What is Product Marketing?

There’s two main drivers I think about with respect to org structure. Important caveat on the below being I primarily have worked at smaller organizations where org structures across the company are often highly nimble. How established the function is - When the PMM function is new, oftentimes you might be the only Product Marketer or have just one report. In that scenario I think it’s important to keep yourself and your report as generalists and prioritize the most important projects across the ...Read More

This is a question I get a LOT. Everyone wants to know whats the idea PMM team structure. The short answer is there isn't one. Firstly, the role of a PMM looks different in every company. Secondly, the role of a PMM is not static. The role should evolve based on business priorities. So while you may structure the team a particular way today, know that you might need to change that structure a year from now if your priorities shift, especially at a start-up where things change quickly. Here are a ...Read More

I go back to ensuring that the team structure is aligned to business objectives and associated KPIs. My company does have aggressive sales, customer satisfaction, and product adoption metrics (spans across the board) so I like to structure the team accordingly.  I'll use a buyer journey framework to illustrate my ideal state team structure given these objectives (moving from top to bottom of funnel): Content Marketer: Focuses on creating top of funnel assets to drive demand & support categor ...Read More

Organization structures for the PMM team vary depending on your companies’ stage, customer base, and product suite. There are 4 basic approaches for designing PMM teams: 1) functional (i.e. sales enablement, monetization, GTM, product strategy), 2) product lines (i.e. subscriptions, retail), 3) customer segments (i.e. enterprise, small business, consumer), or 4) Lifecycle (i.e. acquisition, engagement, retention.) When determining a new PMM team org structure, I think about these 3 questions: 1) ...Read More

Our product marketing org strucuture is made up of 6 groups. Most of our groups are aligned directly to product, and how product strucutres their org. So each product group that is focused on building customer facing product - has a PMM group aligned to it. We refer to these PMMs as "full stack" PMMs partnering closely with product in defining roadmap and scope and GTM teams in bringing new products and features to market.  We also have a group focused on enablement - supporting our customer fac ...Read More

Great question and one that comes up all the time! The structure of the PMM team can vary depending on the size of the organization, the nature of the product, and other factors. I lead the Service Cloud PMM team, the largest cloud for Salesforce. So, it is a mature product with a billion+ annual revenue. So, my team is structured by the product portfolio, and I have one team that leads the strategic PMM initiatives like AR, PR, Launches, Website, etc. Each PMM on my team needs to be the product ...Read More

The PMM org structure is highly variable based on the company – and also shifts and changes through a company’s lifecycle to best meet company needs. There are four primary structuresProduct lines (i.e. Software, service, etc)Customer segments (i.e., small business, mid-market, enterprise, accountant),Functional (i.e. insights, product strategy, GTM, monetization, sales enablement) - Not my favorite as I think PMMs do their best work when they are deep on the customer problem and product solutio ...Read More

Product Marketing org structure varies depending on the size, stage of growth, and nature of your product (i.e multiple product, persona, ICP). Ultimately you want to make sure you have enough coverage and the right skillset to cover the key pillars of Product Marketing (product launches, pipe gen, sales enablement, competitive intel, pricing and packaging). Here's a model that I've seen work really well: 1. Core PMMs - These are product marketing managers who align very closely with Product Man ...Read More

30 days: Prioritize understanding your customers, your product, and your company: Shadow customer calls (or listen to recordings if they exist). Get to know your cross-functional partners - schedule time with people from product, sales, marketing, engineering, design, etc. This will help you understand areas of opportunity as you establish relationships internally.  Learn about your product - get access to a sandbox account, read the documentation, read case studies, etc. Educate your company on ...Read More

I’ve come in as the first PMM at several companies. My experience has been different every time, and I’ve learned a few hard lessons on rushing in too quickly. A large chunk of the first 90 days centers around education and getting quick wins. 30 days: Understand Figure out who does what. If you’re the first PMM, then someone else is probably doing some work that PMM would normally do. See how the team is structured, where they need help, and where you may be taking over someone else’s role Talk ...Read More

your 30-60-90 day plan will really depend on where the company is focused for the next 12 months and where they really need the most help. But in general, you want to look at a few key areas: - Build strong cross-functional relationships - Build a PMM charter, establish your function and roles and responsibilities, and if you have been asked to build a team, figure our your org design - Establish key processes before you bring anyone on board. This can include things like product launches, inter ...Read More

