Lauren Hakim

AMA: Zendesk Group Product Marketing Manager, Lauren Hakim on Stakeholder Management

January 19 @ 10:00AM PST
View AMA Answers
Zendesk Group Product Marketing Manager, Lauren Hakim on Stakeholder Management
Top Questions
Lauren Hakim
Lauren Hakim
Zendesk Group Product Marketing ManagerJanuary 19
This can certainly vary depending on the company! Here are some examples of areas that would be owned by different product marketing levels based on my experience: Messaging & Positioning * PMM: Crafts messaging and positioning at capability/feature level with some coaching * Sr. PMM: Dr......Read More
8452 Views
1 request
How do you communicate product marketing achievements upwards and build visibility?
It can sometimes be a struggle for those on the executive team, or in higher leadership roles, to see the value that product marketing is bringing to the business - especially if they do not have regular interaction. How do you build visibility for you and/or your team, and clearly communicate the achievements and activities throughout the year?
Lauren Hakim
Lauren Hakim
Zendesk Group Product Marketing ManagerJanuary 19
Great question. At Zendesk, we do a lot of monthly/quarterly syncs with product leadership, sales leadership, marketing leadership, etc to discuss top programs and communicate achievements. Quarterly business reviews are another great way to share top wins and learnings. We also leverage suppleme......Read More
1616 Views
1 request
Knowing that people in different functions and different levels of leadership often need different approaches to storytelling in decks, docs, and shareouts for key strategic projects, do you have any tricks for thinking through whether it's worth the work to "reskin" docs and decks for these diverse stakeholders?
I suppose with executive level comms, it's more obvious, but how do you manage work that's in-flight that requires as many as 5 PMs, in addition to analysts, designers, marketers, and more? How do you keep people "in the loop" at the right level of fidelity without opening up a can of worms and adding complexity? A DACI model is great, but has its limits.
Lauren Hakim
Lauren Hakim
Zendesk Group Product Marketing ManagerJanuary 19
Part of our jobs as PMMs is to drive alignment across teams of diverse stakeholders, all of which speak different languages, care about different things, and want to be approached in a specific way. When it comes to key strategic projects, I believe that tailoring your approach to meet the needs ......Read More
1352 Views
1 request
Lauren Hakim
Lauren Hakim
Zendesk Group Product Marketing ManagerJanuary 19
PMM sits at the intersection of these various stakeholder teams and keeps them aligned. No matter how big or small your company is, you likely have similar stakeholders that you need to manage and communicate with. To be effective, product marketing needs to have a voice across the company. I’......Read More
1511 Views
1 request
Lauren Hakim
Lauren Hakim
Zendesk Group Product Marketing ManagerJanuary 19
Product launches take a village to execute successfully! Start by defining your launch goals and plan. This will make it easier to identify your stakeholders, which can include individuals or groups that will be involved in the launch execution and/or impacted by the outcome of the launch. At ......Read More
1436 Views
1 request
Lauren Hakim
Lauren Hakim
Zendesk Group Product Marketing ManagerJanuary 19
Product marketers have to work and communicate with a wide variety of stakeholders to push ideas and initiatives forward. Influence is critical for PMMs to be effective, and that comes with building trust. Invest time in understanding your stakeholders’ needs and pain points to help you determ......Read More
1566 Views
1 request
Lauren Hakim
Lauren Hakim
Zendesk Group Product Marketing ManagerJanuary 19
Great question! With a bit of extra effort, there are many things that can be done to forge relationships that build trust in a virtual environment. To do this successfully, invest time in getting to know your stakeholders and identify opportunities where you can add value and share your knowledg......Read More
876 Views
1 request