Product Marketing Career Path
ActiveCampaign VP Product Marketing | Formerly Pendo, Demandbase, Conga, SAP • May 27
Five and ten years feels way too long to forecast with any confidence given how fast things are moving right now. I'd rather give you one and three years, which I think a...
409 Views
ActiveCampaign VP Product Marketing | Formerly Pendo, Demandbase, Conga, SAP • May 27
The shift from a mid-level PMM to an independent contributor director level PMM is primarily around your sphere of influence - influence over people, product, and process...
402 Views
ActiveCampaign VP Product Marketing | Formerly Pendo, Demandbase, Conga, SAP • May 27
I came to product marketing from product management myself. As I grew higher in my product management career, I started to realize that I was spending more and more of my...
392 Views
Growth Velocity President | Formerly Vigilent, USGBC, FICO, Macromedia/Adobe • 7y
Top notch advice
2272 Views
ActiveCampaign VP Product Marketing | Formerly Pendo, Demandbase, Conga, SAP • May 27
For a new PMM, I would focus on gathering a deep understanding of your audience through analyzing as many sources of customer and prospect information as you can. These w...
370 Views
ActiveCampaign VP Product Marketing | Formerly Pendo, Demandbase, Conga, SAP • May 27
I've successfully brought people onto my product marketing teams from a variety of departments within the organization. Marketing is a logical choice but I have also had ...
381 Views
ActiveCampaign VP Product Marketing | Formerly Pendo, Demandbase, Conga, SAP • May 27
I've successfully brought people onto my product marketing teams from a variety of departments within the organization. Marketing is a logical choice but I have also had ...
386 Views
ActiveCampaign VP Product Marketing | Formerly Pendo, Demandbase, Conga, SAP • May 27
I'll answer for 2026 and because salaries differ so much depending on region, skill level, and responsibilities, I'll just focus on responsibilities by level. Here is a h...
382 Views
What are good product marketing OKRs?
I would like to know what metrics are used to measure PMM and what does good look like
Mastercard Director of Product Marketing | Formerly Miro, Dropbox, Demandbase, Autodesk, Oracle, • 5y
In general, product marketing OKRs can become quite vague and hard to measure. However, the product marketing OKRs I’ve seen that are easier to measure are:1) Successful...
10160 Views
Prove Head of Product • 4y
Well, the question of "What is Product Marketing" Could mean different things at different companies, but my answer is that we provide the voice of the market and the voi...
7659 Views
Atlassian VP of Product Marketing • 2y
Customer proof. The real question you're asking is how do you get consensus around a lot of opinions. Getting messaging approved can feel like being stuck in a wave pool....
30293 Views
How do you coordinate and work cross functionally with the product team to create commonly shared KPIs?
Any advice on KPIs tied to product launches?
Anthropic Startup Marketing Lead | Formerly Lyft, Atlassian • 5y
My advice would be to build this into your regular team processes. If your company has an OKR setting process, this would be the right time to cross-functionally align wi...
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6 Views
How do you perform extensive competitive product research?
I've been tasked with it but I'm missing the mark. This research is for the CEO and Product/Engineering teams who want to know how our tech stacks up in the market. Do you have any tips?
Google Head of Product Marketing, Security, Google Cloud Platform • 4y
Sales and customers will be your most vital partners for this task. They will have likely have had multiple run-ins with your competitors. As a result, they will give you...
372 Views
Advisor & Investor | Product Marketing Expert | B2B | Formerly Pandadoc,Unbabel, McKinsey • 2y
You need to fill 3 buckets:understand the businessunderstand the organizationunderstand the customerYour leverage point is to build an internal network and gain and susta...
315 Views
Ironclad VP of Product Marketing • 2y
Here's what I like to do when establishing (or reestablishing) the PMM function
Conduct a listening tour with cross functional stakeholders
Ask them the following types o...
1082 Views
Airwallex Product Marketing | Formerly Cisco, Airtable, Slack, Credit Karma • 1mo
I've got one answer that is relevant to AI skills...and one, maybe, hot take to this question. AI Skills: Go beyond chats and go agentic. I know, I know. If you're follow...
247 Views
UiPath Sr. Director of Product Marketing | Formerly Salesforce, Tableau, Microsoft • 1mo
Having spent the last several years in enterprise AI product marketing, I think about this question a lot. The PMM role is shifting fast, and the skills that mattered fiv...
