your PMM’s into full stack ones who can then hire and train junior ones. If you know you will be hiring several headcount and scaling quickly, hire your senior roles first so that they can help hire your junior roles. It is harder to hire your junior role first, then put a senior person between you both. Also, if you have junior and senior JD’s (job descriptions) out at the same time, everyone is going to want to apply to the senior role.

I break up my 30-60-90 day plan into 4 phases of success for Product Marketing – it also includes focus for after your first 90 days, all outlined below. You may not get to everything in each phase, or you may move through things faster – I use this as a guide and checklist to keep myself accountable. Following this has helped me identify what wins I can crush every 30 days. You can tailor it to your needs at your company and the level you are entering at. The key is to actively listen in interviews and cross-functional meetings and if anyone is working on something that syncs with your superpowers – speak up, ask questions about what they are doing and trying to achieve, schedule a 1:1 with them and volunteer to collaborate with them or take it off their plate. When you ask lots of questions and get to a point they don’t have an answer – that’s the signal to raise your hand and offer your help. Don’t go in guns blazing, it needs to be natural and collaborative. Show humbleness and mastery. PMMs are the strategic glue between product, marketing and your customers, we are not the main show and final end point. I also treat all internal stakeholders as one of my personas – get to know their pain points, what brings them value and how to speak to them. Also, during my 1:1 interviews with them, I’ll also ask if they have worked with a PMM before. If yes, I asked what worked well, what could’ve been better and discuss how we can work together to show the value I bring. If they’ve never worked with a PMM, I share with them what value I can bring and discuss how we can collaborate together. Tips here on how to approach all your stakeholders. PMM Phases of Success The first 3 phases include execution (your wins) and they ramp up. See here for examples on quick wins. 30 DAYS: DISCOVERY * Listen, Ask Questions * 1:1 interviews with cross functional partners * Customer Interviews, ICP, personas, map customer journey * Product training, roadmap, launches to date * Analyze existing content, strategy, data * Research competitors 70% Discovery + 20% Strategy + 10% Execute 60 DAYS: STRATEGY * Think, Create, Iterate * Buy off on business plan: vision, headcount and OKRs, and PMM roadmap * Create PMM playbooks: * Messaging and positioning framework defined * GTM and product launch strategy defined * Pricing and packaging roadmap * Competitive intelligence framework / Amplification 60% Strategy + 30% Execute + 10% Iterate 90 DAYS: EXECUTION * Produce, Operationalize * Roll out PMM playbooks and frameworks * Have or identify how to get a team in place to fully execute * Uplevel existing team * Iterate and create efficiencies * Cadence established for customer interviews, GTM meetings, PMM standups, Working sessions, 1:1 80% Execute + 10% Strategy + 10% Iterate 91+ DAYS: SCALE * Refine, Scale, Expand * Focus on refining and tailoring playbooks and frameworks * Team in place is able to scale so we gain efficiencies * Ready to expand scope * Deep partnerships with cross-functional partners * Uplevel areas of development 30% Scale + 50% Execute + 10% Strategy + 10% Iterate

I start with my phases of success for a PMM in my first 100 days here. Through this process I create my priorities and ensure I have executive alignment on them. I always get feedback from my leadership team. I find that people often want the same thing but are saying it differently – identify this when it happens to bring alignment back on your priorities. Before any cross-functional meeting to get alignment or approval, make sure you’ve already shown your ideas to one or more people to get their advanced feedback and buyin. Some people, especially leaders have other context you don’t have. This is key to getting successful alignment. Also look here on how to build internal consensus on what you want to deliver. 

Remind them that in your title 'product' is first, you are a Product Marketer. You see yourself as part of their org and are an active participant in all their meetings. You are team members who always need to be aligned. Initially you rely on them for KT (knowledge transfer) of the product roadmap so you can help with GTM activities and launch the product. But over time, you are talking to customers and you need to collect feedback and bring it back to PM’s to help influence the roadmap. A circular relationship is the goal. You also help improve the roadmap by always asking why they are building something, so you can tie it back to your customer pain points and the value you are delivering. You help bring clarity to what they are building and help make sure you stay accurate. You also do research together to both understand your market, customers and competitors. You also make your PMs look good – help ghost write a blog with them, have them be SME’s on your webinars, help them craft a story to present at a conference, clean up a deck they are presenting. You are two peas in a pod.

