What is your 30-60-90 day plan when you go into an org with the intention of setting up Product Marketing function for the first time?

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 what product marketing is and how other teams can work with you. 
• Ask a lot of questions! 

60 days: Plan and validate

• Based on what you've learned, start creating a plan for what you and your team should prioritize over the next quarter and year.
• Share your plan and priorities broadly to get feedback and adjust your plan based on that feedback.
• Develop a hiring plan and start recruiting. 
• Continue meeting with customers, teammates, etc. 
• By the end of 60 days, try to get a quick win out: revamp the pitch deck, launch a new product/feature, etc. 

90 days: Execute and refine 

• Focus on hiring and recruiting - the PMM market is really competitive and recruiting takes time. 
• Continue meeting with customers, teammates, etc. Product marketing is one of the most cross-functional roles - your cross-functional relationships are really important. 
• Continue to share your plan, progress, and accomplishments.

Whether your a product marketer or just a new employee, the most important thing you can do is to
ASK WHY + LISTEN.

0-30 days - Talk to everyone. Ask Why 5 times. Don't make any assumptions and ask lots of questions. Dive into your broad market and understand the competitve landscape. Form an objective opinion of where your new company and products fit in, and then dive deep into your customers and thier experience. You bring fresh eyes and I'd recommend compiling copious notes on what you observe in product from the frustrating to the delightful. Jump into the data and start to understand the business model and levers at your disposal.

30-60- Invest in building relationships with stakeholders and teams. Start to understand their KPI's and how they function as a unit. Start sharing your observations and validating where to make investments and prioritze projects and time. Balance low hanging fruits/ short term impact projects with longer term strategic plans.

60-90 days - Get feedback from teams and start to go narrower and deeper into your work. You've likely been pulled in several directions at this point, so start to prioritize over pleasing. You may find yourself saying "no" more than "yes." Lay out your resource asks or limitiations and be bold in your recommendations and improvement strategy.

I actually did a presentation on this about a month ago, which you can watch here. 

I don't split it out into 30-60-90 day increments, but within that period, these are the things I'd suggest doing:

1. Get to know your product - if your sales team has demo training, consider going through the same process
2. Start building key relationships internally - have lots of 1:1s
3. Create battlecards for your top 2-3 competitors
4. Put your positioning on paper
5. Define a product launch process
6. Set up your internal communication channels
7. Perform a content audit and find the gaps that need filling
8. Gather the tools, templates, frameworks that will accelerate your success

Another late edition to this (added after my presentation) is to create your own PMM Charter. This is a foundational document that lays out the goals and objectives for your product daprtment. It helps you create guardrails for your team around the things that are in your wheelhouse, which will come in handy as people start firing projects at you. 

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 to customers. A lot. Understand the market and become the expert that can provide value to multiple teams

Build bridges. Focus on developing relationships and regular meetings with cross-functional partners. Even lend a helping hand outside of PMM to foster relationships

60 days: Educate

Explain what PMM can do. Many of your cross-functional partners may not understand the PMM role. Only half of the PMs I work with understand the PMM role

Find quick wins to show the potential of PMM. A few examples can include small messaging work or optimizing target customer

90 days: Implement

Outline the key GTM and research projects PMM can lead. Define the PMM processes and frameworks that you will leverage, and start to build to larger wins!

Finally, you may also want to read The First 90 Days (comes highly recommended from PMM friends and is on my reading list).

My first 30 days at Chime was all about team. I needed to spend a lot of time listening, observing and reviewing learning agendas to see how they think and what value they were adding to the organization. I talked to their day-to-day partners and stakeholders (across UX, PM, Creative, Insights). The next 30 days (Day 60+) was all about the app, the experience and understanding the durable competitive advantage by product in our portfolio. You cannot be a great product marketer if you are not using your app (or your product). I spent a lot of time with our PM VPs to understand their roadmaps, milestones and paths to hitting designated KRs. I studied product performance and asked a lot of questions. Finally-- and most importantly-- within 90 days is connection. I invested a lot of time in operationalizing product marketing at Chime -- setting up all of the regular touch points and systems to stay connected to the work. That meant meeting cadences, attending SteerCos, working with our PMO counterparts to start honing processes to make it easier for my team to work better and move faster. I stared deeply at org design and tweaked it to make sure we had not only coverage but fantastic scope to give PMMs runway to do the best work of their lives, to grow in role and to drive really big impact for the business.