249 Views
How do you communicate product marketing achievements upwards and build visibility?
It can sometimes be a struggle for those on the executive team, or in higher leadership roles, to see the value that product marketing is bringing to the business - especially if they do not have regular interaction. How do you build visibility for you and/or your team, and clearly communicate the achievements and activities throughout the year?
Zendesk Director of Product Marketing | AI • 3y
Great question. At Zendesk, we do a lot of monthly/quarterly syncs with product leadership, sales leadership, marketing leadership, etc to discuss top programs and commun...
3579 Views
Self Employed Product Marketing Leadership (Interim & Fractional) | Formerly Xero, Karbon, ApprovalMax • 4mo
I try not to start from the assumption that sales is being difficult. In my experience, when sales teams create their own messaging, it’s usually because they’re under pr...
190 Views
Toast Chief Marketing Officer • 4mo
Product marketers should be responsible for metrics! Whether or not you are "officially" responsible for metrics, you can and should measure the impact of your work. We m...
14561 Views
How does an MBA help you in your product marketing career? Is an MBA necessary to advance in PMM in 2025? Why or why not?
I’m curious why so many Sr. PMM job postings use the words “MBA preferred” in their job descriptions, yet almost 30+ PMMs I’ve talked to say that an MBA is not necessary to advance in your career. For those who have an MBA, why did you pursue it, has it helped you advance (and in what way - $$, title, opportunity), and what were the trade offs of going full time (assuming you went full-time) while putting your career on hold? Thanks for your (relevant) insights.
Grow Progress VP Marketing • 1y
I don't believe an MBA is necessary to advance in Product Marketing especially these days, with increased awareness about the craft and impact delivered. Sometimes it can...
4190 Views
ServiceNow Director of Product Marketing • 4mo
Many of the core competencies of product marketing overlap with digital marketing. Take the time to reframe skills such as audience segmentation and targeting, campaigns,...
652 Views
Operating Partner at M & A • 3mo
As a writer myself, it was very difficult to pivot to a marketing role. Writing is about nuance, making a narrative, feeling, emotion, slowness. It's an artistic craft th...
190 Views
Zendesk Director of Product Marketing | AI • 3mo
This is a great question! Because once you have the PMM fundamentals down, growth comes from flexing a different set of muscles.One that stands out for me is agency. Espe...
1270 Views
Zendesk Director of Product Marketing | AI • 3mo
I really appreciate this question because it’s more common than people admit, and I’ve seen a lot of PMMs navigate it at different points in their careers. Here are a few...
1305 Views
Zendesk Director of Product Marketing | AI • 3mo
At the PMM level, your scope tends to be fairly clear - owning a defined area, set of deliverables, specific launches. As you move toward more senior roles, the lines sta...
1272 Views
Zendesk Director of Product Marketing | AI • 3mo
I see the most in-demand PMMs as the ones who can usually make hard situations feel more manageable for everyone around them.These are the people teams turn to when thing...
1260 Views
Zendesk Director of Product Marketing | AI • 3mo
This is one of the biggest transitions in a PMM career because it’s where your impact starts to show up beyond individual projects and into the business itself.I’ve seen ...
1279 Views
Zendesk Director of Product Marketing | AI • 3mo
Typically when I’m evaluating PMMs, what stands out most is the way someone thinks versus a list of tactics they own. I pay close attention to whether someone can clearly...
1274 Views
Zendesk Director of Product Marketing | AI • 3mo
For me, the most meaningful benchmarks in a PMM career have always been about trust and scope (vs titles or years of experience), but I’ve learned they also change over t...
1413 Views
How do product marketers make sure they're learning enough varied skills to be a well-rounded professional when scope is an issue?
i.e. working at a large company with minimal scope, focusing on sales enablement but knowing you need experience on the product launch side, other marketing teams covering responsibilities, etc.
Prove Head of Product • 4y
This is one of the reasons to work for a smaller company where you get a wider scope, there is always pros and cons on each company type. Now if you are in a large compan...
403 Views
Twilio Former Director of Product Management - Pricing & Packaging, CXP | Formerly Narvar, Medallia, Helpshift, Feedzai, Reputation.com • 6y
Short answer. When you are more deep than broad. When you like things more than people.
Long answer.
There are no rules to this. Skills evolve and change over time. Y...
