3 simple ways to teach internal teams about Product Marketing.
Including free Intro to Product Marketing slides.
“What is it you do again?”
…is the kind of recurring question that I only want to hear from my Dad.
The question concerns me if it comes from colleagues. Especially if I’ve worked with them for a while. It means I’m not doing a good job at promoting the role of Product Marketing internally.
Why’s that bad?
- Product Marketing won’t always get a seat at the table on big projects.
- We’ll often get asked by other teams to do the wrong thing — like proofreading someone else’s copy 😱.
- There’ll be simple breakdowns in communication between teams that Product Marketing can help companies avoid.
Any of this sound familiar? It’s all down to a simple lack of understanding of what Product Marketing is.
I’ve thought for a while that the biggest challenge facing Product Marketing at the moment is an educational one. It is a relatively new role, with not a lot of clout behind it yet, but the momentum is building, and there are easy things outside of our day-to-day responsibilities that we can do to help get more internal buy-in for the role.
Here are three simple things you can do that will teach internal teams about Product Marketing:
1. Develop a Product Marketing Mission Statement
This is your Product Marketing mantra, which you can use to lobby the importance of your role internally. It’s something punchy & easy for people to remember, that they can then in turn use to champion you to others around the business.
It can also help address a more fundamental question that people who aren’t aware of your job will be thinking. Not just “What do you do?” but “Why are you here?”.
That might sound overly dramatic, but it’s true. You need a mission statement for the same reason that companies have mission statements — to tell the world why they exist, and what impact they’ll make on it.
Your Product Marketing Mission Statement tells internal teams what impact you make on the company.
I’m trialling this one…
Product Marketing’s goal is to:
Deliver the right product, to the right audience, using the right message.
I heard another good one from the Facebook team at a Product Marketing Meetup they run in London.
We are the voice of the product in the market and the market in the product.
The aim of your mission statement is to give people that first lightbulb moment of “ah, that’s what you do.” 💡
Put it in slide-decks, say it in meetings, write it up on a whiteboard next to your desk. It should be used to help make your initial introduction of Product Marketing to other teams.
2. Put your work on display
The most effective way of teaching teams about Product Marketing is simply by working with them, and showing them what you do. Once you initially demonstrate your value to a Product Manager, a Product Designer, a Sales Team, you’re more likely be invited into their future projects.
You might start by just providing some simple copy or comms, but starting off with small quick value-adds can be the key to opening doors to bigger projects and growing Product Marketing’s influence with internal teams.
If the most effective way to educate teams about Product Marketing is by demonstrating your value, then think about how you can do that on a grand scale, to everyone in your business.
- Run workshops with other teams on specialist areas
- Present projects you own at company meetings
- Create an internal newsletter with regular Product Marketing updates
- Build a repository of all your work…
One thing we’ve recently initiated at GoCardless, is a Product Marketing Hub. An internal tool for people to see what projects we’re working on.
It’s a simple Zendesk interface, built on top of our Google Drive folders, that helps make our work visible to everyone in the business.
As much as it’s a resource for internal teams to find key documents & insights, it’s also a great educational resource for us to teach others about Product Marketing.
By documenting all of our work in a central and accessible location, teams no longer just ask us for a specific document, they get to see how individual pieces of work fit within the wider remit of the Product Marketing team’s responsibilities.
Think about how you go beyond demonstrating your value to individuals, and create a bigger platform for it.
3. Onboard all new hires
It can be difficult introducing a new role like Product Marketing to someone who’s been working in a company for a long time. They’re often used to a certain way of working, and it can take time and influence for them to adapt to change.
It’s much much easier to do it with new hires.
New hires come with little to no preconceptions of how work is done in your company, so by running a quick introductory session to Product Marketing, you’re making an investment in stronger relationships with each of the teams they belong to.
Make time to meet all your new hires and teach them about your role in the company. Set their expectations of what Product Marketing does. What they should ask you for, what they shouldn’t ask you for. What projects you need to be included in.
You can use my Intro to Product Marketing slides on SlideShare as a template for your own session.
Recap
- Introduce Product Marketing with a mission statement that explains the impact you make for the company.
- Demonstrate your value to the company by putting more of your work on display.
- Welcome all your new hires with an introduction to the Product Marketing team.
How are you teaching teams about Product Marketing in your company?
What is your Product Marketing Mission Statement?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Add your comments below.
How to help other Product Marketers find this blog.
- 👏 on the article.
- Share it if you liked it 🤓
- Follow We are Product Marketing on Medium.
For more Product Marketing chat, join us on Facebook.
I’m looking for contributors to this blog. You can be a Product Marketer at the start of your career or with years of experience under your belt. I want people to write open, honest posts about their experience in Product Marketing, and how it works in their organisation.
Email weareproductmarketing@gmail.com or comment below to take part.
