Product Collective - A critical role in product

Clearing the fog from product marketing

You could be forgiven for thinking that a role with the title product marketing manager is self explanatory. You manage the marketing of your product, right? Ahh… It’s not quite that easy. Turns out there’s a bit of haziness around what product marketing is and what product marketing managers do. Here are some resources that should lift some of the fog around this misunderstood, but critical role in the world of product.

NEW TO THIS NEWSLETTER AND LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?

The role of product marketing—and why startups need to define it. If you aren’t clear on what product marketing is, how it’s different from product management, and what the responsibilities of a product marketer are, you’re not alone. To help clear things up, Saeed Khan explains how companies should and should not define this important role.

(via @OpenViewVenture)

What is Product Marketing, and what do PMMs do?  Although product marketing is a known professional description, people often struggle to understand its meaning. One reason for this is, product marketing is the job function that sits at the intersection of product management, sales, client success, user experience, and marketing. As a result, the product marketing function varies significantly from company to company and it sometimes even means different things at the same organization. To bring some clarity, the folks at Setapp provide a general explanation of product marketing and explain what product marketing managers do.

(via @setapp)

Continues below...

Getting developers’ buy-in on build vs. buy
When we’re building software products, we’re faced with daily/weekly “build versus buy” decisions. Join us for this webinar with Rich Mironov, author of the Art of Product Management, as he digs into the different viewpoints of a PM and developer on build vs. buy and suggests a strategic approach to find some middle ground.

What is it that you do?

Let me see if you can relate to this one. You’re at a family dinner – and the topic of work comes up. You’ve been in the field of product management for a good few years. And even still, one of your own parents has the gall to ask, “So remind me… what is it that you actually do again?”

Hey, it’s hard to really fault them. The field of product management has never extensively been taught in schools. Outside of our tech circles, the role of a Product Manager is pretty opaque. 

So what do you say? Maybe something like…

“I help our company figure out what to actually create.” 

“I work with our engineering team and the designers to help launch products for the company.”

“I learn about our customers’ problems so we can figure out how to best solve them.”

Those are all completely fair answers. But let’s be honest – does it really help your parents understand what you do? Will those answers really give them the proper context to know what you go through on an everyday basis? Probably not.

But this video might.

At INDUSTRY Virtual this week, we premiered a performance by award winning performer and artist, Chris Webb, that captures the essence of what a Product Manager actually does.

So send this video on… it might be perfect for those who keep asking you what it is that you do…

2021 Product Excellence Report

The four pillars of product marketing. If your understanding of product marketing is squishy and ill defined then other teams or leaders will define it for you based on their experience and assumptions. That means you’ll have a harder time deepening your skills and cultivating our craft if team members don’t have clear career paths. In an attempt to make product marketing less squishy, Lindsay Bayuk describes product marketing in terms of four pillars: intelligence, positioning, launch, and enablement.

(via @lindsaybayuk)

What does a product marketing manager do? Behind every successful product, there are a lot of stakeholders who all play critical roles in turning a vision into tangible results. One of those stakeholders is the product marketing manager (PMM) – a role that isn’t given due credit when discussing product development teams. A PMM oversees all of the marketing programs of new and/or existing products. However, the role entails a lot more than just that, and recruiters often don’t fully understand the job description. To help PMMs get the credit they are due, Josh Fechter discusses the product marketing manager role in great depth.

(via @prodmanagerhq)

The product marketing getting started guide.  The folks at RocketBlocks put together a guide about product marketing that will help you learn more about the product marketing manager (PMM) role and help you find your first (or next) product marketing manager role. The guide covers PMM role basics, details of the PMM function, and how to prep for PMM interviews.

(via @rocketblocks)

In the early days of launching a product, it's important to set your product and team up to scale. To do that, though, it's important to build a culture that supports scale. Introducing product discipline in areas such as research, data, and user feedback is critical. We'll be discussing all of this, and more — plus, you'll have a chance to ask your own questions about what it means to scale product culture.

Great product people are attracted to great organizations for a number of reasons — but oftentimes, it's a strong culture that keeps employees engaged and motivated. At a company like The Home Depot — an organization that has successfully navigated a major digital transformation over the last several years — it's especially critical. In this fireside chat with two product leaders from The Home Depot, you'll learn:

• Why a strong product culture really matters.
• What you can do as an individual contributor to help shape a product culture.
• What product management looks like at a Fortune 18 company.
• You'll also have a chance to ask questions of your own as well — so come ready to interact!

This session is sponsored by our friends at The Home Depot.