When establishing the PMM function in an org, how can you manage expectations and change perception if leadership (CEO, Founder, CMO) have a different interpretation of the role?

Assuming you were hired for this role, I think that this type of conversation should ideally happen before you accept the job. Asking a question like "what vision does the CMO, Founder, CEO, executive team, etc. have for this role?" Even just digging into the job description and asking for more detail. If their perception is something wildly different than yours, you might not want to take the job. 

But that doesn't really answer your question...

So, if you find yourself in this position as a new PMM, I would start an internal campaign to educate your CEO, for example, on what PMM should look like. At Uberflip, we created a presentation for our executive team, outlining the role of PMM. We leveraged a bunch of content from the Pragmatic Institute at the time, to highlight the strategic jobs PMMs should be responsible for. 

We just started to raise our hand for some of the more strategic jobs in an effort to show how we could help impact the business in a more strategic way. The true way to change your CEO's mind is to show them what kind of impact your can have when you devote your time to real PMM work.  

All that said, you want to make sure your priorities match the CEOs. If you're off paving the way for Product Marketing and letting other projects that they deem important falls through the cracks, you won't be the PMM for long. 

This question is great and so very relevant. I've been companies where leadership has had 3 very different thoughts on the PMM org. 

1. PMM IS AMAZING
2. What the heck is PMM and why am I paying their salaries? 
3. Eh, PMM exists but I don't care much about what they do. << my least favorite of them all, believe it or not. 

PMM is amazing: This of course is an easy one! Keep doing great things and the leadership team will advocate for you. Communicate to them often on progress. Partner wherever necessary. You'll be the ones they call when they need help with events, messaging, content, knowledge -- anything, really! 

What the heck is PMM: I actually like this group too, I see them as a challenge. How do I get them to "like" PMM? I show them what we're worth. How do we contribute to their business goals? How do we make our business better? How do we help customers? How do we help sales and PM and all the stakeholders that the PMM org works with on a daily basis? 

PMM exists but I don't care: I initially thought I'd like these types since it's more like I can do what I want when I want and not worry about getting a report to a leader or justifying budget --- but I came to realize that's BAD. The joy is very short-lived. I want to turn these folks into PMM advocates because spinning my wheels creating content for nothing isn't helping me or my team. Show them your value, just like the #2 folks. Here's why you need PMM. Here's where my content feeds into your integrated marketing plan, CMO. Here's how I'm contributing to revenue, CEO. Here's how I'm driving customer adoption and renewing licenisng, CRO. 

Find an ally on the leadership team, find a mentor that is a senior leader or reports to one. Getting yourself seen and heard will ignite something in the non-believers when you show them the value of PMM -- which can be shown in a lot of areas! 

It's important to understand what your C-suite wants and needs from PMM. Product Marketing is a versatile role and often looks different at every company, and you need to be somewhat flexible in what you focus on based on company goals.

But with that said, it's important to establish the core charter early on - and one way to do that with the executive team is to use examples of how PMM works at other (similar companies) and highlight why you believe it should be that way.

I would try an establish common ground early and often. Ask yourself these questions:

• What guiding principles do you need to establish between your role and senior leadership to be successful?

• What latitude do you need to be successful?

• What core philosophies do you need alignment on to be successful?

Once of you a sense of the above, set rules of engagement with leadership so you're aligned on needs. This comes before outcomes - establish your relationship and rapport.

Once that's in place, discuss expectations for what good looks like but map back to company needs. Present your ideas in a way that ladders into company OKRs and outcomes. I also suggest always finding the red or areas for opportunity and socialization this with senior leadership early and often. This will establish your credibility and built trust which is the most important part of your day to day!

I would start by meeting 1:1 with your leadership team (CEO, Founder, CMO) to understand each leader's interpretations of the PMM function. You can probe with questions like, "How would you describe PMM's primary role within our company today? What does success look like for you? What are your most important metrics that PMM can own and influence?" You want this to be a conversation so be ready to listen, but also be prepared to offer your POV based on your personal experiences and different types of PMM teams you've seen at other companies.

After these conversations, I would work on a team charter and then go back to your leadership team to align on the expectations. If you're trying to change perception of what PMM should be working on (e.g., more inbound research to influence the product roadmap), then it would be important to assess which teams is leading the charge (perhaps this work is done primarily by PMs or UXRs) and align with those stakeholders on how PMM can support and start building those relationships to start getting involved in the work and adding value.

Changing perception will not happen overnight and it will take time, but the first step would be to establish it clearly in writing and then start showing concrete examples. You can then reinforce the team charter by going back to your leadership team with deliverables and business results.

If you end up in a situation where leadership has a fundamentally different idea of the PMM function than you do, you're facing an uphill road but you have a path to change perceptions. First, build content and programs that customers not only love but also openly express how much they love those things. Whether you look at CSAT, YouTube comments or ad hoc quotes from a key customer meeting, let happy customers be your advocates internally. Chances are, if your model for PMM churns out work that customers love, leadership will stand down so you can do more of it. Likewise, set up Sales to advocate for your vision of PMM by doing things that help them close deals at a higher rate, faster and with larger average deal sizes. It doesn't have to all be world-changing, but something where a rep can speak up in a QBR about how a thing PMM did made their job easier and their customer loved can earn you the right to guide PMM a certain way. Don't just try to win over leadership with abstract or academic arguments about the role of PMM. Show it with customers and sales to let that success be your ticket.

Such a great question! And sadly, a common challenge for product marketing. I've found even when a company hires its first product marketer, not everyone is aware or on the same page. I have struggled with this very same thing at multiple companies and have found creating a team charter to help. 

You can check out how I tackled that here: https://medium.com/@julie.ef.brown/how-to-write-a-product-marketing-charter-916d91e53a65 

The critical components are:

• Define what PMM is (and can even say what it is not)
• Set goals
• List out roles/responsibilities
• Get buy-in/approval from leadership
• Continually share and educate the organization on what PMM is to help manage expectations