AMA: Sauce Labs Group Manager, Product Marketing, Madison Springgate on Product Marketing KPI's

If you could only track three KPIs, here are the top three that I recommend as a product marketer 😊 1. Pipeline is foundational; it shows PMM's direct impact on revenue and business growth. To measure pipeline, we use Salesforce to track leads coming from campaigns, content, webinars, and events. This lets us see the exact dollar value our work contributes and proves the impact of messaging. 2. Product Adoption & Engagement: A successful launch isn’t just about the initial buzz - it’s about keeping customers engaged over time. I’ll work with the product team to set a target adoption rate, then monitor it during and after launch. If adoption falls off, I work with customer-facing teams to adjust messaging, or we use in-app guidance to improve onboarding. 3. Win rates indicate if our positioning is resonating and that sales is enabled to close deals in high-priority segments. To track win rates, I’ll analyze win/loss data by segment to spot trends, which helps us know where our messaging works well or needs updates. This feedback then informs adjustments for specific verticals or customer personas.

For product launches, I break down KPIs into three phases: * Awareness Phase: At this phase, I want to look at how our exciting launch communications are landing with the market! So I like to specially assess engagement across TOFU assets like press releases, social posts, and blog posts. This phase is about building buzz and visibility for the launch. * Demand Gen Phase: As awareness builds, I'll then focus on lead gen - tracking sign-ups for webinars, demo requests, and content downloads. Our Hot Sauce Releases webinars have been a great tool for capturing leads and building interest in new features. Feel free to reach out - and Ill share the link to the series! * Pipeline Generation Phase: Finally, I measure how much qualified pipeline we’ve generated and influenced through launch activities. I work with sales to review opportunities and track how new deals progress, focusing on those including the new product or feature. 

When pipeline is the main focus, I recommend these KPIs to capture both reach and conversion when running your campaign: * Marketing-Sourced Pipeline: This metric shows us the dollar value of the pipeline generated by campaigns that we support as PMMs. And this gives us a concrete measure of our impact from marketing efforts. * Campaign Engagement: Tracking clicks, open rates, and sign-ups shows how well we’re capturing interest. For example, we recently uncovered that customer stories in emails drove higher engagement, so we’re focusing more on that approach moving forward. * Conversion Rate: Tracking MQL to SQL conversions reveals how well our nurture strategy is working and helps us spot where we might need to optimize. This ultimately leads to more high-quality leads for sales to close.

Great question! I agree, when it comes to KPIs, we need to keep everyone on the same page from start to finish. Here’s how I like to approach it: * Pre-Kickoff: During campaign planning, I work closely with my partners in marketing to determine what our target account list and KPIs are for the launch. This is when we get aligned, and make sure that everyone understands the purpose behind each metric. * During Execution: Then as we work through the campaign, our team is great about sharing regular updates during weekly check-ins and through Salesforce dashboards. Not that we need more meetings 😉 but it is the best way that I have found to keep everyone informed and allows us to pivot when needed. * Post-Launch: After the launch, our team pulls together a report that reviews each KPI, highlights successes, and shares lessons learned. We’re also rolling out monthly metric review sessions to discuss where we saw success and areas for improvement across the funnel. 

To get a full view of our product marketing impact, I track metrics that touch every stage of the customer journey: * Pipeline: This is the big one—it’s the clearest measure of success. By working closely with marketing and sales, we track the revenue impact of our campaigns and product launches. Pipeline shows us the revenue potential we’re generating and is the most direct link between PMM work and company growth. * Product Adoption & Engagement: After launching a new feature or product, I watch closely to see if customers are not only using it but also finding real value. It is super important to track adoption rates and engagement, because this lets us know if our product is valuable to customers and if they are using it. * Win Rates: We need to know if our positioning is hitting the mark with our target audience. A higher win rate in key segments means our messaging is doing that. If win rates drop, it’s a clear sign we need to change how we are speaking to the value of our solution. * Content Engagement: Content like white papers, webinars, and product demos tells us how well we’re capturing interest. I track views, click-throughs, and feedback from both customers and sales teams to understand what’s working and where we can improve.