Polomi Batra

Ah, if you're going through this right now, I feel you. This one is tough and it's because messaging can be so subjective sometimes. If you can, try to take the conversation back to two things: 1. Data-driven insights: Emphasize the importance of data-driven decision-making. Use concrete data from A/B testing, customer feedback, and performance metrics as much as you can to showcase how the two options are performing. 2. Customer-centric focus: Highlight the significance of aligning messaging with the needs and preferences of the target audience. Explain how the new messaging not only resonates emotionally but also addresses the functional benefits that matter to customers. Showcase testimonials or case studies demonstrating how customers find the new messaging more appealing, thus enhancing their connection with the product or service. And if that doesn't work, come to a compromise and keep an eye on the performance of the messaging so you can bring it back up again after some time to re-evaluate.

This can really depend on what the product is, how large and complex it is, how well defined the challenges and use cases are. In terms of thinking about messaging and positioning of a product from scratch (in an ideal world), you should think about giving yourself time to go through a few steps: 1. Market research to understand your target audience, their needs, pain points, and preferences. This often involves customer surveys, 1:1 interviews, focus group, competitor analysis, and analyst reports and marketing trends. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the depth of research required. 2. Forming your messaging and positioning: Based on step 1, start to formalize your product positioning and messaging, including taglines, elevator pitches, challenges, use cases and benefits. 3. Testing and refinement: Now that messaging and positioning is formally documented it’s time to start testing it. Test it internally and externally. And try to do a mix of quantitative and qualitative testing. For qualitative - talk to your go-to-market teams and get their feedback, pitch the messaging to analysts and get their early feedback, talk to a few customers and get their feedback. For quantitative - you can test using tools like UserVoice for customer feedback and surveys, and tools for A/B testing your messaging like Optimizely and Google Optimize to name a few. Once your new messaging is launched, think about how to monitor and optimize that messaging over time as the product evolves which affects the positioning, or its differentiators, or the main challenges it’s trying to solve. A couple of ways I’ve done this in the past is (1) quarterly surveys to customers to help validate our messaging still holds true, (2) quarterly check-ins with analysts to make sure the messaging still resonates with what the market needs, (3) ad-hoc check in with go-to-market teams to get their feedback on how the content (ex: pitch decks) is performing with customers. 

Yeah, this is always tough, especially because all the above roles usually have a point of view on this (as they should). Few things to consider: * Set clear goal alignment: Ensure everyone understands and agrees on the overarching objectives of our messaging strategy to create a common foundation for discussions * Customer-centric focus: Prioritize understanding your target audience by developing detailed buyer personas and gathering insights into their needs and preferences so you can be a voice for them in these discussions * Data-driven insights: Use data and research findings to provide more insights for feature prioritization. This can include competitive data about how the feature is differentiated, or feedback from customers and analysts directly. This will add credibility to your opinions. * Collaboration and compromise: Encourage collaborative discussions, open communication, and consensus building among stakeholders with different perspectives to arrive at well-informed decisions.

Measuring the success of your product messaging is crucial to understanding how well it resonates with your audience and drives your business goals. Here are a few different ways to measure how successful your messaging is on the different channels it’s shared on at a micro-level and macro-level: More pin-pointed ways to measure success of messaging and how it’s resonating on certain channels like email, and in-product messages, websites and social media: * Click-through rate (CTR): How many people who saw your message took action by clicking on a link or call to action. It's a good indicator of the message's ability to engage your audience. * Conversion rate: % of users who took the desired action after engaging with your message, such as making a purchase, signing up, or downloading content. * Engagement metrics: Engagement metrics like likes, shares, comments, and retweets (on social media) to see audience's interest and interaction with your message. * Bounce rate: For messaging that’s used on the website, a low bounce rate indicates that your message is attracting visitors who engage with other content on your site, while a high bounce rate suggests that the message might not be resonating. * Time on page: The amount of time users spend on a landing page or content page after engaging with your message can indicate the message's effectiveness in keeping visitors engaged. * Email open rate: In email marketing, the open rate measures how many recipients opened the email which can tell you the effectiveness of your messaging * Email click-through rate: How many people clicked on links or calls to action within your email? This shows the message's ability to drive action. Broader, more qualitative ways to measure success of your messaging * Customer feedback and surveys: Collect feedback from your customers through surveys, focus groups, or direct communication. Ask questions related to the messaging's impact and whether it aligns with their expectations. * Sales feedback: How often is sales using the customer-facing materials you built for them to use like pitch decks, etc. Is it resonating with their customers? How many folks from GTM are using it or viewing it * Brand awareness and sentiment: Track brand recognition and sentiment through tools like social listening and sentiment analysis to gauge how your messaging is impacting brand perception.

