How do you become a product marketing manager?

Good-old problem solving skills: Define the problem, Structure the problem, Prioritize issues, Develop Hypotheses, Synthesize and Develop Answer, Execute & Iterate. PMMs are quarterbacks driving v-team of stakeholders toward everything from launching a successful product to driving demand growth in a marketing campaign. While there are a variety of multidisciplinary problems to be solved, all can benefit from a leader applying rational problem solving skills to help the group find the best answer, experiment and learn.

As a Product Marketing Manager (PMM), I personally find my role incredibly rewarding and multifaceted, putting me in a unique position where I can directly influence the success of a product in the market. The ability to work at the intersection of various departments, including product development, marketing and sales, allows me to have a holistic view of the product journey.

To accumulate PMM expertise, I dived into a project, using the capstone project as my canvas to develop a product I'm passionate about from the ground up. This included a comprehensive product marketing strategy, from shaping the product roadmap to identifying target groups. My journey covered customer segmentation, communication strategies, value proposition development, and refining positioning and messaging. For those grappling with breaking into PMM, I'm willing to discuss and offer insights!

Product Marketers have many skills, but three that stand out are 1) strong business acumen 2) technical or product expertise 3) abundance of creativity Product Marketing serves as the voice of product to customers and the voice of customers back to product. Building a strong foundation of product knowledge, making you a trusted voice in Product & Engineering meetings, is critical. Capturing the voice of the customer and having a strong grasp of market / industry trends is also critical.

The journey into Product Marketing is hardly ever a linear one. In my experience, it’s not a marketing background that makes for the best product marketers, but rather, one in commercial, sales or even analytics. It’s this varied foundational experience that provides the best basis for a great PMM, by establishing context on other parts of the business and how they operate, what makes them tick and most importantly, what they need to be successful. This is why entry level PMM roles are rare. My advice to anyone who’s just starting out is to speak to seasoned PMMs in the industry, but also if you’re already in the world of work, look around! Speak to your sales leaders, your product teams and understand the challenges they’re facing today.

Securing a PMM role ≠ Gaining relevant experience. You don't need to have a PMM role only to get experience in product marketing. If you can get experience in a few PMM skills, you can talk about these skills in your interviews and that can definitely make an impact. Join early-stage startups where you can sharpen your skills and don't be afraid to take initiatives. Experience in early-stage startups is really helpful for a product marketing person as they get to learn about different functions and widen their scope.

To gain real experience, consider the following: Volunteering for startups or non-profit organizations to assist them with their marketing needs (e.g. messaging). Freelancing for startups on Upwork, Growth Collective, or others and trying to get paid as you gain real-world experience (you may have to leverage some existing skill first and gradually move on to PMM-focused work) Creating targeted projects (e.g. messaging teardowns) for your target companies using the theory you learned

If you wish to become a Product Marketeer, there are several things you can do to help you positioning: 1. Find a mentor at your company who has a Product Marketing role. Don't be shy and ask to get mentored, I believe the majority of people don't mind help. 2. Either with your PMM mentor or other PMMs, find projects you can volunteer and shadow to learn the intricacies of the role. 3. If not at your company, go to LinkedIn and find product marketing people that inspire you and invite them for a virtual coffee. I've done that many times.

There are many different types of product marketers and their roles within each organization differ. Key things that are common across all PMM roles: - You can bring unique value to multiple parts of an organization (e.g. sales, product, growth, BD) - People might not always be welcome to new opinions or perspectives because they are siloed - You need to use data to form your unique perspective and influence others A great way to get data is customer research. Become an expert in understanding how to execute customer research like MaxDiffs to prioritize features, discrete choice models to influence pricing, and focus groups to bring qualitative feedback. A PMM that knows how to strategize and execute research is super valuable.

Connect with product marketers 1:1 - whether it's in real life at meetups or conference or online on platforms like LinkedIn. Focus on building authentic relationships (not transactional ones) and try to learn more about what it's like to be a PMM where they work, in their industry, with their GTM motion, etc. This will also help you identify where you want to work as a PMM.

Join communities like PMA and network! A great way to find PMMs to connect with is to research your favorite products. Do you love their marketing? Chances are they have a great PMM team behind the scenes.

Well I can go off how I started. I came from sales, good grounding for doing the basics, such as questioning customers and having an understanding of what their pain points are. If you can learn to do this you are starting on a good footing to making informed choices about new product development.