Here's how I typically tackle the first 30-60-90 days for establishing PMM:First 30 - Listening tours + product/data downloadsShadow sales demos, listen to customer calls on Chorus or Gong, watch Fullstory sessions and marinate in any and all of the data you can findGet your hands on the product, get so comfortable with it you can give a demoStart market research, understand your TAM (total addressable market) and personasFirst 60 - Assess, Align and EstablishAssess orgs needs + company goals an ...Read More

Setting up a Product Marketing function for the first time in an organization requires careful planning and strategic execution. Here's a general outline of a 30-60-90 day plan to help you establish a Product Marketing function effectively:First 30 Days: Understanding and PlanningUnderstand the Business:Dive into the company's products, services, and overall business strategy.Meet with key stakeholders, including product managers, sales, and leadership, to gain insights into the company's goals ...Read More

The easiest way to break into product marketing is within your current company. Don't try to break into product marketing at a new company — it will be an uphill battle. You have a few pros trying to break into PMM at the current company: You already know the product, target market, and the business. Here's what you can do: Start having coffee chats with your PMM team. PMM at every company is very different, so understand their role and responsibilities more. See if you can do a joint project wi ...Read More

I think the best way to do this is to try and get PMM experience and exposure at your current company. I've seen really successful content marketers and solutions engineers and sellers pivot into PMM and you have an advantage because you already understand your target market, business model, and the product. Here's what I'd recommend Familiarize yourself with general PMM concepts & frameworks through Sharebird, PMA etc. Take a course so you can start speaking the same language as your PMM te ...Read More

You have to start with understanding your audience and your product. For the audience – understand their key business issues and pain points and for the product, understand the differentiators / value drivers so you can craft a message that connects your product as a solution for your audience’s pain. It’s also incredibly important to have a high-level understanding of the competition and their messaging so you can differentiate there as well. As you become more familiar with the industry and yo ...Read More

There are 3 core areas that I ensure I have a solid understanding of before I create new messaging and positioning: Target buyer(s) & their pain points: Get a clear understanding of who my target buyer is (budget, motivation to buy, purchase blockers) and what their pain points are (as it relates to the problem space your target buyer is looking to solve) Product knowledge: What features and functionality are we delivering and how does that translate into a unique value proposition and set o ...Read More

I'd sum up my process as: JTBD > target audience > buyer journey > market, competitive, VoC > insight > internal positioning > external messaging > GTM strategy  Expanding on the above, here's how I've approached building out messaging for an entirely new product line & audience:  Start by seeking to understand the relevant jobs to be done in your space & align on the whitespace you can uniquely solve for  Hypothesize and validate the target audience you want to go a ...Read More

Create a Leadership Team: - Typically composed of the PMM who will lead the launch, define messaging and positioning and rally the org plus the product manager who owns the product and then key stakeholders from PR, Analyst Relations, and GTM / Sales Readiness. Set a timeline: Build a detailed timeline with key launch milestones such as when the product will be ready, executive reviews, the deadline for creative requests, and content creation timelines. Getting clarity on dependencies and the ti ...Read More

One of the most important steps is to get organizational alignment and buy-in that you need a launch discipline. Some early-stage organizations may prioritize agility and move quickly without formal processes. It's crucial to ensure everyone recognizes the value of having a structured approach. Once alignment is in place, keep the launch discipline simple and adaptable to your organization's culture. Begin with a straightforward framework and build upon it gradually to add complexity as needed. ...Read More

Customer insights are the bedrock of any product marketing function. There are 4 key steps when planning research: 1) knowing your objectives, 2) establishing your hypotheses, 3) discerning which methodology will deliver the right inputs to drive your decisions, and 4) articulating the 'so what'.  1) Establish your top 2 learning objectives for the exercise. It may be helpful to gather input from key stakeholders on how this study may inform their function. For example, you may be looking to det ...Read More

Just like in marketing, sales enablement is all about knowing your audience. At the top level, that means understanding what motivates them (i.e. closing more deals, expanding existing customer base, etc.), and tailoring your enablement to help them understand how a new product/feature will help them achieve those goals. To refine this, I like to bring sales stakeholders into the enablement creation process so they can advocate for their team's needs. The side benefit of this is that it gives yo ...Read More

One of the biggest pitfalls I see in product launches in underestimating enablement. Don't skimp on this, you want to make sure your customer facing teams are armed with right tools to take your product launch to the next level. A solid enablement plan will stem off these 4 questions:   1. WHO is the internal audience? (SDR, AE, SE, CSM, Segment)  2. What do they need to KNOW? (Timelines, expectations, goals, FAQs, etc.)   3. What do they need to SAY? (Messaging, discovery questions, business va ...Read More

