What are mistakes product marketers make when trying to influence the roadmap that end up damaging their relationship with product managers?

Two mistakes I've seen are: (1) Not getting on the same page as to the goals for the product. If you don't have a shared undersatnding with your PM / your product team as to what you are building and who you are buidling for you are likely going to provide insights that miss the mark. More hurtful than not providing persuasive insights is the risk that the PM / product team will not perceive you as an invested member of the product team. This doesn't mean you have to agree with everything, you m ...Read More

With so much at stake, a lot can go wrong when trying to influence the product roadmap. When tensions run high, PMMs might risk their most important relationship by: Not providing Sufficient Quantitative and Qualitative data. Most PMs are data-informed and driven. Insufficient quantitative and qualitative data on the impact of a feature is a sure shot way to fray the relationship. Focusing on the how: Many PMMs are technically savvy and understand the product’s capabilities and anyone. PMMs shou ...Read More

A wise mentor once told me, there is a very big difference between being respected and being liked. You don't need your PM to like you, you need them to respect you.  With that being said, remember that as a PMM you're a strategic partner to the product management team. PMs are ultimately responsible to make the decisions about the roadmap, our role is to help them make the right bets.  There is no way that PMs can champion all the workstreams needed to understand competitive landscape, product ...Read More

Not knowing the product: I've known PMMs who had never...used...the product. For real. This is job #1 - get familiar with the product, build and do demos with customers, spend time with the product managers understanding the roadmap, what's been the history, what is the vision for where the product is headed. This is a critical first step in building a credible relationship with product. I often "indoctrinate" new PMMs to the team by getting them on booth duty right away, so they learn the produ ...Read More

Product Marketers should be user/customer-centric, insights-driven, and data-driven. Understanding what users/customers need with breadth (at scale, representative of your target audience) and depth (deep insights of your users in each of these segments), where the market is heading, and how your product is performing from a usage AND business standpoint is key in order to develop a robust understanding of where your product stands, where you should be heading, and what you need to build to get ...Read More

It’s so important to understand the lift of the project you’re petitioning to add to the roadmap when approaching the team. If you’re not sure, speak with the stakeholders beforehand. When I first began my career in product marketing, many product features I thought would be a relatively low lift were not, and vice versa—which could lead to me not giving enough lead time on a feature, or prioritizing projects that weren’t as impactful. Even now that I have a deep understanding of the mechanics o ...Read More

With any cross-functional relationship, you want to provide value. The biggest mistake PMMs make is not bringing value but asking for a seat at the table. You own the market insights, the voice of the customer, competitive intel, and other sources of information that can truly help inform the roadmap - lead with data and insights vs opinions and feelings. And make sure you partner with your product team throughout the process and involve them in your work and what you are learning so its a two-w ...Read More

First - Not knowing the product. It doesn’t matter how many customers you talk to, how many insights you can glean from user analytics, or how many sales deals you can unlock with your ideas- you will never have credibility with PMs if you don’t use the product. My advice to all PMMs- please use the product. It will help you develop better relationships with PMs, and it will make you a better ‘Product’ marketer Second - Being too prescriptive and pushy - PMs have a hard job. They have to balance ...Read More

The biggest mistakes to avoid when influencing the product roadmap: Being too prescriptive with the idea/solution, rather than presenting the problem space and enlisting your product, design, and eng partners to help you arrive at the best solution Pushing too far with an opinion (failing to "disagree and commit") Overstepping boundaries and trying to do the PM's job When influencing, it can be helpful to think about what unique value you bring as a PMM to your product squad.  For example, PMMs ...Read More