AMA: Snowflake Platform Product Marketing Lead, Claire Peracchio on Market Research

I’d say luckily for us there isn't just one definitive top use case for generative AI in product marketing!  There are of course some high-impact use cases today, both allowing you to do brand new things and to do core PMM tasks much faster and with less effort: Research synthesis: One of the most valuable applications I've found is using AI to analyze and synthesize large volumes of market research, customer feedback, and interview transcripts to identify patterns and insights. Accelerating mes ...Read More

Since we're focusing on market research in this AMA, here are the three skills related to that topic that I believe will be most valuable for PMMs right now: 1. Strategic Collaboration with AI The ability to leverage AI as both an analytical tool and a strategic thought partner is becoming essential. This goes beyond using AI to process data — it's about engaging with AI to challenge assumptions, explore alternative research approaches, and identify insights you might miss.  2. Critical Thinking ...Read More

This is a great question! As PMMs, we're uniquely positioned to drive pricing conversations because we understand both market realities and how customers get value from our products. At Zendesk, for example, I worked on developing a pricing strategy that represented the company’s first foray into pricing generative AI products for customer service. And for the sake of this answer, I’m going to focus on what was more broadly applicable about my experience. PMM's Role in Pricing I've found PMMs ca ...Read More

As someone who's worked at startups and on leaner teams, I've had to find creative ways to scale market research with limited resources. The reality is that solo PMMs need to be extremely strategic about where they invest their time. First, focus on the highest-impact research. Prioritize ruthlessly: Identify the 2-3 most critical questions that will directly impact your GTM decisions, rather than trying to answer everything Invest in direct customer conversations: Even just 5-7 targeted convers ...Read More

I’d actually advocate for branching out beyond PMM and Marketing to get exposure to different functions and projects as much as possible. I think the strongest leaders develop depth in PMM or Marketing while strategically expanding their exposure across adjacent functions. Product Marketing is inherently cross-functional, which gives PMMs a natural advantage in developing as a leader. The most successful leaders I've worked with didn't just climb a PMM or Marketing ladder in isolation — they del ...Read More

Good market research doesn't just inform your go-to-market strategy — it validates hypotheses and reveals the gaps between what you think customers want and what they actually value. It's the difference between launching a product that sounds good internally and one that solves real customer problems. In my experience, research has been a compass that's redirected our course, sometimes dramatically. Here are some different examples of ways research can shape GTM: Messaging refinement: Competitiv ...Read More