Christiana Rattazzi

AMA: Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product Marketing, Christiana Rattazzi on Developing Your Product Marketing Career

November 2 @ 10:00AM PST
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Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product Marketing, Christiana Rattazzi on Developing Your Product Marketing Career
Top Questions
Christiana Rattazzi
Christiana Rattazzi
Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product MarketingNovember 3
A Lead should be able to drive a strategic, cross-functional effort and solve issues without any defined structure. Some things I might look for: * Messaging - can independently define product (and cross-product) positioning and secure the right buy-in from cross-functional stakeholders to ......Read More
1412 Views
11 requests
Christiana Rattazzi
Christiana Rattazzi
Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product MarketingNovember 3
First of all - I don't think you HAVE to become a VP of Marketing from Head of PMM. You can choose to take on bigger PMM roles at bigger companies.  That said, I've made the move to be a VP of Marketing at an earlier-stage company. I personally believe that PMM leaders make great VPMs for certai......Read More
872 Views
5 requests
Christiana Rattazzi
Christiana Rattazzi
Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product MarketingNovember 3
I touch on this a little in another question. That said, a Manager should have a solid grasp of major PMM skills alongside leadership abilities. Some attributes I look for are: * Evangelism - whether promoting core value proposition or the work of the PMM team, this person should be skilled ......Read More
572 Views
8 requests
Christiana Rattazzi
Christiana Rattazzi
Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product MarketingNovember 3
Every executive team is different, so I would encourage you to think through the culture (and sometimes - quirks!) of the members of that team as you craft your own approach. That said, I've found a couple things particularly effective in my experience.  * Bring along key lieutenants for the ri......Read More
1264 Views
8 requests
Christiana Rattazzi
Christiana Rattazzi
Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product MarketingNovember 3
Totally agree with this comment. The response varies a little based on the stage of the business and GTM motion (e.g. self-serve vs sales-lead). That said, I think the top areas would be (in no particular order)  1. Messaging and positioning  2. New product introduction (launches)  3. A core ......Read More
983 Views
7 requests
If your product marketing team is only or two people responsible for covering multiple products with complex features, how would you recommend dividing the workload in the short-term so as best to support long-term growth and expansion of the team?
(context: small company, still establishing product marketing function, no senior marketing leader to guide, lots of room to carve own path, looking for best ways to support success!)
Christiana Rattazzi
Christiana Rattazzi
Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product MarketingNovember 3
I think there are a couple ways I'd think about it - and it would depend on what the PM organization looks like and the individual skills of the folks on the PMM team (if already in-seat).  Approach 1 - Make one of the PMMs Product-facing (handling predominantly new product/feature introductions......Read More
536 Views
3 requests
Christiana Rattazzi
Christiana Rattazzi
Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product MarketingNovember 3
Ah, that's tough. When you're competing with an internal candidate, you're up against someone who has considerable product, market and organizational intel. They won't take a long time to ramp, and they have minimal cultural risk too.  So - to counteract this, you have to come prepared - and I'm......Read More
1048 Views
7 requests
How do you perform extensive competitive product research?
I've been tasked with it but I'm missing the mark. This research is for the CEO and Product/Engineering teams who want to know how our tech stacks up in the market. Do you have any tips?
Christiana Rattazzi
Christiana Rattazzi
Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product MarketingNovember 3
The best competitive research I've seen goes beyond the competitor's website, press releases and YouTube videos. They might include competitor customer interviews and tailored sales demos. I've personally worked with great small businesses and consultants who are experts in doing this analysis an......Read More
980 Views
6 requests
Christiana Rattazzi
Christiana Rattazzi
Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product MarketingNovember 3
The best IC PMMs I've seen do two things amazingly well:  1. They are masters of positioning - keeping it concise, relevant and void of fluff. They get to the heart of why it matters for that audience.  2. They cross the finish line - reliably delivering their projects on-time and with high-qua......Read More
1444 Views
6 requests
Christiana Rattazzi
Christiana Rattazzi
Okta VP, Industries & Platform Product MarketingNovember 3
I love this question, as I've spent time across these related organizations in my career (Product Marketing, Solutions Marketing and Industry Marketing).  Typically, Industry and Solutions Marketing consider the audience and business outcomes related to the combination of multiple products (and ......Read More
1102 Views
9 requests