Ask the Experts
Ask me anything On March 11th, Axel Kirstetter, Merill Corporation's VP of Product Marketing will be hosting an AMA on engaging with the C-suite: best practices for PMMs to work with heads of product, finance, sales, marketing and service.
On March 11th, Axel Kirstetter, Merill Corporation's VP of Product Marketing will be hosting an AMA on engaging with the C-suite: best practices for PMMs to work with heads of product, finance, sales, marketing and service.
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In Product Marketing Alliance you can ask and answer questions and share your experience with others!
Hey Axel, this is a really great topic. I've been in product marketing for several years but have recently joined a company where the role is brand new to them, and the piece I'm finding difficult is that initial "this is what I do and why I do it". Have you ever been in this situation? And what do you think this best way is present that piece in a way that'll get everyone to really understand and appreciate my role?
Hi Carlina - yes, PMM has the challenge for sitting between the marketing and product pillars. I think you need to engage your stakeholders in a bi-directional discussion. "Here is what I will do for you". Time frames, measurement, resource allocation, audiences etc. Here you need to get assurances that your items are relevant and impactful. This only comes via a sort of sign-off. The bi-directional element comes in at the next step which is "and to accomplish these items here is what i need from you". To be successful you will need active support. Subject to who your stakeholder is, it is reasonable to ask for participation in client meetings, customer discovery sessions, access to Sales for reviewing of assets, dedicated slots for product information in the communication and demand channels etc.
I hope this helps
Hi Axel - What do you think us product marketers can do on an individual level to get ALL people from the c-suite invested in our roles?
Hi Ryan - great question. A lot of this comes down to your commits to others and earning credibility over time. For example, product will want to know what you will do for product adoption, sales for asset production, marketing for speaker availability etc. I am also a big believer in quarterly or semesterly business reviews that include revenue, against pipeline, campaigns that have been run quant./qual. input etc.
My simple definition of PMM is to be the expert in buyers. This is not the same as a customer or user. the buyer includes potential, past and future buyers. Every department has an interest in understanding that.
Hey Axel 👋🏼 When you first entered product marketing, what were the biggest challenges you faced with the C-suite?
Hi Amy. Its always the same. Where should it sit (marketing, product) and what does it do. I find the reporting line secondary secondary to the issue of measurement and impact. if the company needs PMM to sharpen the focus for demand gen and inside sales then it makes sense to sit in marketing. if the challenge is more around positioning, competitive intel it makes sense to sit with product.
As mentioned in responses to other blogs here, in establishing your charter:
- get sign off from execs on it
- ensure bi-directional relations are established
- keep focused on being the organization focal point for buyer expertise
let me know if you want more.
Hi Axel - great topic, so glad you are tackling this! Keen to know which execs do you interact with most on a day-to-day/week-to-week basis? And what do your interactions typically look like? Are you given a seat at the table? What advice would you give to PMMs in an organisation where there isn't a VP, Product Marketing fighting their corner higher up the ladder?
Heather - day-to-day: sales, product, marketing. Weekly: service. legal. Monthly: finance, CEO.
PMM needs to earn its seat at the table. Best way is by being the focal point for buyer expertise. how product is used, addressable market size, reasons for churn, sub-segments, segment profitability. etc. this level of detail takes time to establish. meanwhile deliver on your charter and quarterly commits.
let me know your thoughts
I would go beyond "engage" and say it's more about managing up. As a PMM, working with the C-Suite is by far the most challenging task. Developing messaging, conducting research, writing briefs, etc. is just work. Getting approvals, resources, and support is where the work gets done.
My question: how would you manage a project where your key stakeholders dislike each other and won't cooperate with you or themselves? Or, perhaps they dislike you for whatever reason and are making your life hard?
Hi Edgar - office politics is not an exclusive PMM domain. For project specific collaboration my recommendations are make sure there is an agreed upon charter in place including an exec. sponsor. Charter should include goals, objectives, timeframes etc. Report back on those, identify gaps and resource requirements etc. If things get too heated get back with the exec. sponsor and check whether any of the goals have changed.
On a personal level, if it really is unbearable and you have explored the above option, maybe there are deeper cultural fit questions at play.
Hi, Axel: Agree with a lot of your perspective on alignment and executive buy in. I've been trying to figure out how to either initiate or influence a more market-driven process to product strategy, i.e. developing a good business case for products and/or significant features so that the business is well positioned to make decisions about what to develop based on revenue opportunity or ARR goals. The organization is at a low level of maturity with respect to Product Marketing as well as the idea of being market-led. Any insight and/or guidance on how to approach this? I'm focusing on creating alignment and developing a structure to decision rights but when it comes to getting the business case done, it has been like pulling teeth.
Hi Ashir - great question. (My subsequent answer is more aimed at B2B). I have gone through this exercise a few times. From a PMM perspective we have to reflect how what we do provides value to buyers across their value chain. For example email marketing, you have your list load phase, your template build and populate, send phase, result analysis phase, report out, CRM update phase etc. your tool needs to show value against all of these phases. Ideally these value chain phases include different audiences. Overlay that with good TAM, SAM, SOM, Penetrated definitions multiplied by willingness to pay data and it becomes a really interesting discussion. I would also add teaming up with Sales is a good exercise here. if multiples sellers mention a certain client cohort is interested in a certain type of functionality there is probably a market there making the business case easier.
Happy to discuss more!