Welcome back!

In part one, we reviewed initial steps when starting as a product marketing manager, team of one.

In this post, we’ll cover how to show your value as a product marketer to your cross-functional teams. 

We’ll review:

• Getting those early wins

• Sharing your work

• Asking for help

• Creating a charter

Let’s get started.

Getting those early wins

Learning about the company, goals, and creating 30-60-90 plans is all good–and necessary. But there is nothing like jumping right into the pool.

Two weeks (if that?) into my new job, the product team assigned a launch that included a platform migration to be released in under two months. 

What do you do when you have started your new job and are immediately assigned a release, the first of its kind?

You leap. I started with my Go To Market plan template. It wasn’t perfect. In fact, far from it. I asked a million questions. I set up individual meetings with stakeholders to review features and member experience. Many of my colleagues did not know the answers. Departments did not know how migration worked.I was kicking over rocks everywhere I turned. Sometimes, it is good to be new.

I introduced the disciplines of product marketing: Go To Market plans, kickoffs, approvals, go/no go meetings, marketing check ins. All. Brand. New. 

The launch went well (phew!). I got an early win establishing the foundations of product marketing. And in streamlining workflows and communications, I created value. 

Sharing your work

This one can be a tough one. I want to get the job done and move on. 

But if no one knows what you have done, no one will recognize your value.

Share. Your. Work.

You want to share your work, initial drafts, project status updates or results. I’ve learned that it is best to share early to ensure you are in alignment with stakeholders. You bring other teams with you on the journey, which creates strong partnerships.

I shared information from the launch with the marketing team. The team had many questions about the migration and I was on point to provide clarity. The more you share and bring others with you on projects, the more they will recognize your contributions.

Asking for help.

I’m going to keep this one simple.

Don’t go it alone.

Believe me, your colleagues will be more than willing to help you. People love to share what they know. Asking for help allows others to feel included in the plans. 

You’ll create even stronger strategy plans by pulling in different perspectives and continuing to build strong partnerships across teams. 

(Even Ben Franklin says so!)

Creating a Charter

If you ask 100 people what product marketing is, you’ll get 100 answers. Every organization structures product marketing differently, and each person has a different idea of the role.

I recommend creating and sharing a product marketing charter. This will clarify what you do AND give you the keys to say no to everything else. Must have items in your charter include:

• Why you exist/value you provide

• Product marketing pillars

• Stakeholders/interlocking teams

• Responsibilities by category (e.g., Go To Market, Messaging)

• Objectives

• Option: Include the Pragmatic Product Framework to define responsibilities of product, product marketing, and marketing if your organization is familiar with this document.

The key is to identify roles & responsibilities. Who is doing what? Establish this from the beginning. Discuss and plan this with your cross functional teams, and you’ll eliminate (most) confusion and frustration in the future.

I hope this has been helpful! 

I know what it is like to jump into the pool alone. Sometimes you can feel you are spinning wheels. There will be setbacks. Expect it. Learn from it. 

Take a deep breath and know that establishing structure, responsibilities, and partnerships will build and eventually expand your responsibilities and role.