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Virtual Event
Influencing the Product Roadmap

Influencing the Product Roadmap

Thursday, December 12th, 2024 • 12pm–1pm PT ·

Join over 200 product marketers to learn from leaders at the world’s fastest-growing companies on how to strategically influence and prioritize your product’s roadmap. In this interactive session, you’ll learn proven methods for aligning your product’s development with customer needs, business goals, and market trends. Walk away with actionable strategies you can implement immediately to make a meaningful impact on your product’s future.

Date: Thursday, December 12th
Location: Online (link will be sent to registrants prior to the event)
Cost: This event is free. However, there are limited seats, so be sure to register early!

Top Questions

  • How do you balance customer input from PMM with what PM is already gathering?

    Andrew Kaplan
    Andrew Kaplan

    LinkedIn Director of Product Marketing • 1y

    Customer feedback should be weighted most heavily since they're the ones giving you budgets at the end of the day. But it's important to talk to a variety of customer personas, especially in B2B where 7-20 different stakeholders can influence a purchase. Sales feedback is excellent for go-to-market insights and can identify burning customer issues that need immediate attention. However, sales teams may not always help you peer around corners to see where the industry is headed next or identify b ...Read More

    234 Views
    Charlene Wang
    Charlene Wang

    fmr Qualia, Coupa | Formerly Worldpay, Coupa Software, EMC/VMware, McKinsey • 1y

    The customer always comes first when weighing different inputs for the roadmap. They are the end users of your product, so their feedback is most important. However, other sources provide valuable perspectives too. Sales teams offer broader customer feedback from the field and insights on how to make messaging actionable. Analysts provide industry-wide perspective, competitor intel, and market trends that individual customers might not see. When weighing these inputs, I categorize them by their ...Read More

    238 Views
    Katie Levinson
    Katie Levinson

    MyFitnessPal VP Product Marketing | Formerly LinkedIn, Credit Karma, Handshake • 1y

    On the consumer side, we rely heavily on consumer research and product analytics since we don't have sales teams or industry analysts in the same way B2B companies do. We launch products iteratively and experimentally, breaking down the roadmap into small pieces and analyzing signals to understand what's working or not working. Customer support (which we call 'customer happiness' at MyFitnessPal) provides invaluable feedback since they're on the front lines hearing both pain points and positive ...Read More

    204 Views

  • What does a typical agenda look like for a meeting with product, product marketing, sales, etc.?

    Andrew Kaplan
    Andrew Kaplan

    LinkedIn Director of Product Marketing • 1y

    Our cross-functional meetings typically start by reviewing progress against agreed-upon KPIs and identifying areas that need attention. We begin by examining whether our product is tracking to plan in terms of revenue, adoption, or other core metrics. We identify where we're green (on track) and where we're red (behind). For red areas, we dig into root causes - is it a product issue requiring roadmap adjustments, a go-to-market challenge needing repositioning or messaging changes, or an enableme ...Read More

    324 Views

  • What are some of the best ways to demonstrate ROI for product roadmap feature recommendations?

    Charlene Wang
    Charlene Wang

    fmr Qualia, Coupa | Formerly Worldpay, Coupa Software, EMC/VMware, McKinsey • 1y

    When demonstrating ROI, it's important to distinguish between product features (primarily the product team's domain) and positioning/messaging (primarily PMM's domain). For PMM's direct contributions, I think about metrics in terms of leading and lagging indicators. Leading indicators measure the direct impact of messaging - is it being used consistently? Is it resonating with the audience? Lagging indicators are the business metrics that result from effective positioning - impact on revenue, pi ...Read More

    259 Views

  • How do you influence a roadmap that doesn't really exist at a small startup?

