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Max A.

Max A.

Product at Google

San Francisco, California

I help companies serve more customers. I'm a techno-optimist who believes in the power of meaningful innovative products to solve real-world problems. Say hi on twitter.com/maxan and check out my blog about tech, startups, growth, and marketing: max2c.com

Content

What is your favorite product marketing interview question and the best answer you've heard?

Max A.
Max A.

Google Product • 8y

Here are some of my favorites: Open-ended / ice-breaker: "Can you tell me about yourself / your experience?" Motivation / Research: "Why are you interested in the company and this position?" If the answer is too generic / short, follow-up with "What do you know about the company?" Behavioral / Change management and initiative: "Can you tell me about a time when you realized that your company or team needed to change something in the way you did things? How did you come to that conclusion and how ...Read More

3,086 Views

What are the pros and cons of getting an MBA when you're already in product marketing/marketing and looking to stay in this field and under what circumstances does an MBA help?

Max A.
Max A.

Google Product • 8y

It really depends on your goals and the current situation. In my humble opinion, the value of an MBA is likely to be higher if one or a few of the following things are true about you:1. You're trying to change your role/function (and having a hard time doing it without a degree)2. You're trying to change the industry (and having a hard time doing it without a degree)3. You're trying to change the geo, e.g. move to the US or to the EU (and having a hard time doing it without a degree)4. Your unde ...Read More

1,696 Views

Given the proliferation of marketing tools -- how are product marketers staying on top of customer data, customer churn, win/loss analysis, key issues around product (bugs, outages) etc. What tool or platform do you use currently to have one-stop-shop visibility into customer information.

Max A.
Max A.

Google Product • 8y

It's definitely not a one-stop-shop situation over here. Here is the list of things we use most frequently:1. Google Analytics for web data (website conversions, traffic, etc)2. Google VWO for A/B tests3. Hotjar for heatmaps4. Kissmetrics dashboards for product data: certain actions taken inside the product5. Mode Analytics for financial reports: churn, MRR, ARR, etc6. Salesforce for DemandGen / Performance Marketing metrics: leads, opportunities, etc6. Still lots of Google Spreadsheets for othe ...Read More

1,473 Views

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

Max A.
Max A.

Google Product • 8y

1. Give them interesting and stretching projects: from writing content to pricing and competitive intelligence.

2. Facilitate and incentivize cross-functional work: let them own and drive projects with other teams, e.g. customer sucess, bizops, etc – so that they learn a lot.

3. If you work for a high-growth company, the situation might change in a few quarters and the upward opportunities might appear – so people on your team should be ready.

1,399 Views

How do you stay on top of competitors when it's a crowded market and things are changing every day?

Max A.
Max A.

Google Product • 8y

This depends on the necessary level of detail. We use Google Alerts + an internal Slack channel for ongoing monitoring. As for in-depth analysis, Crunchbase, Angel.co, G2Crowd, Capterra, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and competitors' websites can be useful. 

Also, check out this blog post: http://max2c.com/competitive-intelligence-tools/

772 Views

What does Product Management have to provide in their Project Briefs in order for Product Marketing to be successful?

Max A.
Max A.

Google Product • 8y

I’ll probably need to write a blog post about it one day. :) For now, here is a brief summary of what we aligned on with the product team in terms of the categories of inputs we need to prepare a successful launch:Earlier in the process:1. Feature Description2. Target Audience3. Use Case and Customer Benefits4. TimelineLater in the process:5. Business Objective6. Availability (plans the feature will be available under – might not be relevant in your case)7. Support Needed from Marketing8. Linked ...Read More

684 Views