Map and tie yourself to the company level OKRs, mirror the ones in marketing and product or create and define your own KR’s if they don’t exist. Every Marketing Dept has 2 focuses: 1. Customer: # of signups, downloads, purchases, engagement, interactions, industries/verticals, you define the usage metric, etc… 2. Revenue: goals for new, renewal, upsell, expansion, you define the type of revenue etc… Product can also own similar metrics as marketing. They also care about shipping product, so you can show your ROI by launching products and tracking the marketing metrics and engagement that result from your GTM efforts. I also always look at product usage metrics and fold those into my OKRs. You may not own these metrics, but you influence them. You should definitely own or mirror owning them with your cross-functional partners. I also talk here about how to breakdown responsibilities and KPIs when working with demand gen.

Look at my phases of success for a PMM in your first 100 days, it has the building blocks on what to focus on so you can be prepared to help scale with your company. This can be tailored and used at a 40 person company or larger one as it covers all the fundamentals any full stack PMM should be able to deliver on. I created this when I was working at a 2-sided marketplace and in B2B but it’s also relevant to B2C. We are all selling to humans at the end of the day so B2B companies should also think like a B2C company as people expect things to 'just work' and enterprises are becoming more consumerized. Many of the more successful B2B companies run and operate like a B2C company from their marketing tactics to software adoption strategy (Zoom, Slack, Zuora, Dropbox). In your first month you need to focus on discovery and building positive relationships. Be self aware of your gaps and learn as much about your industry, product, problem you are solving, customer journey, competitors, etc… by interviewing key internal stakeholders. During this time it is key to find and deliver on a win. See here for ideas on quick wins. A 40 person startup is small and many people likely don’t know the power a product marketer can bring. If this is the case, read this. Offer to do a presentation on your strategy if you didn’t already during your interview. You must both 'show and tell' for everyone to appreciate your value. 

I interview them to get to know them first, why they joined the company, what they are excited about, what they oversee, what they need help in (their pain points) and I start mapping their needs and how we can work together. I spend the majority of my time having them explain to me the product and pain we are solving. They are SME’s (subject matter experts) at the company and I do a messaging & positioning interview – I take my positioning and messaging framework and turn this into my interview questions. I also interview them about our users and competitors. I’m basically filling out my playbooks for positioning, messaging, competitive intel and users. Lean on them to do your knowledge transfer and become an SME yourself. Listen to their version of how they explain your product and opportunity. Each stakeholder has different information to contribute to your full understanding. I take copious notes (or ask to record the interview) and then I go back to review and bucket answers. I identify gaps, areas that need clarity and start filling out my PMM playbooks to then get feedback on. I also structure these interviews no more than 30min at a time, sometimes 45min if it's a dense topic, and do multiple short interviews across many days/weeks. I need time to process, refine my thinking and build those relationships. I try to kill multiple birds at once here and be very efficient with mine and my stakeholders time. 

Please see my phases of success for a PMM in your first 100 days here . A KEY THING to know at the onset is, does everyone know what a PMM does and what value they bring? Ask all leaders and cross functional partners. Product Marketers are the marketing strategists, the brains of marketing, the connective glue between cross-functional partners, the ones who support a company's internal teams, the market, and target customers to achieve competitive advantage, increase users, adoption, find a path towards monetization and build customer lifetime value, we are a strategic function that aligns stakeholders to drive business growth, product usage and customer lifetime value -- you pick your definition. If they do not know this, then you become the product and you need to product market yourself ASAP. You need to have a strategy, narrative and deck to gain a position in the mind of all your co-workers (personas) so they know what value you bring and the power of having a PMM on board to collaborate with them. Then, identify your quick wins and crush them. This is the scenario I've seen too many times when the above doesn't play out right...the startup is struggling with hitting their numbers and layoffs begin. PMM's can be first or last on the chopping block. I've seen PMM's be the first to get laid off. OR I've also seen, PMMs be the first executives will call upon to be the strategists to help steer the ship back: I.e. redefine our persona and target customers, relook at our TAM/SAM, roll out a new position and message to win market share, identify where in the customer journey we are falling short, figure out a new pricing strategy to stop the bleed on churn, help enable the field better to understand complex problems and identify sales signals better etc...

