How do you define success leading PMMs? What are the KPIs you track?

The most important KPIs to track are the ones that align closely to the business. Are you in a new product area? The KPI might be the number of customers you close and the number of references you can provide publicly or to your sales team. Are you in a competitive consumer product, but an incumbent? The KPI might be monthly active users and retention. 

Start with the business goal and then back into the product marketing goal that you have control over. For example, if there is a revenue goal for your business you may want to align with the pipeline numbers. 

In terms of success in leading PMMs, that is based on my ability to protect and promote the team. The KPIs are a lot looser but focus on creating an environment where the team is known for great work and each member of the team is given a chance to grow with the opportunities available. 

For myself, I track based on completions of specific milestones (specific deliverables we planned for - i.e. sales play development, enablement, strategy completed, etc) that were led by myself and/or my team.

I also track my team’s engagement score in our annual surveys and work towards improving against the opportunity areas that I’m not as strong on.