Who do you align yourself with to gain momentum in the leadership organization?

This is an interesting question because there's a few ways to answer: Find an ally to Product Marketing. Typically this is a department leader who understands the value of what product marketing delivers and has an obvious shared interest in success. In my experience this has typically been Marketing, Product, and Engineering. Build up rapor with these department leaders so that you will have an advocate in forums that are only leadership/c-suite (they will be your voice!) Soon these relationshi ...Read More

There isn't just one person that a PMM leader needs to align with, but that's the best part of being in PMM. As the connective tissue for GTM, including product, you need to place yourself at the intersection of most leaders in the organization. The impact of PMM needs to be spread across the teams that can take your value and apply it directly to the business. Below are some key players and the input you can provide to build alignment and connection: CEO / founder - If PMM is the voice of the c ...Read More

To get things moving in the leadership team, align with key players and teams focused on revenue growth. Start by identifying top decision-makers like the CEO, CFO, and heads of sales and customer success. These folks drive critical initiatives. Partner with sales to understand customer needs and collaborate with the customer success team to boost satisfaction and retention. Work closely with product management to ensure marketing aligns with product features. Show how your efforts directly impa ...Read More

This is one of the most important organizational questions in PMM, and the answer shifts depending on the company stage and strategic moment. Here's how I think about it based on experience at Microsoft, Salesforce, Tableau, and UiPath. The CRO is the most important relationship to build first. PMM's influence on revenue is most visible in the sales motion: messaging, enablement, competitive positioning, launch readiness. The CRO feels PMM's impact most directly and has the most to gain from a s ...Read More