Being a launch project manager is part of the job – PMMs own product launches, the creation, strategy and management of it. Being a strong copywriter for releases is also part of the job. We write a lot of content or partner with writers and clean up their content so we can use these for our product launches. If you don’t like writing, then being a PMM may not be for you, it’s a core skill set and PMM leaders pass on candidates that tell us they don't like to write. Both these skills are needed in a full stack PMM. If you are asking how to be more strategic and be seen as more strategic, please look at my phases of success for a PMM in my first 100 days here. And look here for the best skills and traits I think a PMM should have. 

Start with my 30/60/90 day plan. I embark on this process and begin looking for where I can dive in for my quick wins. You never know what scenario you are walking into or which project has suddenly been prioritized when you first start. The key is listening for what people are working on, understanding why it’s important and raising your hand for anything you know you can do with your eyes closed. I have 10% execute in my first 30 days because that is me working on my win. Then each 30 days thereafter ramps up my time spent executing and delivering more wins. I've joined companies where I took full control of a product launch, created all the decks for a conference, launched new partnerships and pricing strategies in my first 90 days. Your company hired a PMM because a board member or executive knows they need you, so look for all that low hanging fruit. QUICK WINS EXAMPLES * Product Launches: are they planning one or in the midst of one? Jump in to run it, help/takeover an aspect of it, uplevel the launch plan line items * Press Release: is there a PR going out? Ask to write or review it and uplevel it. * Acquisition: are they acquiring a new company? Help with how to message and position the new partnership * Conference: do they have a user/customer/internal conference coming up? Dive in and volunteer to help with the decks, speakers, storyline and content. * Competitive: hear lots of chatter about competitors? Offer to deep dive on collecting research and create some battle cards with your killer template * Product Market Fit: did you join before product market fit? Start doing research to define ICP, Personas, TAM, SAM, Competitors and map the Customer Journey * Marketing campaigns: look at existing campaigns and help create content, position content better, discuss which new channels to activate, ensure campaigns are integrated * Content: look at existing content and uplevel it, create what’s missing ASAP or help organize it better * Video: think they could do more? Help create a good video for their website or marketing * Website: looks lackluster or they want to update their website? Jump in to help with strategy and delivery, definately fix any copy/messages that aren't clear * Hiring: have open headcount or gaps? Help hire, close top candidates, refer good people you've worked with before * Blog: offer to ghost write a blog with Eng or Product * Webinar: help create content or present on a webinar * Monetization: pricing a new product? Jump in to help them figure out value, pricing and packaging * Partner: are they announcing a new partner? Help message and position it * Gaps: see a hole? If you can’t fill it, offer to find and manage a contractor who can and bring them onboard, so you can have a win together * See something that is confusing or doesn’t make sense? Speak up, ask questions and dive in to help bring clarity

You can switch from right brain to left brain activities and fire both at the same time. You have to be analytical and strategic, you like art and science, numbers and words. You have to be able to go 1 level deeper than marketers to understand the technology, make sense of it then explain it in a clear manner that is well positioned for your customer’s pain. You are a storyteller. Example: 1. You can go deep in research and analysis to create charts and define your TAM, SAM, ICP, persona and competitors. Then you can take the data, glean insights and turn it into an actionable plan to create and deliver a first meeting deck that is clearly positioned, messaged and inspires people to open their wallets and stakeholders to ask for more. 2. Then you can deliver the pitch in a few sentences and also in one sentence on the spot. Your words bring ultimate clarity and value. 3. Since you have clarity in the value you are delivering you can help price and package a product to drive revenue into the millions and billions. 4. Last, you can take the message and positioning to direct or create content to amplify it in different forms: a keynote, webinar, podcast, event, PR, blog, website, video, any social channel, email, case study, analyst meeting etc… If this is you, please ping me, I’d love to work with you. If you have some skills but not all, and want to be a full stack PMM, please ping me, I’d love to mentor you.