First, the sales team needs to know what is launching and when so they can make appropriate plans to incorporate it in their sales conversations. To facilitate these conversations, the choice of tools and practices should be tailored to the product's complexity, the sales cycle, and the team structure.Clear Early Communication: Ensure the sales team knows what is launching and when, enabling them to plan their sales conversations accordingly. Training: Provide in-depth training on the product, i ...Read More

Don't do what hasn't worked in the past. Do a quick audit/ survey with teams and understand what are the most-utilized and successful assets available and training formats so you can automatically have the trust of the team.  Experiment with resources that you know your prospect will find value in, not just your sales team. e.g. "We need one-pagers". No one looks at PDFs anymore. Can you create a landing page that tells a story that they can tell, or a quick video that gets decision-maker buy-in ...Read More

I explain it across 4 core responsibilities:  Experts on our customers, products, and markets We find the right insights and turn them into strategy, and make the insights easily consumable for the rest of the org Marketing owners for product We partner with product teams to make our products successful — driving awareness, acquisition, adoption and expansion for our product lines Integrators We sit at the intersection of most teams, working with each of them to break down silos and get to bette ...Read More

Simply, we combine market, customer, and competitive insights with product innovation to deliver a unified narrative and winning GTM strategy for the company. This means focusing on four core areas: Product: Drive market success of the product and solutions portfolio by ensuring strong product-market fit, compelling messaging, differentiated positioning, and strategic pricing & packaging Demand: Drive demand by supporting strategic marketing plans that cement industry authority, build brand ...Read More

We have different types of product marketing teams: Core product marketing - responsibile for working closely with engineering on influencing the product roadmap and developing the value proposition with associated assets to drive awarness, consideration and adoption of our solutions GTM - responsible for training our field and partners to ensure they understand the value proposition and can clearly articulate it to drive consideration and adoption of our solutions  Events - responsible for all ...Read More

I've seen that marketing teams are generally structured in this way - Corporate Marketing - includes comms (press, analyst relations, internal comms, customer marketing), content marketing (defining a content strategy for each stage of the funnel, social media, blogs), brand (out of home ads, logos/colors, video production etc). This team is generally responsible for getting your company's name out there, make sure everyone knows who you are and what you do. Some of the relevant KPIs for this te ...Read More

One quibble with this question: I’d start with the assumption that product marketing is a part of the marketing team because product marketers are more marketers than product professionals. PMMs should work closely with the rest of the marketing team to ensure alignment across all outbound marketing.I think the core responsibilities of product marketing are the following:GTM management. Lead the launch of new products and features.Sales enablement. Train your sales teams to be experts in selling ...Read More

Everyone’s definition of soft and hard skills differs, but here are the nine skills that I think are the most important for a product marketer to have. I've used these skills as a compass to help me grow in my own career and have turned them into a success guide for my team at Envoy to use: Soft skills: Cross-functional excellence: As a PMM, you have the opportunity to lead without being a manager of people. A strong product marketer is someone who takes others along with them, rather than telli ...Read More

The number one skill is influencing without authority. More specifically, influencing authority in a matrixed organization. By design, product marketing sits at the intersection of a multitude of functions, each with their individual KPIs. Your job is to balance the needs of your various stakeholders to drive revenue and adoption for your product(s). If your company has one product, then this task may be fairly straight forward. If your company has multiple products or multiple portfolios, then ...Read More

Hard skills may vary by company, but I think there are two that are critical: Insights. Know the difference between an anecdote and an insight. This is especially critical when you work on a service at scale. Your best (and sometimes most challenging) users tend to be the loudest, so make sure that you're helping the team hear from a diverse array of customer voices. I find that one of the most important parts of any study is the recruit/target audience. Spend time getting the team aligned on wh ...Read More

Strong PMMs are good writers, know their product inside and out, experts of the competitive landscape, messaging geniuses and storytellers, BFFs with the sales team, GTM architects and excellent project managers. I like to think about a good PMM as a: A psychologist who can develop a deep understanding of the fears, aspirations, hopes, and dreams of buyers and target personas. An explorer seeking to learn more, discover more, and do more; bringing curiosity and some risk taking to product messag ...Read More

PMMs are (and need to be) masters at many things but if I had to pick the most important: (Soft) Cross-functional Collaboration: PMM is a highly cross-functional role. On any given project, you’ll work with Product, Design, Engineering, Research, Marketing Channel Experts, Operations, Legal… and the list goes on. A product campaign can’t get done without many partnerships. So you have to be great at working across different teams and getting them to share in your goals.   (Hard) Data Driven: Pro ...Read More