577 Views
Salesforce Product Marketing Director | AI, Data & Apps Portfolio • 4mo
Having worked on both sides of the Sales-PMM fence, I've watched alignment die between good intent and Sales readiness. Most sellers won't read a full research report. Th...
1707 Views
Salesforce Product Marketing Director | AI, Data & Apps Portfolio • 4mo
Career blockers are tricky and some are more in your control than others. Focus on what you can control, and for the rest do your best but have a backup plan. What you CA...
1847 Views
How do you typically go about finding new PMMs for your team? Is it mostly recruitment based or do you search within your network?
I'm trying to break into a PMM role after 5 years of performance marketing and branding (1 of which was in a MM role with a heavy product focus).
I'm unsure if I should spend more time networking or cold applying here in the Bay Area.
AssemblyAI CMO • 6y
As a hiring manager, I try to balance referrals and recommendations within my network with candidates who apply directly to an open role from our careers page or job site...
2517 Views
What are the best resources to stand me out as a Product Marketing Lead role after being a PMM for a while?
I was a PMM before being made a PML. I suspect that I might still be functioning as a PMM.
Fmr Product Marketing Leader, Cisco | Formerly Twilio, Cisco, Gartner • 10mo
If you’re not yet in the PML role:Start by reviewing your company’s career ladder or leveling guide.Write your self-review or performance summary as if you’re already ope...
3762 Views
What does your product marketing team org structure look like?
Do you simply have Product Marketers by product/portfolio? Do you have a release communications manager? Someone in sales enablement? What other roles exist in your product marketing teams today?
Oracle Product Marketing, Product Launch, GTM, ex-AWS | Formerly Amazon Web Services, Sprinklr • 5y
Product Marketing org structures can vary by organization. Previously at Attentive, our PMM organization is comprised of the following teams: Product Marketing Core (focu...
36070 Views
Confluent Vice President, Product Marketing • 4mo
Limit how many variables you change at once - if you can't stay at your company, stay in your domain.When trying to make a career change, consider how many variables you'...
391 Views
Motive VP | Product and Brand Marketing • 4mo
Prioritize the buyer while developing tailored messaging for other stakeholders.When your company serves multiple personas, you need to shape your messaging accordingly. ...
281 Views
Carta Vice President Product Marketing • 4mo
Gaining diverse experiences is valuable, especially if you aspire to become a CMO.I think gaining diverse experiences is smart, both for your own exploration and for care...
319 Views
Confluent Vice President, Product Marketing • 4mo
FMCG marketing skills are highly relevant to tech product marketing, especially for PLG motions.There's a common saying in Silicon Valley that a product manager's job is ...
387 Views
Motive VP | Product and Brand Marketing • 4mo
The focus on positioning and messaging depends on the product's lifecycle stage.It's difficult to give a specific percentage because it depends on what phase your product...
321 Views
Motive VP | Product and Brand Marketing • 4mo
AI is automating workflows and providing more frequent competitive intelligence.My team is focusing on using AI to automate workflows that traditionally took a long time,...
305 Views
Motive VP | Product and Brand Marketing • 4mo
Staying at one company can be beneficial if you're still learning and increasing your impact.I don't regret my eight and a half years at Square - it was a career-defining...
321 Views
Confluent Vice President, Product Marketing • 4mo
Being strategic about saying yes to opportunities outside my core role accelerated my growth.While product marketers often hear advice about learning to say no because th...
330 Views
Carta Vice President Product Marketing • 4mo
I hire both inbound and outbound product marketers with different skill requirements for each.I have two flavors of product marketers on my team: inbound and outbound. Fo...
309 Views
Confluent Vice President, Product Marketing • 4mo
Customer-facing roles, product management, content marketing, and communications roles transfer well to product marketing.People who have been in customer-facing roles an...
289 Views
Motive VP | Product and Brand Marketing • 4mo
I transitioned into product marketing from performance marketing and strategy roles.I started my career on the agency side focusing on analytics, which made me a very dat...
278 Views
Confluent Vice President, Product Marketing • 4mo
Know your customer and know your space deeply.My first product marketing manager gave me this advice that has stayed with me throughout my career. As a product marketer, ...
302 Views
Motive VP | Product and Brand Marketing • 4mo
A great PMM creates a tight feedback loop with product teams and demonstrates ownership of product metrics and outcomes.While a good PMM handles the basics of product lau...
319 Views