FKO, SKO, RKO, AKO to ZKO, put whatever letter in front – they are all company kickoffs. Sales teams are now being called Revenue teams –- I've also seen marketing departments rolling up into a larger Revenue org. Take the stakeholders going (personas) and map their typical and ideal work flow (customer journey). What information, resources and content do they need to be successful at their job? Your answer is your RKO Schedule. Not sure? Talk to them and interview the most successful ones in each department. How do you replicate them? Take the data and plan out your sessions around what they do and their needs that ensure they are successful at their jobs. Do they need to know the product roadmap, message, positioning, personas, competitors, marketing campaigns, how to manage prospects/customers, do a first call, do a demo, work with services or partners, create a quote, negotiate with prospects, draft a legal contract, ensure compliance…etc? If yes, then there should be a session for it. If some personas overlap on their needs, those are your joint sessions. If there are unique needs, those are separate sessions.

Understand the needs each leader has as they will be different from your CEO to your CFO, CRO, CMO (personas), etc...and mental map what value you can bring through your playbooks, framework and content (customery journey). You are bascially running your own integrated marketing campaign and you are the product. Launch yourself with the right data and strategy that you would want for a successful product launch. Build relationships and find your champion in each of their orgs. I talk more about managing different stakeholders here. When you present your ideas, make sure you aren't going in cold and that it isn't your first time presenting it. You should have practiced it at least 3 times, already presented it to your champions for feedback, iterated on it and label it draft. By the time you get to your leaders they should've already heard about it from someone else. I talk more about consenus building here. When you see one of your leaders and are chatting with them in the office, on zoom or elsewhere -- use this opportunity to present your ideas as questions and get feedback and their thoughts. This will help shape your ideas and keep you aligned with them. Don't let those micro interactions go to waste, they are very valuable! Be prepared with a list of questions you want to ask them and chat away. 

1. Positioning 2. Messaging 3. Personas / Competitors Always focus on the top 2 first, as this will impact how everyone talks and writes about your company – which ultimately brings in users and wallet share. Good templates for positioning and messaging are here. And these are different, PMMs control positioning through our messaing. Positioning creates an image of our product in the mind of customers. Messaging uses words that help customer understand our value, brand promise and desire for our product. Then dive deep into your personas and competitors -- use this data to iterate on your positioning and messaging. Sometimes if you are a first mover, you may not have many competitors yet, then look at Personas 3rd. Or, if you are in a crowded space, knowing the competitors become more important, that’s why I put these both as #3. Depends on what you are walking into. Also, you need a base level understanding of these both in order to do your initial positioning and messaging. Beyond these top 3, knowing your ICP, TAM, SAM is important too and impacts all of the above. Each step here creates more iteration of your top 2.

Research and get smart on your positioning, message, personas, competitors, customer journey, ICP (ideal customer profile), market sizing with TAM (total addressable market), SAM (serviceable available market), SOM (serviceable obtainable market). Know your customers, the pain point you are solving and have an opinion backed by the data you’ve researched. My PMM 100 day plan here has a comprehensive list of areas you should be researching. Get alliance with the Product and Marketing org first. You are a Product Marketer – in your title you are equal parts both, regardless of which group you officially map into. Other orgs to eventually build alliances with are Leadership, Sales, Services, Ops, Biz Dev, Eng, Finance, HR and Legal. You are such a cross-functional person, you ideally need a stakeholder in every department to ensure your cross-functional efforts and projects are smooth.