AMA: Spotify Head of Product Marketing, Fan Monetization, Alex Wagner Lavian on Consumer Product Marketing

Across PMM there is a shared core set of skills and competencies. The fundamentals are very much the same — it's about knowing the customer, finding the defining insight, and transforming that into product strategies and go-to-market plans. While the fundamentals are very transferable, execution can look quite different. For example, you’ll work more closely with product and research teams vs sales, the channels and strategies to reach your customers will be more digital and span the entire funn ...Read More

As a first PMM hire it's important to prioritize needs and deliverables based on the overall goals and objectives of the company. Do “discovery” similar to how you would approach a product launch – get up to speed on the business, the competitive landscape, the customer, and the product. This will help you understand the biggest opportunity areas and align your efforts with the company’s goals to maximize impact. In addition to listening & learning from your stakeholders its also important t ...Read More

PMMs are storytellers so just as you would approach a marketing narrative, tell your personal story in a crisp and compelling way. Prior to the interview, reflect on a few projects you want to highlight that showcase the breadth of PMM competencies and be prepared to weave those stories into your answers. Some examples include: a complex go-to-market strategy you drove, a time you influenced the product roadmap, a challenging customer problem you solved. In addition to preparing your story it's ...Read More

I can relate to this one, I actually started off my career in PMM at a B2B company. This experience was invaluable and where I learned the core competencies of PMM – the importance of product positioning, messaging, influencing the product roadmap, and being an advocate for the customer. Just being on a PMM team taught me so much about the function and how to deliver impact to both the business and the customer. A few tips that helped me transition over to B2C: 1) Build expertise in skills that ...Read More

As I mentioned above there are so many applicable skills across B2B and B2C — just learning the PMM craft is key regardless of the company/audience. There are several applicable qualities that a B2B marketer can bring to consumer PMM including the following: messaging & positioning, relationship building & XFN influence, data-driven decision making, and market/competitive research.  While B2B PMMs often have direct access to customers via sales PMMs in consumer roles are required to play ...Read More