This is a good question and a very hard problem to solve in a saturated SaaS/Tech industry. Here are a couple of principles I typically try to follow when solving for this problem: * Develop a unique value proposition: Identify what makes your product different from the competition. It could be a unique feature, better pricing, superior customer service, or a focus on a specific niche. Your value proposition should be clear and compelling. * Tell a compelling story: Craft a compelling product narrative that resonates with your target audience and the challenges they are facing with real-life examples. Keep the language simple and relatable to make it more memorable. * Highlight benefits, not just features: This goes back to make it more relatable. Instead of listing features, emphasize the benefits of using your product. Explain how it will make customers' lives easier, save them time or money, or help them achieve their goals. * Have a customer-first approach: Put your customers at the center of everything you do. Gather feedback, provide excellent customer support, and showcase customer success stories. Potential customers are often swayed by the experiences of others.

In the initial weeks as a Product Marketing Manager, your focus should be on deeply immersing yourself in the product and GTM strategy to learn, absorb and build a strong foundational understanding of what you are tasked to market. This can involve key activities like: 1. Engage with the product: Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the product you'll be marketing is crucial. This can be achieved by exploring an internal demo environment, setting up a trial account, collaborating with a technical Subject Matter Expert (SME), or reviewing existing tutorial videos. The goal is to become intimately familiar with the product’s features, benefits, and potential pain points from both a user and marketing perspective. 2. Analyze the market landscape: A thorough understanding of the competitive landscape and market dynamics is essential. This includes studying your competitors, analyzing customer insights, and identifying trends that can influence your marketing strategy. By understanding the broader context in which your product operates, you can position it more effectively. 3. Start to build cross-functional relationships: As product marketing is a very cross-functional role, building strong relationships with key stakeholders early on is recommend. This includes product managers, marketing counterparts, and leadership. Establishing these connections will enable smoother collaboration and alignment as you work to bring your marketing strategies to life. 4. Understand your audience: To craft messages that resonate, you must deeply understand the audience you’re targeting. A great way to do this in the early days is to listen in on customer calls, study win-loss data, and reviewing recorded sales calls through platforms like Gong. By immersing yourself in the voice of the customer, you'll be better equipped to address their challenges and communicate the unique value your product offers.

