AMA: Zendesk Vice President, Product Marketing, AI and Automation, Candace Marshall on Stakeholder Management

As PMMs, we’re on the hook for successful product launches but often rely entirely on teams we don’t directly manage. Product needs to hit GA, Marketing needs to plug into product announcements into pipeline campaigns, Enablement needs time to train GTM....it can be a lot to coordinate! What’s worked for me is starting with a clear launch strategy and workback plan, then bringing all stakeholders together early through a kickoff meeting to align on timelines, owners, and priorities. From there, ...Read More

In my experience, the best cross-functional relationships are built on trust and that starts with clear communication and follow-through. When both sides can count on each other to show up, share context, and deliver, that’s when things start to click. I try to create structure around that through regular touch points. The strongest relationships I’ve had are the ones where we’re advocating for each other in rooms we’re not in. That level of trust doesn’t happen overnight, but when it does, it m ...Read More

Great question. Personally, I think feedback is a gift and I do love getting it - but timing and context are everything. The key is to bring stakeholders in early. If you wait until the final stretch, the pressure to deliver can close you off to input or lead to unproductive last-minute pivots. That said, not all feedback carries equal weight. I try to anchor decisions to the goals of the project and weigh input accordingly. For example, when working on messaging, I try to prioritize voice of th ...Read More

I’ve worked with globally dispersed PMM and Product teams, so I know firsthand how challenging it can be to build influence across time zones and cultures. It’s not easy when you have only 1-2 hours of live overlap each day. That said, I’ve found two key approaches help: Be flexible with time zones when you can. Prioritize live catch-ups for important discussions because real-time connection builds rapport and trust in a way async communication can’t fully replace. Understand each region’s uniqu ...Read More

Thank you for asking this - leveraging AI in our day-to-day work is becoming increasingly important. One of the simplest ways I use AI is for transcribing and taking notes during meetings - Zoom’s built-in transcription, for example, helps capture discussions in real time. This saves time by instantly summarizing key points, so you don’t have to synthesize notes manually afterward. I’ve also started experimenting with uploading meeting summaries and decisions into ChatGPT to help draft clear nex ...Read More