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, internal comms, etc.

- Then dive into the key gaps, which almost always starts with having a clear positioning and messaging strategy. As part of that effort, you want to have a clear outline of your market category if that's unclear, and clarity on your competitive landscape.

It's important to build these 90-day goals with your executive team so that everyone is aligned on what you are responsible for delivering.

Here's how I typically tackle the first 30-60-90 days for establishing PMM:

First 30 - Listening tours + product/data downloads

• Shadow sales demos, listen to customer calls on Chorus or Gong, watch Fullstory sessions and marinate in any and all of the data you can find

• Get your hands on the product, get so comfortable with it you can give a demo

• Start market research, understand your TAM (total addressable market) and personas

First 60 - Assess, Align and Establish

• Assess orgs needs + company goals and individual departments

• Establish product development process and align on GTM (go to market) process with product leadership

• Understand ICP (ideal customer profile)

First 90 - Wins and Plans

• Act on any quick wins and present plans for PMM department build

• Identify the red (gaps) and plans for optimization

• Balance tackling low hanging fruit and longer-term wins

• Leverage Notion as your command center for templates, org design and team wiki

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 Planning

1. Understand 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 and challenges.

2. Define Objectives:

   • Clarify the objectives and goals for the Product Marketing function.

   • Align with the broader marketing and company objectives.

3. Assess Resources:

   • Evaluate existing resources, both human and material, that can be leveraged for Product Marketing.

   • Identify any gaps or additional resources needed.

4. Build Relationships:

   • Establish relationships with cross-functional teams, especially product management, sales, and customer support.

   • Gain insights into their perspectives and expectations.

5. Competitive Analysis:

   • Conduct a thorough competitive analysis to understand the market landscape.

   • Identify key competitors, their strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning.

Next 30 Days: Strategy Development

6. Define Target Audience:

   • Refine or develop buyer personas based on market research and discussions with stakeholders.

   • Ensure alignment with sales and product teams on target customer segments.

7. Messaging Framework:

   • Develop a messaging framework that clearly communicates the value proposition and differentiation.

   • Ensure consistency across all communication channels.

8. Content Strategy:

   • Outline a content strategy to support product marketing initiatives.

   • Identify key content types needed throughout the customer journey.

9. Sales Enablement:

   • Collaborate with sales teams to understand their needs.

   • Develop sales enablement materials, including product guides, FAQs, and pitch decks.

10. Metrics and KPIs:

    • Define key metrics and KPIs to measure the success of Product Marketing efforts.

    • Set up tracking mechanisms and reporting systems.

Next 30 Days: Execution and Optimization

11. Campaign Launch:

    • Plan and launch initial product marketing campaigns.

    • Monitor performance and gather feedback for optimization.

12. Feedback Loops:

    • Establish feedback mechanisms with sales, product, and other teams.

    • Use feedback to iterate and improve messaging and strategies.

13. Customer Communication:

    • Develop a plan for communicating product updates and news to existing customers.

    • Ensure customer-facing teams are briefed on these updates.

14. Evaluate and Optimize:

    • Analyze the performance of the initial campaigns and make data-driven adjustments.

    • Identify areas for improvement and optimization.

15. Documentation:

    • Document processes, strategies, and outcomes.

    • Create a knowledge base for the Product Marketing function.

Beyond 90 Days: Scaling and Growth

16. Iterate and Expand:

    • Iterate on successful strategies and expand product marketing efforts to new markets or customer segments.

    • Scale the function based on the evolving needs of the business.

17. Training and Development:

    • Provide training sessions for other teams on product messaging and positioning.

    • Develop a continuous learning plan for the Product Marketing team.

18. Cross-Functional Collaboration:

    • Strengthen collaboration with other departments, fostering a culture of alignment and shared goals.

    • Seek opportunities for joint initiatives with sales, product, and customer support.

19. Thought Leadership:

    • Establish the Product Marketing team as thought leaders in the industry.

    • Explore opportunities for speaking engagements, webinars, and content partnerships.

20. Measure Impact:

    • Continuously measure the impact of Product Marketing on overall business goals.

    • Use insights to refine strategies and demonstrate the value of the function.

This plan provides a structured approach to setting up a Product Marketing function and ensures a balance between understanding the organization, strategic planning, and tactical execution. Adjust the specifics based on the unique needs and dynamics of the organization you are working with.