How can you influence the product roadmap if the product team has historically worked in silos and aren't necessarily interested / don't value PMM feedback?

This is definitely a tough one. It can definitely be hard to break through to a product team who is either unaccustomed to the PMM role or who is just not interested in PMM feedback. But I'll start by saying hopefully PMM exists at the company in the first place because someone with influence, someone in leadership, understands and believes in the value PMM brings to the table so there's always hope that PMM can break through those silos. That said here are a few ways I would try to help product understand the value of PMM:

• Set up 1:1s with Product to build relationships, help them understand your role as PMM, better understand product priorities, identify any gaps or needs (especially as it relates to PMM capabilities) and identify how PMM can help and add value.

• Ask to be added to any relevant recurring team meetings. Don't be shy especially as you're trying to break through. Attending more meetings early on to figure out who are the people in the room that you need to align with and the initiatives you need to stay on top of. Once you've broken through those walls, you can always step back from any irrelevant recurring meetings and focus on the high value ones instead (now that you're hopefully being added to conversations where needed).

• Build relationships and allies in other cross-functional partners. Cross-functional teammates are great sources of information and aligning with them and making sure they know you exist is another great way to stay in the loop on what's going on. When your product partner forgets to add you to a meeting or forgets to include you in that key conversation, you've got extra eyes and ears out there to help loop you in.

• Be vocal in meetings about things beyond marketing. When you do get your foot in the door, make sure those reluctant product partners know you're there and that you deserve a seat at the table. Sometimes it's easy to feel like you should limit your feedback when it comes to marketing related topics but we can all provide unique perspectives and all have insights that are valuable. Don't hesitate to be speak up with questions or perspectives especially on topics that relate to the customer experience. PMM's job is to be the voice of the customer and there are usually a lot of opportunities to be curious and share insights while also reminding product that PMM deserves a seat at the table

• Show value early on. Even in scenarios where Product may be reluctant to include PMM in the conversation it's important to bring value to the table early on so they 1) know you exist and 2) can understand how PMM can help the product team accomplish their goals. Obviously, you have to start by understanding what the team's priorities and goals are and any gaps that may exist on the team but once you get that information you should be able to come up with ways you can concretely show value early on whether it be a research project (competitive analysis, user survey, NPS deepdive) or a lightweight marketing test.

• Lean on those who understand the value of PMM to be a PMM advocate. I assume if the PMM role exists in your organization, someone with influence/someone in leadership supports and believes in PMM. Find that person and lean on them to be an advocate to get PMM a seat at the table, to help celebrate PMM's contributions, to communicate to others how they can leverage PMM.

For me, it's a balance of "what's in it for you?" and "what are our shared goals?"

• Emphasize and give examples of how product marketing feedback aligns with their objectives, like increasing adoption, improving user satisfaction, or driving revenue. Joint KPIs per launch can help with this! And frame suggestions in terms of potential ROI, market differentiation, or customer retention.

• Align on strategic priorities with execs: Work with leadership to ensure PMM insights are included in discussions about company objectives, then explain how product is the magic that makes product marketing successful (corny, but true).

• Also, bring data/info to the table casually - like share info from a customer conversations, use feedback, market research, comp intel to share WHY you have an opinion casually in Slack/a #product slack channel. This positions you as more of a trusted "advisor" than someone trying to own the roadmap.

• Showcase quick wins - Start by advocating for smaller changes that are easier to implement but show clear value. Then when PMM-led insights lead to improvements (i.e. a media mention or LinkedIn tag from an industry expert), highlight these wins very publicly (aka Slack).

• Stay engaged - The goal is to be persistent yet collaborative, so even if feedback isn’t acted on immediately (which 99% of the time it isnt), continue to provide insights and demonstrate value.

• Avoid blame - Frame discussions positively, focusing on how collaboration enhances overall success.

This is a great question. An important thing to remember is Products should be built with a market in mind - and that's where a PMM comes in. They should be experts in the 'market' (customer, competitor, market sizing) and use this as their grounding. Here's what worked from my experience:

1. Coming to the table with data and insights - Product teams value concrete, actionable insights so bringing data that they can't ignore helps. Use customer feedback, rep feedback, competitive analysis and adoption data to make your case. Data shifts the conversation from 'opinion' to 'fact'

2. Becoming known as the person that brings the voice of the customer to life - This takes some work, but create space for yourself and set aside time on a recurring basis to speak with customers. Understand how they are using your product, what's working and what's not. Capture their exact sentiments, and share this with PM's on a regular basis. Have a call scheduled with a customer - bring your PM along so together you can understand customer pain points and sentiment directly.

3. Have product expertise and strong knowledge on the competitive landscape - These 2 skills are crucial to establish credibility. Share interesting and impactful competitive intel with PM's. Become a partner that your PM looks at as someone that will help them grow and learn as well.

4. Embed yourself into product planning early - Find ways to inject PMM influence into the roadmap early. One thing we have been doing at HubSpot is helping our GM's take their product vision (a technical doc) and frame it in the lens of a customer narrative and a company growth narrative. This has helped us showcase our value as a trusted partner, and enabled us to provide recommendations on the roadmap

5. Build relationships -Invest in trust-building with product leaders. Have regular 1-1's with PM's to understand their challenges and find ways to support them.

If the Product team has typically worked in silos, is more established, or if there are other barriers like language or geography, establishing a relationship becomes more critical. This could take different forms, such as:

• Weekly check-ins

• Adding them in the feedback loop for key new marketing materials

• Getting their insights on key customer conversations

• Sharing and discussing key competitor moves and industry developments

• Meeting in person when possible

Building a relationship up and down the Product org, engaging your leadership to ensure cross-functional goal alignment, and tying customer feedback to revenue potential when possible are all key to deepening engagement and increasing receptivity to your ideas.