Messaging and storytelling: this continues to be the hallmark of a great PMM. In particular, really leaning in on differentiation and value to the customer (not speeds and feeds) while also simplifying concepts down in a memorable way that makes it easy for sales to land, marketing to build copy and content, and ultimately, the customer to understand. I sometimes joke that PMMs like ALL the words...but we don't need to use them ALL the time. Being able to really tell a compelling story that conn ...Read More

I talked about soft skills in another question, so let's laser focus on the hard skills needed to succeed in PMM here. Here are 3 hard skills you can focus on right now:   1. Data-Driven Decision Making: I actually teach a dedicated course on this topic at Loyola Chicago because I believe in it so much! Data helps with identifying and speaking to your target audience, defining the value of your product and ROI, market sizing, predicting buyer behavior, validating success in the market, and so mu ...Read More

If I had to pick just one then it is (customer) empathy. PMM becomes strategic and business-critical when we harness this soft skill to generate breakthrough insights (hard skill) that helps the company not chase the taillights of competition but leapfrog them. For example, winning strategic narratives (in B2B SaaS especially) first attack the old game—your audience’s orthodox, status quo approach to winning—by credibly showing how it’s now unwinnable. Then they name the new game that winners ar ...Read More

Product Marketing is about product and sales success so your OKRs should align with company, CMO and product OKRs. However, I think these 3 serve as a good  "PMM OKR template" 1. Build a POV and become the hub of market intelligence: Think of this as all PMM programs: Competitive intel, Voice of Customer, Analyst Relations,  2. Bridge the gap between product and sales: Product launches, sales enablement, technical and release marketing, Roadmaps, CABs 3. Win in your core market: Your ranking, Cu ...Read More

In general, product marketing OKRs can become quite vague and hard to measure. However, the product marketing OKRs I’ve seen that are easier to measure are:1) Successful and ontime product launches. This means the product launch was able to happen on time with all cross functional teams trained up prior to the product launch so there were no surprises.2) Completed messaging maps/documents for a target segment or new feature. 3) Completed research around target customer segments and who to go aft ...Read More

Product Marketing OKRs are really important to keeping teams focused on driving the most impact for the company. At a Product Marketing OKR level, it often depends on what the company goals are for that particular time period. If the company is going after a new market or focusing on customer retention, that's going to influence what a PMM's KR will be. Second, I think it's importnt to set a KR that you have direct influence or impact on. Sometimes, PMMs at Lyft share KRs with PMs, but ideally, ...Read More

The short answer is 'it depends'.....let me explain... A product marketer, in my opinion, is like the CEO of a product. And just like a CEO, has to do whatever it takes to make the company (in this case product) successful. Hence, she/he should be measured on what is relevant for that specific year. PMM OKRs depend on your answer to questions such as - what is the stage of the product lifecycle? Do you own all of product marketing or a specific PMM function? What are the business goals and objec ...Read More

If you are looking for key Product Marketing metrics to determine success, here are some ideas: For a mature product: new users, adoption (usage), active users, daily active users, monthly active users, retention, net retention, pipeline, revenue, deal size, win rate, close rate, velocity For a very immature product: # of early customers, # of customer demos, # of trial signups, adoption (usage) For going after a new buyer: # of new relevant titles added to the database, # of wins in a new verti ...Read More

Good Product Marketing OKRs really depend on the business and what the company is trying to achieve. For example, if there's no unified launch process, you may set an objective to develop a launch program. Or another example: you're starting to lose deals to a specific competitor. You may kick off a competitive program to mitigate losses on competitive deals. It really depends on the business. For product launches: Did I reach my intended audience for this launch? How many people engaged with ou ...Read More

My favorite product marketing OKRs are the ones that clearly support the company's OKRs. And the second-best OKRs are ones that are shared with other departments because you can always do better, together, with other departments — when you work in PMM. Let's say that your company's OKRs are the following:- Increase self-serve, credit card growth.- Increase sales-led growth with large enterprise customers.Now, let's take one of those: "increase self-serve, credit card growth."Well, then your OKRs ...Read More

I'll preface this w/ saying my own POV of PMM is very much GTM-oriented. And so in developing the O's for my team, everything should track back to pipe & revenue. It's what pays the bills ;). Below are the 4 O's that I've put in place for my team. It's purposefully high level and general at my level, and as you cascade it down, the O's and KR's may be more specific depending on your team setup. Craft compelling narratives: this is the foundation, which includes messaging docs, positioning st ...Read More