AMA: Quickbase VP of Product Marketing, Sarah Din on Product Marketing Skills
March 28 @ 10:00AM PST
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Quickbase VP of Product Marketing, Sarah Din on Product Marketing Skills
Top Questions
How important are brand marketing skills for product marketers compared to analytical skills?
There is often a huge emphasis on analytical skills, instead of brand marketing skills, when it comes to product marketing job descriptions.
Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
The role of product marketing looks different at every company so as such there is no hard and fast rule IMO. Overall, broader marketing experience is always helpful for product marketing because it gives you a better understanding of the channels and tactics used so you can support other marketi......Read More
352 Views
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What advice do you have for recent graduates that want to go straight into product marketing?
Typically, these roles require 3-5 years of experience and/or an MBA. Are there roles we should target instead that will help transition into product marketing? What qualities do you want to see in young professionals that want to land in product marketing?
Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
If you can do an internship during school, i highly recommend that - it gives you exposure to the role and will make for an easier transition - plus it helps build your network. Additionally, if you can do consulting work, there is always a need for that - that will also help you do the same. The......Read More
363 Views
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How do product marketers make sure they're learning enough varied skills to be a well-rounded professional when scope is an issue?
i.e. working at a large company with minimal scope, focusing on sales enablement but knowing you need experience on the product launch side, other marketing teams covering responsibilities, etc.
Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
This is sometimes harder to do at larger companies where the PMM team is organized to focus on very niche areas - but with any role, to be successful, find opportunities to participate in initiatives that are outside of your scope. Talk to your manager about your desire to learn and grow and it’s......Read More
335 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
If you think the interviewer isn’t asking you the right questions to dig into the softer skills, bring it up yourself. The way I would do it is by asking them the question of what soft skills, outside of XYZ, they care about for this hire. Or you can ask them what soft skills do some of their bes......Read More
322 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
Really depends on the need - if the role is looking for someone to jump in and get started immediately with some critical projects, chances are the hard skills are going to outweigh the soft skills, but every manager will think about this differently. I think you need a balance of both - hard ski......Read More
327 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
Depends on what this email is for but generally: Keep it short, and to the point. Make it interesting and fun - humor never fails. You want to frame the benefit for them - that is the most important thing to consider.
313 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
With any cross-functional relationship, you want to provide value. The biggest mistake PMMs make is not bringing value but asking for a seat at the table. You own the market insights, the voice of the customer, competitive intel, and other sources of information that can truly help inform the roa......Read More
297 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
Product marketing is an art and a science - while you want to make decisions based on data, you also have to use creativity to make bold moves. Decisions should be data-informed, with room to experiment and use instinct and knowledge of customers and the market to back up your assumptions.
320 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
Build great relationships across the org
Have a strong internal brand associated with something people look to you for (Ex, you are the goto person for X) - show value and expertise you bring
Strong communication, presentation and storytelling skills will take you really far
341 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
You want to understand your competitors but more than that, you need to understand the core value of your product and tie that to the customer value you provide. This does not always need to be your product capabilities - it can be your company’s vision, history, or people's expertise, or your co......Read More
448 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
While it's extremely important for PMMs to focus on the customer-facing aspect of their jobs, its equally as important to focus on the internal enablement and comms - half our job is to bring others in the company along and make sure they speak the same language and understand your product and di......Read More
338 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
I've always tapped into my network to find the best talent. It is also really helpful to be part of communities like Sharebird, where so much great talent lives!
355 Views
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What is your superpower product marketing skill in that is a differentiator?
I find that product marketing has become a position that doesn’t require much experience. You can be fairly seasoned and compete with someone that is just out of undergraduate because the discipline is not the same in tech as it might be in consumer goods or retail.
Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
The skill that matters most - no matter what level of experience or whether you are in b2b vs b2c is - storytelling! To be a great PMM you have to be good at telling stories.
416 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
A lot of companies still don't understand product marketing. I often see companies look for PMMs but also ask for them to be demand gen or content writers or brand marketers - and in some companies, if that's what is needed, that is what you do. But the companies that understand the value of good......Read More
570 Views
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Sarah Din
Quickbase VP of Product Marketing • March 29
Participate in solving bigger cross-company challenges across the org where your experience can make a difference - for example: pricing & packaging, helping understand churn, digging into win-loss, etc. The goal is to find areas of opportunity where something is broken or not performing and f......Read More
434 Views
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