Desiree Motamedi

CMO - Next Gen Platform, Salesforce

Content

What are some great examples of bold — yet tasteful — competitive positioning you've seen in the market? How can companies straddle the line without turning it into a game of finger-pointing?

Desiree Motamedi

Salesforce CMO - Next Gen Platform • November 17

An example that stands out to me was Steve Jobs’ manifesto on Flash and its security problems. What was fascinating about it was actually Adobe’s response to it. They bought full-page ads in newspapers around the world, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times that said “We Love A......Read More

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How do you tie back product marketing's goals with that of the product org?

Desiree Motamedi

Salesforce CMO - Next Gen Platform • June 30

Everything starts with product. We make it a best practice to learn the goals of the product organization, then look at how the PMMs’ work ties back to them. Personally, I report into product, and it’s worth noting that a lot of PMMs do not. Reporting into product helps me ensure that, as a compa......Read More

1037 Views

Shopify Editions is a new approach to bringing products to market at Shopify. Can you walk us through the process? What was the insight? How did you collaborate with stakeholders? What other options did you consider? Why now?

Desiree Motamedi

Salesforce CMO - Next Gen Platform • June 30

We used to host a developer conference at Shopify called Unite where we’d speak on updated product releases either in-person or online, but as time has gone on, traditional marketing is changing. It was time that we acknowledge that and change the way we bring our products to market. We needed to......Read More

1024 Views

How should PMMs work in collaboration with product managers and the customer success team on product launches?

Desiree Motamedi

Salesforce CMO - Next Gen Platform • June 30

PMs are like your close family. There are lots of heightened emotions throughout a launch—good and bad. It’s a partnership that must stay rigid because they truly are your partner in crime. Some of the best PMs I’ve worked with have challenged me and honestly, I value that. Making sure that you h......Read More

937 Views

How do you obtain competitive intelligence on a competitor's product that has very little public-facing marketing around it?

Desiree Motamedi

Salesforce CMO - Next Gen Platform • November 17

We typically begin by looking at their financial information, social media channels, and forums like Reddit to get a sense of what their customers are saying. We sometimes call competitors directly, acting as a customer. We can also get some great insights from our own customers about why they le......Read More

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What are the factors that you consider before choosing how to promote the launch?

Desiree Motamedi

Salesforce CMO - Next Gen Platform • June 30

I like to use the GTM T-shirt sizing exercise to prepare for launches. It involves first figuring out the level of resources you’ll need to GTM, then fine-tuning the criteria needed to make it the most successful it could possibly be. At this point, you want to assess things such as product value......Read More

784 Views

What are the top documents you create when working on Competitive Positioning programs?

Desiree Motamedi

Salesforce CMO - Next Gen Platform • November 17

When we do competitive positioning, we try to take a holistic approach, examining companies across numerous areas. 1. We put together a general overview focused on their overall positioning and messaging from their website. 2. We dive a little deeper to look at specific product features an......Read More

738 Views

Could you share best practice tips for integrating market research into various stages of GTM, from business case justification through to launch readiness and post-launch adoption?

Desiree Motamedi

Salesforce CMO - Next Gen Platform • November 17

Google did a great job with this as they are rigorous when it comes to alphas, betas, and general availability. They conduct regular market research through the different stages. To get the signal that we were on the right track with an early alpha, we met with customers regularly to see if the p......Read More

640 Views

What are some of the mistakes or challenges you have had with product launches in the past and how did you overcome them?

Desiree Motamedi

Salesforce CMO - Next Gen Platform • June 30

Of course there are a number of things that can go wrong when launching a product, but I think the most impactful lesson I’ve learned to date is that you must be prepared for both the good and the bad outcomes of a launch. In a previous position at Adobe, I was working on the CS 5.5 launch that r......Read More

632 Views

How do you evaluate if a product launch is successful?

Desiree Motamedi

Salesforce CMO - Next Gen Platform • June 30

Aligning with the product team BEFORE launch is key. Take the time to set your expectations and benchmarks. There are a variety of considerations here, of course: awareness, adoption, engagement, to name a few. In my experience, fine-tuning these benchmarks a little bit goes a long way. Acknowled......Read More

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Credentials & Highlights

CMO - Next Gen Platform at Salesforce