    Katie Levinson
    Katie Levinson

    MyFitnessPal VP Product Marketing | Formerly LinkedIn, Credit Karma, Handshake • 1y

    At smaller startups without robust roadmaps, focus on influencing the strategic pillars and experimental approach rather than specific feature plans. At MyFitnessPal, we don't have detailed roadmaps but instead work with goals and strategic pillars - like making meal tracking more seamless or helping people plan for success. We partner with our research team and conduct our own research to help prioritize initiatives within these pillars, breaking them down into smaller experimental pieces. Our ...Read More

    261 Views

  • Is starting a voice of the customer program helpful for product marketing, or is it too broad for roadmap feedback?

    Katie Levinson
    Katie Levinson

    MyFitnessPal VP Product Marketing | Formerly LinkedIn, Credit Karma, Handshake • 1y

    On the consumer side, formal voice of customer programs can become too homogeneous with the same super users providing feedback repeatedly. At MyFitnessPal, we're actually revamping our beta program because we found we were constantly getting feedback from tenured users who tend to give more positive feedback, rather than getting the honest and nitty-gritty feedback we need. Instead of a formal VOC program, we use a platform called User Testing that allows us to filter for specific demographics ...Read More

    251 Views

  • If PMs are already very close to the customer and sales teams, where else can PMMs add value?

    Charlene Wang
    Charlene Wang

    fmr Qualia, Coupa | Formerly Worldpay, Coupa Software, EMC/VMware, McKinsey • 1y

    PMMs and PMs look at the same problems from different angles, which creates unique value even when both are close to customers. While it's good to follow along with PMs during their customer research, PMMs bring a distinct perspective on the sales process and broader customer lifecycle. Where PMs focus on specific feature functionality to solve customer problems, PMMs examine how those solutions can be implemented in the field with sales reps, customer success, and support teams. PMMs should loo ...Read More

    256 Views
    Andrew Kaplan
    Andrew Kaplan

    LinkedIn Director of Product Marketing • 1y

    PMMs can add tremendous value through structured synthesis of market insights and providing objective feedback on product-market fit. At LinkedIn, we deliver a comprehensive market report to our product team every six months that synthesizes all the insights and research from the prior two quarters. This structured approach allows us to go deeper than a PM typically has time to do on their own. Perhaps most importantly, PMMs can provide the difficult but crucial feedback when products might be m ...Read More

    278 Views

  • What tactics or strategies do you use to gather customer feedback?

    Andrew Kaplan
    Andrew Kaplan

    LinkedIn Director of Product Marketing • 1y

    We use multiple approaches to gather comprehensive customer feedback. Betas are fantastic for testing prototypes and getting feedback on specific features. For more strategic insights, we conduct quarterly customer advisory boards with diverse customers based on size, budget, and needs. We also run 2-3 major custom research projects each quarter, working with research vendors on quantitative surveys or qualitative focus groups. These larger projects typically take 3-5 months to complete. For mor ...Read More

    221 Views
    Katie Levinson
    Katie Levinson

    MyFitnessPal VP Product Marketing | Formerly LinkedIn, Credit Karma, Handshake • 1y

    We use a Beta program to gather customer feedback, which is a group of members we can always go to when launching products, working through bugs, or getting general feedback. We also partner closely with our user research team for both long-term generative work and shorter-term product feedback. We set quarterly goals for how many customer conversations we have to ensure we're always keeping a pulse on our consumer base and competitive landscape. This combination of a formal beta program (manage ...Read More

    226 Views
    Charlene Wang
    Charlene Wang

    fmr Qualia, Coupa | Formerly Worldpay, Coupa Software, EMC/VMware, McKinsey • 1y

    I think about customer feedback in terms of both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. For quantitative feedback, we use product analytics to track adoption, content management platforms to measure messaging effectiveness, and customer experience metrics like NPS scores. On the qualitative side, we conduct betas, selective surveys, and advisory boards to get periodic in-depth feedback. I also recommend riding along with sales or product teams during their customer interactions, r ...Read More

    209 Views

  • How do you influence the roadmap for highly technical products?

