Ashley Rhoden’s Post

Since becoming a Product Manager, I discovered Product Marketing and wanted to learn more about it all... Product marketers are the bridge between product, marketing, and sales. They ensure the right message reaches the right audience at the right time. Here's a quick breakdown of what a Product Marketer actually does: ⭐ Creates strategic plans ⭐ Writes great product stories ⭐ Defines buyer personas ⭐ Conducts product research ⭐ Develops marketing content ⭐ Plans and executes product launches ⭐ Engages with the community ⭐ Enables sales teams So what is the difference between a Product Manager and a Product Marketing Manager? 💡Product Managers are responsible for helping create and define a product, while Product Marketing Managers are responsible for leading the product’s go-to-market strategy. I'm reading more and more about it and can recommend 3 good resources as an intro to Product Marketing if anyone is interested: https://lnkd.in/dUCBFDf2 https://lnkd.in/dZZQ_EVV https://lnkd.in/dda3VXJ4

💁♀️ What Does a Product Marketing Manager Actually Do? I get asked often about what I do as a Product Marketing Manager. Honestly, it's hard to pin down! It's a bit of everything, but nothing you can hold up and say, "Look, I made this!" Most days are spent bouncing between meetings, answering a million Slack messages, and making sure I know everything and everyone. We don’t directly build the product, but we shape how it’s presented, who it reaches, and how teams work together to make it shine. It’s a role that keeps things moving—connecting the dots between teams, strategies, and audiences—so when a game launches, it’s ready to win. 📶 🏅 #productmareting #mobilegames #marketingstrategy

Pushing back is a way of a life for a product marketing manager. BUT there’s a way to do it without being a nightmare to work with. 1️⃣ START WITH WHY: Understand what the *actual* ask is. Is it increasing user acquisition? Is it raising brand awareness? Could it be FOMO? (That last one is always fun, right? 😅) 2️⃣ TAKE A DIFFERENT ROUTE: Now that you’ve got an idea of why this person is bringing this to you, help them find a different, more scope-friendly way to get there. 3️⃣ SAY NO (NOT RIGHT NOW): So, you found an alternative. The resources aren’t gonna let it happen at the moment. Say no, explain your reasoning, and *keep the idea in the backlog for a later date.* Actually bring it back full circle; trust is everything as a PMM!

How did you start in Product Marketing? You will get five different answers if you ask five product marketers this question. For me, this is the core of what a cross-functional role is all about. It attracts people from various backgrounds, making it unique. But this also means it is difficult to understand the function's purpose and how to progress within it. This phenomenon is especially true in Europe where product marketing is still evolving compared to the big brother across the pond. Sounds familiar? Then join us for the next PMM workshop on the 5th of June, where Thomas Bille, VP of Product Marketing at Milestone Systems, will give his insights on how to make a career in product marketing. RSVP today, link in the comments!

If there’s one skill I’d recommend all mid to senior Product Managers to consider developing right now is Product Marketing. “The maturity of the product management function has transformed development, easing many past challenges. Meanwhile, everything about bringing a product to market has become vastly more difficult” - McKinsey, https://lnkd.in/d7W2R5UG As product practitioners, it’s always important to continue to refine and grow our practice. but every channel is flooded right now. Growing your product marketing portfolio is a great way to stand out given evolving market realities for companies that: - Don’t always know what good Product looks like - Focus more on Marketing and Sales  - Are consolidating roles and operational overhead  - See TONs of PMs in the job market with similar profiles Maybe more companies will start moving Product into Marketing like AirBnB. Maybe companies will expand the scope of Product Management to include product marketing. Maybe we’ll see an increase in the presence and ownership of the CXO function. Hard for me to say, but there’s definitely evidence that in such a noisy environment, the companies that figure out how to effective deploy product marketing will have an advantage over their competition. From the same McKinsey article: “Software companies in the highest revenue growth quartile have well-resourced, formalized product marketing functions featuring PMMs with deep and deliver professional backgrounds.”

Product marketing is still misunderstood which means the onus is on **you** to explain what you do and why For team like Product Management and Marketing that are often pressured to perform/deliver and criticized often, it's doubly important to be sensitive to their needs and explain how you work I always try to give some context AND explain how we work together/my role. Something like: "Hey Cynthia! (PM lead) Super excited to be working with you on this launch. My job is to make sure that [Product name] launches on schedule and that the entire company is aligned on GTM strategy and execution. I'm constantly thinking through downstream impacts and upstream requirements, which means I ask a ton of questions to try to understand your work in a lot of detail. I know PM is often criticized and pressured by other teams – I'm here to partner with you and think through how your work (and everyone elses) impacts other teams. My goal is to bring to market this incredible product you've created in the best way possible. It's practically my job to show off your work and make you look good! For this launch, I'm focused on hitting [relevant KPI(s)]. What KPIs are critical for you?"

Product marketing is hard. Really hard. I think it’s possibly the most undervalued skill set in a tech company and I don’t really understand why. You can spot a product that has a world class PMM working on it a mile off. There are very few people with the breadth of skill to do this role well and product teams with an amazing PMM are great places to be. Anyone up for helping me understand more? Product marketing has been one of the steepest learning curves for me so far on this start up journey.

Your success with new solutions in the market depends on your product management and product marketing prowess. Be sure you address these three product marketing steps before you hit the launch button. For many organizations, revenue from new innovations is a critical part of their growth strategy. Success of new products requires both Product Management and Product Marketing capabilities. These roles vary considerably from company to company. In many instances Product Management and Product Management and Product Marketing are used interchangeably but their roles are different.

💡 In our latest blog article, we look at the differences between Product Managers (PMs) and Product Market Managers (PMMs). Although often thought of as the same, both positions look at product development from different perspectives. 📕 Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/dArdM3qF Product Marketing Alliance