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Adam Kerin

AMA: Truework VP of Product Marketing, Adam Kerin on Establishing Product Marketing

January 18 @ 10:00AM PST
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Truework VP of Product Marketing, Adam Kerin on Establishing Product Marketing
Top Questions
How do you prepare yourself to become a Product Marketing Director and manage a team, without any experience managing anyone previously?
I'm on my 5th year of product marketing in my career, with another 5 years before that in general demand gen at very small companies. I've had management experience in the past, but not in a Product Marketing role. Often times in smaller companies, there will be 1 or 2 PMMs, usually in a very flat hierarchy, or a single boss, with no room to really move up a proverbial ladder and into management experience. So what are ways that I can prepare myself now, so that if the time comes to apply for a Director position (either internally or at another company) that I can be considered even without recent people management experience? Are there any courses for this that are highly regarded in the management arena?
Adam Kerin
Adam Kerin
Truework SVP of MarketingJanuary 18
As an individual contributor today, you can demonstrate your ability to manage projects and influence and lead people who do not directly report to you. This could be collaborating and convincing the product team of a new feature to win a new segment, or in effectively managing the many pieces an......Read More
368 Views
2 requests
When thinking about adding new talent to your team, how do you structure focus areas like Customer lifecycle stage, Persona, Areas of the product and Functional expertise?
We only have one product at HoneyBook but PMM does a lot of different things, ie, lifecycle marketing, research, competitive, feature launches, etc.
Adam Kerin
Adam Kerin
Truework SVP of MarketingJanuary 18
Perhaps similar to HoneyBook, Truework has one core platform, but the fit within different industry verticals is completely different. Different features are the key selling points, there are different buying personas, and a different sales pitch all means we want different PMMs focused on these ......Read More
408 Views
1 request
What's the earliest stage a startup should consider hiring a Product Marketing Manager?
I'm curious if you've observed the impact of adding a PMM to smaller organizations or if you think they're most impactful in larger organizations?
Adam Kerin
Adam Kerin
Truework SVP of MarketingJanuary 18
The two startups I joined as the first PMM were ~100 employees and both were for technical software products. In this space, my perspective is the founding and technical teams should be maniacally focused on building for a target customer or segment. Once they’ve established those early adopters......Read More
545 Views
1 request
Adam Kerin
Adam Kerin
Truework SVP of MarketingJanuary 18
Perhaps surprisingly, I believe the core deliverables and thinking of a PMM are easiest to improve. These are strategy frameworks, effective messaging and positioning, etc. You’ll learn most by doing, and get better with time, especially with retros to look back on previous launches and strategie......Read More
524 Views
3 requests
Adam Kerin
Adam Kerin
Truework SVP of MarketingJanuary 18
I’ve been the first PMM at two startups now. It's been pleasantly surprising how impactful some of the basic PMM tools are when applied for the first time, and how quickly you can see their impact. Things as foundational as customer interviews, launch trackers, and announcement tiers have an ove......Read More
447 Views
1 request
Adam Kerin
Adam Kerin
Truework SVP of MarketingJanuary 18
While a large company will have a dedicated individual or even team to a particular function, like competitive analysis or social media, at a startup you may be the one-stop-shop for all things marketing. At Truework for example, we’re building the entire marketing org from scratch. I jokingly s......Read More
363 Views
2 requests
Adam Kerin
Adam Kerin
Truework SVP of MarketingJanuary 18
I’ll caveat this answer largely depends on your company’s goals, existing team structure, and culture. One should never parachute into a new company with a rigid 30/60/90 plan or assume the recipe for success in your last role will apply here. First month = Big picture Learn both your people an......Read More
879 Views
1 request
Adam Kerin
Adam Kerin
Truework SVP of MarketingJanuary 17
I expect that this small and less experienced team is also more reactionary and tactical rather than proactive and strategic. That’s OK to a degree when in fire-fighting and startup mode, but product marketing can help improve this with your overall launch and GTM process. Start by aligning with......Read More
417 Views
2 requests