The road to product marketing is paved with…?
If you’re reading this, you might have just gotten off a meeting with your favorite product marketer. Now, you’re (obviously) totally curious to find out if this might be the right fit for you and what you can do to learn more.
In this case, or any other case that brought you here today, hello! I’m Michal Bar Lev, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Kaltura, the premier solution for extraordinary video experiences. As a product marketer who’s grown up in the B2B tech industry, I got my tech wings somewhere else altogether. Before finding my “forever” home in product marketing, I also enjoyed other areas of my organization, working as a customer care engineer, operations manager, strategic customer success manager, and more.
OK, so why should you scroll down again (and hopefully, again)? Well, I'd love to share with you my tips and milestones on my road to becoming a product marketer. In the end, I included a few questions that hopefully get your juices flowing about whether product marketing could be the right fit for you.
It’s time to hit the (PMM) road!
In this post, I will reveal a glimpse into how analytical and creative thinking intertwine in the everyday job responsibilities of every product marketer out there. A day in the life includes roaming the floors with product managers, working with UX/UI designers, researching, and finally, distilling all of that into the secret sauce that is the go-to-market (GTM) strategy. As a PMM, you’re responsible for setting the pace for the entire salesforce, marketing, business development, customer success, and even customer care teams.
Wait, I know, it sounds like a lot, but all of this is done over a quarter-by-quarter type “day-in-a-life”.
Tip #1: Learning by doing: The Rome wasn't built in a day approach
Starting today, consider changing your professional alter-ego name to Rome! Or maybe for the next 3-5 minutes, just go with me here :) My first tip is about gaining an attitude and a real learning mindset by pushing yourself to ask questions and try new things.
As a professional starting out, I knew nothing about everything in my industry. Oftentimes, this meant that I could either nod and let that information run past me, or I could stop, ask, and learn. It’s hard to raise your hand and ask questions; you don’t want to seem stupid or like you’re the wrong person for the job.
I’m not going to lie. There are stupid questions, but by all means, get them out of the way so you can get to the meat of things.
So why am I talking about things you have already been told 1,000 times over? That’s the key to finding new passions.
As a strategic customer success manager, I had lunch with some folks on the marketing team and asked what they were working on. I found a whole new world I had no idea about. During that time, our marketers told me they were working on ways to engage customers that would make Kaltura’s product stickier. In other words, to help customers find new workflows, features, and capabilities to make them fall in love with our solution (AKA increase product adoption) and expand their use (AKA upsells).
I fell in love with this idea myself and set out to craft my own plan. I used our products to create a communication center where I shot, edited, and posted video messages to my customers – hellos, catch-ups, how-to guides, answering emails in video format, and so much more. I started slow and had to persevere, but eventually, my customers absolutely loved it. They even started posting video responses to me – amazing, I reached my goal!
Looking back, creating this communication center was my first unofficial foray into product marketing. I would’ve never had that idea if I hadn't asked a question with a mindset to initiate something new. It enabled me to discover a new point of view, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Tip #2: Communication skills are the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
Ok, Rome (it will stick), now it’s time to kick it up a notch! Get ready to have some difficult (JK!), fun conversations. I want you to get your virtual notebook out and list the last five colleagues you spoke with – can you remember anything fun about them? Exciting work-related projects? Last family holiday? If not, it’s time to leave your comfort zone and find out.
Did you know that other than just being totally awesome, one of the most important tools in a product marketer’s arsenal is your communication skills? Let’s take a few steps back: Storytime!
Before I was promoted to Strategic Customer Success Manager, I was a member of the cool crowd called Account Managers. We were a hard-core group, each managing 100+ accounts, putting out fires left and right, fighting alongside billing for outdated accounts, and generally trying to keep it all afloat.
Why am I telling you all of this, you may be asking yourself?
Thinking of my time there boiled down to three things:
1. Finding my communication pace
My customer portfolio included small, small accounts that all wanted big, big things (for free most of the time). The only option to get my way, both with customers and internally, was through… yes… say it with me: communication! Working on those skills helped me get to the right person and know how to say the right thing. Obviously, sometimes it felt a little bit like Dumbledore in that Horcrux cave trying to wield fire from my keyboard wand.
2. Taking the next step in my career
I honed my communication skills and ultimately leveraged them when I was promoted to Strategic Customer Success Manager, which is all about communication and relationships.
And most importantly:
3. Applying it in product marketing
Communication guidelines are needed when a new feature launches, even on smaller tasks like writing release notes and product newsletters. Having the expertise to communicate effectively means being able to articulate your task in a compelling manner, so much so that you’re able to gather people from different teams to advocate for your agenda.
These days, a large chunk of my day goes into translating the amazing work our product managers do into the strategic messaging and communication guidelines catered to our target audience, be it customers or prospects.
Tip #3: Is this the right career move for me?
Ok, we’ve made it to the last one. Now, I want you to take a moment to ask and answer these three questions for yourself:
- Are you excited by the company’s product and how it changes customers’ lives for the better?
2. Do you enjoy the process of writing in your job or outside of it?
3. Are you interested in working with different types of people in your organization from other backgrounds, seniority levels, and KPIs?
These three questions touch on three major parts of being a Product Marketer:
First, excitement about the product is very important to motivate and provide a sense of purpose that will emanate from your work. A major part of the job is keeping tabs on industry trends, competitors, and your organization. Then, filter that into a unique POV that your team will use to create the strategic direction of the product and all GTM messaging and positioning.
Second, this position relies heavily on writing capabilities while being agile to fit the many different faces of the company: the brand’s persona, the product language, and external/internal communication — like this very blog post you’re reading.
Third, it’s a social position. You’ll need to be a chameleon, working with different people, agendas, and timeframes while finding common ground and unifying everyone under it. For example, when a new product is released, you’ll have to form and lead a task force with folks from various teams: professional services, R&D, product managers, customer success, solution engineers, and more.
It’s time to turn in Rome — and roam
Navigating a new career move is always challenging, and not without a few good brainstorming sessions (plus major research) along the way. Make a pros and cons list of everything you love about your current position, your strong suits, and what you want to work on. Next, align it with thoughts that popped into your mind as you read this post.
Now, go back to tip #3: Can you answer my questions any differently now?
