What is Product Evangelism?
“Welcome to Hapn, I am TJ, our Product Evangelist.”
“You’re a what now?”
“Product Evangelist.”
“What does that mean?”
That is a conversation you can expect to have when you work at a new company and have an obscure-ish job title. How do I answer that? Let’s dig into it. Also, Welcome to Hapn, I am TJ our Product Evangelist.
Evangelist
The text book definition of evangelist comes with religious connotations. It means “a person who seeks to convert others to a specific faith, especially with public preaching.”
How do I take that and use it as part of my non-religious work day? How does that translate to a role at a tech company? What!!??
For me, it is the second half of the statement that really is the clay that you can mold the role of “product evangelist” from. They speak publicly, about the product. That person speaks to users and potential users themselves. To me, that is what separates or at the very least distinguishes the role from that of product marketer. I as the evangelist for Hapn must talk about our product to the people that use our product.
The “conversion” in the first half of our text book definition becomes sells or even espouses if you want to stay away from any stigma associated with sales.
We can use those two changes to start to craft our own definition.
A person who spells out the benefits of and uses for a specific product, especially via public speaking and/or meetings with prospects and clients.
It’s a long definition, but that, that means something to me.
How do you evangelize?
I can only answer for me, but it is always pushing the why. I want to tell people, whether it is a user, prospect or employee, the why of our product. If we launch a new feature, then they need to know the why.
Why we made it and why they want to use it. If you, as a product evangelist, can create that connection between the two whys, you can really start to create interest in the product. Real, genuine interest as well. The “why we made it” has to come from a “why a user wants it” place.
That leads me to another part of the role that is a little tougher to explain. I am not only the evangelist for the product, but for the user as well. What I mean is I also speak to our teams about what people want to do with the product, I evangelize for them as well. Product growth goes both ways, and someone has to always be in the user’s seat, seeing what they see, and advocating for their need. When this person also advocates for the product, that is when you can get developments in the product driven by user need, lensed through a creative product team. That leads to magic.
Keys to the Role
Be authentic about the product and its use. Don’t be saccharine or over the top. Tell the truth, be excited because you are, not because you have to be. That last point is key. Without true passion for a product or a feature, then it is hard to truly evangelize for it. Fake it and people will find out.
Know as much as you can about all aspects of the product and its users. Be hungry for ways that folks want to use what you make. Learn what the product cannot do yet, that lets you help evangelize for the next big feature before it is made.
Don’t be precious about anything. Consume the knowledge and pass on the why. That’s it!
Fin
Product evangelist is an odd job title. Once you break it down, it really does correlate to advocating for your product and your customers. Here at Hapn, that is what I get to do. Spread the features and their use to our users, and then push the user's need back through our staff. It is a rewarding thing to be a part of.
TJ Chasteen
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Hapn Website → gethapn.com
Twitter → @get_hapn
