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Clare Hegg

Clare Hegg

Director of Product Marketing at Skopenow

Seattle, WA

With over a decade of experience in product marketing, branding, corporate strategy and sales enablement, I hold proven success in driving go-to-market planning, customer experience differentiation and building brand cohesion.

Content

What are some of the most common red flags that product marketing candidates make?

Clare Hegg
Clare Hegg

Skopenow Director of Product Marketing • 7y

In initial PMM interview screens I always ask the same question (partially because it just works and partially because it sets a nice running baseline for me); 'Describe to me your favourite product to me. Tell me what is it, why you like it, and what sets it apart.' This gets to the fundimental heart of what a good PMM should be able to do... articulate value, distill a product description in a few moments, and tell a story to get someone interested. Very strong PMMs will not only be able to do ...Read More

1,835 Views

What does your product marketing team org structure look like?

Clare Hegg
Clare Hegg

Skopenow Director of Product Marketing • 8y

I've seen it work in many different ways. It's usually dependent upon where the PMM org lives, and what the other organizations look like along side of it. If it's in Marketing, it's very dependent on who the leader of marketing is. If it's in Product Management, it's usually broken out by product or vertical. I'm currently building up the team at Socrata, so we're broken out more by strategy vs. execusion and a person who owns the website. We'll go to a more verticalized approach as we expand. ...Read More

1,691 Views

How do you distinguish between a product, a feature, and a solution?

Clare Hegg
Clare Hegg

Skopenow Director of Product Marketing • 8y

I'm going to focus on just one part of that equation: Solution. This is an often misrepresented piece of the product marketers toolkit. I have found that so many companies put together a list of products an call it a solution, I would consider this a 'bundle' 'package' or 'toolkit.' A solution, as the name implies, should SOLVE a very specific set of problems for a specific audience type. It will generally include both product, services, and even best practices or expertise from the offering com ...Read More

1,163 Views

Should product marketing report into Product management or Marketing?

Clare Hegg
Clare Hegg

Skopenow Director of Product Marketing • 8y

It can work in many places, but I find it to be the most effective if it is either within Marketing or on its own entirely so that marketing is properly on message. I often draw a venn diagram of product marketing. Product marketing has changed dramatically since the days when the Pragmatic framework was the be-all and end-all of a product organization. At the end of the day, product marketing inspires marketing, enables sales and influences product. 

861 Views

How do you retain good talent, especially when Product Marketing role are in such high demand across the industry

Clare Hegg
Clare Hegg

Skopenow Director of Product Marketing • 7y

Retaining talent is one of those things that has no magic bullet. I believe keeping talent, begins with hiring the right talent in the first place. Obviously you need to be hiring for someone who aligns with your company culture, mission and is talented and make sure you pay them well, give them good benefits, have growth opportunities and all that... but someone else can cover off on hiring for culture.  For me, when hiring a team, I looked for people who not only met the ability to do the func ...Read More

532 Views

How do you motivate your product marketing direct reports with upward movement when there may not be opportunities for people management.

Clare Hegg
Clare Hegg

Skopenow Director of Product Marketing • 8y

Keep them motivated, working on interesting things, help them continue their growth even if that growth means they're leaving the company. And the harder part in some ways... tell them your own aspiratations for growth and the potential for you to move up (and/or on) yourself. 

417 Views