    Katie Levinson
    Katie Levinson

    MyFitnessPal VP Product Marketing | Formerly LinkedIn, Credit Karma, Handshake • 1y

    When influencing technical roadmaps without deep technical expertise, focus on use cases rather than technical specifications. Start by establishing relationships with your engineering counterparts, just as you would with product managers. Instead of dictating technical solutions, frame conversations around the problems you're trying to solve and the end state you want to achieve. For example, when advocating for personalization capabilities in our CRM platform, I painted a picture of what our u ...Read More

    249 Views

  • How do you influence products managers with long tenure in the space they operate in?

    Andrew Kaplan
    Andrew Kaplan

    LinkedIn Director of Product Marketing • 1y

    Building trusting relationships is the foundation for influencing long-tenured PMs. This starts with creating regular touchpoints and collaborative environments. At LinkedIn, we conduct planning offsites with our product partners each half, bringing teams together in person even when we don't all work in the same office. Our PMMs join weekly core team meetings that include product, sales, and customer support to maintain constant dialogue. I recommend approaching product teams without an agenda ...Read More

    221 Views
    Charlene Wang
    Charlene Wang

    fmr Qualia, Coupa | Formerly Worldpay, Coupa Software, EMC/VMware, McKinsey • 1y

    Start by understanding their perspective - a long-tenured PM likely knows a lot about the product and has context you might not have. Try to understand why they're resistant to your input. Keep conversations objective rather than making it about 'you versus me.' Focus on the bigger picture of what you're collectively trying to achieve and how you can divide and conquer to get there. Bring empathy to these interactions. There are two possible scenarios: either they have valuable perspective you d ...Read More

    225 Views
    Katie Levinson
    Katie Levinson

    MyFitnessPal VP Product Marketing | Formerly LinkedIn, Credit Karma, Handshake • 1y

    The key to influencing long-tenured PMs is first investing in the relationship and building trust - no amount of insights will influence them without this foundation. When you're new to an organization or if product marketing is a new function, start by doing more listening than talking. Understand the PM's priorities, how they think about their roadmap, and their process for gathering insights. Once trust is established, educate them on how you can help make their job easier. Position yourself ...Read More

    225 Views

  • How do you influence the roadmap when everything requires an ROI?

    Charlene Wang
    Charlene Wang

    fmr Qualia, Coupa | Formerly Worldpay, Coupa Software, EMC/VMware, McKinsey • 1y

    When advocating for long-term initiatives, paint a picture of where the company will end up if you don't invest in these areas - the FOMO approach works well for future-focused initiatives. Forward-thinking companies should already have some longer-term thinking built into their strategic plans, with a percentage of resources dedicated to these initiatives. When proposing long-term strategic initiatives, be explicit about the bet you're making: clearly articulate what you expect to see and in wh ...Read More

    213 Views
    Andrew Kaplan
    Andrew Kaplan

    LinkedIn Director of Product Marketing • 1y

    The days of easy growth are over in many sectors due to higher capital costs and industry consolidation, which has actually made product managers more receptive to long-term strategic thinking. At LinkedIn, we address this by explicitly allocating our resources across different time horizons. We dedicate a percentage of our resources (around 20%) to immediate 'gap to plan' initiatives that help hit current fiscal goals. Another portion focuses on strategic bets that are 1-2 years out but core to ...Read More

    223 Views

  • How do you influence the roadmap for highly technical products?

    Katie Levinson
    Katie Levinson

    MyFitnessPal VP Product Marketing | Formerly LinkedIn, Credit Karma, Handshake • 1y

    When influencing technical roadmaps without deep technical expertise, focus on use cases rather than technical specifications. Start by establishing relationships with your engineering counterparts, just as you would with product managers. Instead of dictating technical solutions, frame conversations around the problems you're trying to solve and the end state you want to achieve. For example, when advocating for personalization capabilities in our CRM platform, I painted a picture of what our u ...Read More

    249 Views

See Event Answers

Speakers (3)

  • Andrew Kaplan

    Andrew Kaplan

    Director of Product Marketing · LinkedIn

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  • Charlene Wang

    Charlene Wang

    fmr Qualia, Coupa ·

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  • Katie Levinson

    Katie Levinson

    VP Product Marketing · MyFitnessPal

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