Kevin MacGillivray

Beta releases or early access programs are a fantastic opportunity to get a sneak preview of how users/customers will interact with and use a product or feature. It is really important to capture feedback early and often and package the "so what" back to your internal stakeholder group. This includes the raw data and feedback, but also an opinionated recommendation on what should be done to address. Betas are a great opportunity to test out messaging and positioning (in A/B format or other) and figure out what is landing and what isn't. What really resonates with the user and what doesn't. It's a great chance to get out of your internal echo chamber. When sales is involved, getting a few high context reps together to poke holes in your plan can also be a great way to sharpen your narrative. Lastly - betas are a great opportunity to partner closely with users/customers and capture their stories to leverage in case studies/testimonial/claims later down the line when you are driving adoption.

I have led several product marketing teams throughout my career and it is certainly not one size fits all. A couple of models that have worked well: Mirroring Product * In an environment where roadmaps are tightly aligned with product and where deep context is a must, I like to set up my team as a mirror image (or close to it) of Product. That way each person on my team has a counterpart that they are accountable to and vice versa. They are subject matter experts on the product and can clearly articulate value to a user. In this model, everyone is more of a product marketing generalist and looks after the entire scope of the craft for a particular product or product area. Organizing by Function * In an environment where product context is less important, setting up your team by function can be a good move. Some PMM's focus on upstream work/research, some on GTM and launches, some on growth & demand generation, some on sales enablement etc. This model stretches the PMM across all products/product areas but allows them to hone in on a particular function of the craft. As PMM teams scale - this model becomes more practical for PMM's, but also more efficient for different stakeholder groups like sales, partnerships, etc. that need a single point of contact.

At its core, product marketing remains focused on the same goals and outcomes in both cases. It is mostly the available tools and surfaces that differ. Things like segmentation, messaging frameworks, persona building etc. are applicable everywhere. They could be deployed in building out the right PLG experience or flow OR they could be used in building out sales enablement OR a marketing campaign. In a PLG environment, there is also a GTM component of the craft that is often required. PMM also contributes to growth activity in a PLG environment, key marketing surfaces just exist within product vs. out and key stakeholders are product/UX/eng folks vs. sales and marketing teams. And depending on the use case, PMM may have a role in driving net new customers to use the product for the first time.

Sales enablement is only a small portion of what the product marketing craft entails. That said - there are definitely roles and organizations where enablement makes up the majority of the job. IMO PMM work generally falls into (3) categories: Upstream Product Marketing * Includes: voice of customer, user research, competitive intelligence, collaborating with with product on roadmap, persona building, segmentation * Lots of foundational work in this bucket GTM * Includes: product launches, feature launches, going after new audiences, going after new segments, new geos, new channels. * Essentially connecting new product/value with the user - whether the product is new or the user is new Growth * Includes: sales enablement, campaigns, campaigns, funnel optimization, PLG, awareness * Essentially anything that drives growth and adoption across any channel The buckets above are broad. And each org will have a different focus. It can also be heavily dependent on how many other marketers are in your organization and what other crafts exist. But product marketers need to wear many hats and are ultimately accountable for building the best marketing playbook to drive positive outcomes for the org.

This one is always a challenge, especially in organizations with a large product suite. Here are a few tips. * Create and prioritize updating a single source of truth that sales, CS, and support can access to understand what is launching, when it's launching, and where they can go to learn more. * Give as much notice about new features as you can. Even if all the details aren't finalized, get upcoming product releases documented in the calendar so supporting teams know what is coming (and the volume of new stuff). * Loop craft leadership in on a quarterly/monthly basis so they are aware at a high level what is coming down the pipe and can resource plan accordingly. * Know who your go-to's or single points of contact are for each supporting craft that will help you execute, troubleshoot, and work through any friction that may arise. Prioritize these relationships. * When there is a large volume of content in each release, you need to be able to pull out what is most important for sales and distill it down to bite sized messaging.

I'm going to go a layer deeper on this answer (vs. traditional stuff like pitch decks, one pagers etc. --> which of course are all very important must have). Here we go: * A set of data driven claims that show what has been possible in aggregate for existing customers/users of the product in question. * A library of case studies that demonstrate HOW existing customers/users were able to achieve positive outcomes (like the ones illustrated in the claims above) by using the product in question. * An ROI calculator tool of sorts that leverages a prospects own data inputs and business parameters that gives them a real time sense of what they could achieve with the product in question. Combined these three things help a merchant see themselves in the numbers and paint a picture of what is possible!

These two audiences are VERY different. And it's important to be clear on the difference between audiences and channels. Enterprise merchants often move through a sales led funnel. SMB's in many cases are the ones going through a self-serve funnel. A few nuances for each: Self Serve * Users going through a self-serve experience are more likely to be looking for an "off the shelf" version of the product that can more easily be sold and explained without human assistance Sales Led * Users going through a sales led experience are often much larger, have more $$ at stake, more stakeholders involved in decision making, and are looking for a greater degree of flexibility and customization. It's definitely a challenge to communicate with both without alienating the other. A few things to consider: * What marketing channels do each segment engage with? Are they different? * Who are the decision makers and where do they get their information? Who do they trust? * Is it possible to communicate to two audiences on one surface or do I need separate destinations for each group? * Are there features and value that you can lean into for each (despite being the same product)? * How knowledgeable are the clients about the product area? Enterprise sized merchants usually have more experts. * Does your company have existing brand recognition with one of these segments? * Where do the two funnels split based on segment? Top, middle, or bottom?

It can be challenging to enable a sales team that covers multiple verticals or multiple products. A few things that help here: * Limit the P0 priorities for the sales team to 1-2 major programs each quarter. Pick the top couple of programs, incentives, marketing campaigns, hero content etc. and lean heavily into these areas to drive focus. You don't need to ignore the other verticals/products, but this really helps focus training and enablement efforts. * Build modular content and enablement material that can be 70-80% vertical agnostic with slides/stats/case studies etc. that can be slotted in depending on the prospect. This builds rep confidence in the main talk track, but also allows for a flexible conversation. * Prioritize content for the biggest or most important verticals first and build out from there. It's ok for enablement and bill of materials to be iterative and get more vertical specific over time.

Key documents include: * Master Messaging Doc - includes the most detail and the most structured framework. This is mostly used as a reference document rather than something that is presented. * Messaging Deck - usually an abridged version of the messaging doc that is meant to be leverage during live reviews with leaders, stakeholders, sales teams etc. * Pitch Deck - leveraged by sales and is one of the clearest manifestations of your messaging if your product is sold by a sales team. * One Pager - a customer facing one pager that is an external manifestation of your product messaging * List of Claims - any claims that are used to back up your messaging framework are listed here with proper sourcing, data, and investor relations thumbs up if required

One way I have found success here is to focus on (2) key review/approval moments: Early Stage Review * Approval on goals/objectives * Approval on target audiences + KPI's * Proposed messaging framework is complete and ready for review - including potentially a creative wrapper/headline if this is for a campaign * A rough GTM plan is in place outlining the tactics, surfaces, and assets where the messaging will come to life Visual Review * Sometimes earlier strategy reviews can be very abstract - the plan can make sense on paper, but no one is quite sure how it will materialize in reality. * The visual review is a late stage review where senior leaders can actually see what hero asset look like (landing page, hero email, video, demo etc.) * This is often where you get the most valuable feedback because it gauges whether what worked on paper actually works in practice * You do not need to review every single asset - just the key ones that do the best job of bringing the messaging you've created to life