Product Marketing Managers - let me tell you a little bit about my breed

The PMM role is relatively new in the industry (compared to Product, Sales or Marketing functions) and therefore hasn't always been clearly defined. It's often referred to as critical in a large organization, a bridge that connects Sales teams to Product teams and vice versa. It has also been referred to as a luxury role, a nice-to-have rather than a must-have. It differs in scope from one org to another - a PMM at Google operates differently from a PMM at Meta versus a PMM at Amazon or Apple or TikTok. But at the end of the day, a PMM is just an extension of the Product Manager (PM), someone who is accountable for the success of a product. Depending on the type, size and complexity of the business, a PMM can be impactful by driving clarity on 1) the customer need and 2) the value of the product.

Below is my quick take on PMMs.

Who: PMMs are equal part Sales and Product. They speak both languages clearly.

What: PMMs drive business revenue and product revenue.

How: PMMs run customer immersions (to develop customer empathy and understanding) as well as GTM activations (to drive targeted awareness and activation of a solution)

Why: PMMs bridge the gap between product and sales / customer

A PMM will have a deep understanding of their target customer similar or more than the on-ground Sales team. A PMM should:

• Go beyond the surface to develop an emotional and practical understanding of the life and needs of the consumer - their jobs to be done (JTBD)

• Drive understanding of customer problems by responding to the 5 Whys

• Articulate the needs of the customer to inform Product teams and actively participate in roadmapping decisions

A PMM will drive the Go-to-Market strategy for any new solution by positioning the product relative to customers' JTBD. A PMM should:

• Generate target lists - identify the primary customer

• Articulate the value - clear messaging on the value of the product and how it differentiates from what exists in the market (competitor analysis)

• Lead with a story - educate the salesforce on the customer job that the solution is going to address (sales enablement)

• Identify appropriate channels to reach the target customer i.e. marketing events, direct sales, partnerships, etc.

• Develop clear timelines for all milestones leading up to launch

• Set short-term and long-term goals - identify KPIs to measure the impact of the product. Track adoption regularly.

• Listen to feedback and iterate.

The PMM role might be considered a luxury in some sections but in my opinion, it is an essential part of every aspiring growth company. The ultimate goal of a business is to build products or services that address the needs of their customer. PMMs are best positioned to represent the customer internally and product externally, as a result of which, they have the capability to drive value for all involved parties.