I think transitioning from consulting to product marketing is a natural move, as many of the skills you’ve developed in consulting are highly relevant to product marketing. Here’s how you can make that transition and demonstrate your transferable skills: 1. Leverage analytical and strategic skills * Showcase problem-solving: Highlight your ability to analyze complex problems and develop strategic solutions. Product marketing often involves understanding market challenges and crafting strategies to address them, a skill honed in consulting. * Data-driven decision-making: Emphasize your experience with data analysis and making data-driven recommendations. Product marketers need to understand market data, customer insights, and performance metrics to shape their strategies. 2. Highlight communication and presentation skills * Effective messaging: In consulting, you’ve likely developed strong communication skills, particularly in creating clear and persuasive messaging for clients. This directly translates to crafting compelling product messaging and positioning in product marketing. * Stakeholder management: Your experience in presenting ideas and influencing stakeholders in consulting can be a significant asset. Product marketers frequently need to communicate the value proposition to internal teams, sales, and customers. 3. Emphasize cross-functional collaboration * Team coordination: In consulting, you’ve worked across various functions and teams to deliver projects. Product marketing also requires close collaboration with product management, sales, engineering, and customer support, making your experience highly relevant. * Influence and leadership: Highlight your ability to lead and influence teams without direct authority, a key aspect of both consulting and product marketing. 4. Draw parallels between consulting projects and product marketing * Client-centric approach: Consulting often involves understanding client needs and crafting tailored solutions. In product marketing, this translates to understanding customer needs and developing targeted messaging and positioning. * Project examples: Provide examples of consulting projects where you were involved in market analysis, customer segmentation, or go-to-market strategy. These are directly relevant to product marketing roles. 5. Build industry knowledge and product understanding * Learn the industry: If you’re moving into a new industry, start building your knowledge of the market, competitors, and customer needs. This will help you speak the language of product marketing in that sector. * Understand the product lifecycle: Familiarize yourself with the stages of the product lifecycle and how marketing strategies shift at each stage. This understanding will strengthen your case for the transition. 6. Network with product marketers * Seek informational interviews: Connect with product marketers to learn more about the role and how your consulting experience can be applied. These conversations can also help you refine your pitch when discussing your transferable skills. * Join industry groups: Engage in product marketing communities, both online and in-person, to expand your network and learn from those already in the field. 7. Tailor your resume, pitch and look into certifications * Translate your experience: When updating your resume, frame your consulting experience in terms of product marketing. For example, if you worked on a market entry strategy, position it as experience in go-to-market strategy development. * Craft a compelling story: Be ready to articulate why you’re transitioning into product marketing and how your consulting background uniquely positions you to succeed in this role. Highlight your passion for understanding the customer and developing strategies that drive business outcomes. * Pursue certifications: If needed, consider certifications in product marketing or related areas to bridge any gaps and show your commitment to the field. Some good ones are Pragmatic Institute and the Product Marketing Alliance. By framing your consulting experience in a way that aligns with the key responsibilities of product marketing, you can effectively demonstrate that your skills are transferable and make a compelling case for your transition.

Breaking into product marketing as a recent graduate requires a strategic approach: 1. Build a strong foundation: Supplement your degree with certifications in product marketing (Product marketing alliance and Pragmatic Institute are two good spots to start), digital marketing, product management, or data analysis. 2. Gain practical experience: Seek internships, entry-level roles, or work on side projects that require similar skills to product marketing (skills like messaging, positioning, research on customer insights as an example). Hands-on experience is crucial. 3. Network: Join industry groups, attend webinars, and seek mentorship from professionals in the field, or friends in your network. Building relationships can open doors. 4. Tailor your resume: Highlight relevant experience and create a portfolio showcasing any marketing or product-related projects. If you're in psychology for example, you've likely had some research experience, are a great writer, and can understand humans well - these are all skills relevant to product marketing. 5. Prepare for interviews: Understand the role, practice case studies, and be ready to discuss how your skills align with product marketing. 6. Stay persistent: Apply broadly to related roles and be flexible. Continuous learning and adaptability will help you land your first product marketing position.

Our strategy begins with product marketing conducting a thorough competitive analysis to establish a clear point of view on how we differentiate in the market. From there, we collaborate closely with key stakeholders—such as product teams and competitive intelligence (if applicable)—to ensure alignment. If possible, it's also valuable to validate these differentiators with key accounts and sales leaders. By facilitating cross-functional discussions and securing buy-in from leadership, we create a unified message that resonates across teams, ensuring everyone is on the same page about our competitive edge.

This is a tough one and one that I still struggle with myself. Here are a few things I like to do: * Prioritize tasks: Focus on high-impact work and block off deep work time. I like to set time to do deep thinking work either at the start of the day or at the end of the day. * Use productivity tools: Leverage tools to streamline tasks and automate routine activities like ChatGPT, or Notion, etc. * I count meetings and relationship building both as work in my role: * Optimize meetings: Only attend essential meetings, keep them concise, and stick to the agenda. * Build relationships: Schedule regular check-ins and integrate relationship building into other activities * Protect Personal Time: Clearly define and respect your personal time. Prioritize self-care as you would any task. * Review and adjust: I attend to assess and tweak my time management to stay balanced and productive week by week. Product marketing is so cross-functional that our schedule every week looks pretty different.