It is as simple as this, network with Product Marketers, learn from them and build a strong relationships with them to be free to ask them any questions about the industry.

Identify PMM's that are working in industries or at companies that interest you. Prioritize making a connection that draws upon some common interests you may have with the people you're reaching out to. For example, I play golf, so I oftentimes keep an eye out for people in my city that also play. Connecting through personal interests opens the door to more authentic connections.

Before you start sending in resumes, determine what companies you should be targeting as not all opportunities are created equal. Prioritize opportunities that you are passionate about AND have a competitive advantage. To uncover your competitive advantages, start by listing out all types of customers, industries, transferable skills, and products that you have had experience with within your previous roles. Then find companies where your competitive advantage will be a key requirement for the role.

One of my former managers taught me the beautiful 90:10 rule, i.e., spend 90% of your time at work doing what your role entails and spend 10% of it outside your comfort zone. Actively seek out collaborating with individuals and teams outside your domain. This is particularly easy if you want to work in product marketing and have already worked in adjacent GTM/customer-facing functions. Let's say you work in demand generation. Then, actively working with a Product Marketing Manager, helping them see value in what you bring to the table from your knowledge of performance marketing, and showcasing your ability to learn actively can put you on the path to becoming a PMM.

I found a “briefcase” to show off who you are, why this company, and what value you can bring helps. 1-2 slides to lead the recruiter and hiring manager of your story.

Before exploring career opportunities you should clearly understand which industries you would like to follow and where you will be perfect match to the companies. By understanding your key strength and skill set address them to particular companies where you like the product, you are interested in working with this particular target audience and where you feel that company's values are matching your vision. Do not rush, be focused and concentrated, approach people from the industry to obtain more data and carefully tailor your CV and cover letter.

Interview specific: While you may want to showcase the most successful project you've done (do mention it in your resume), don't forget to go through the JD first and focus on the role and organization's goals. Along with general roles, product marketing teams are now also looking for specific roles: customer marketing, sales enablement, research-driven GTM person, and more. Fundamental of all PMM roles are almost same but Product marketing as a function can be different for different organizations. An enterprise might want to focus more on sales enablement while a startup/mid-size might want to focus on research, defining GTM for a new product/region OR even improving the PLG motion.

Every bit of what is suggested above is 100% accurate but what makes stellar Product Marketing Managers is the curiosity to learn and do all of these things. You can know everything there is to know about a subject but if you're not curious about it, it's customer value and pain point it solves...then you're knowledge is a for not.

Why not step into your customers' shoes? Visit where they shop, use your products as they would, or join communities they're part of. It's a real eye-opener to what they love and need, way beyond what data tells you. Also, a fun tip: look outside your industry for sparks of inspiration. If you're in tech, attending an art event could ignite cool ideas for your product's look and feel. It's all about mixing it up and staying connected!

PMM is about shifting from what the company wants to say to what customers want to hear. It is a continuous learning journey to understand customers’ pain points, product capabilities, and how to help sales communicate the value of the product to customers. Personally, for B2B product marketing, I find tools like Gong helpful in gaining customer insights. Attending conferences to speak to buyers and talking to sales and product managers to gain their perspectives also help with continuous learning and improvement.

The journey to becoming a Product Marketing Manager can often begin with roles as a Content Manager earlier in your career. You'll learn PMM fundamentals, including: - Use qual and quant data to understand your audience - Evangelize brands and products through storytelling - Develop the writing chops that PMMs must have in order to nail positioning As you progress in your career, you can take on increasingly strategic projects that build on your insights, strategy and writing chops and position you for PMM work.

In my experience, PMM certifications are not mandatory at many companies, and yet they demonstrate a professional focus and commitment that can set you apart for others. There are several free and affordable options. Consider this as a step if you are exploring PMM as a new chapter or if you want your get more out of your PMM journey. You’ll meet people if the course is taught with a group. And at the very least, you’ll be inspired by reminders/new info/reframed approaches to solving and creating as a PMM.

Many PMMs begin their careers in various field like other marketing roles, sales, customer success, or entirely new areas. It's also common for PMMs to transition between roles, whether moving into sales, marketing, customer success, or niche go-to-market and product marketing roles Product marketing is more than just a title—it's a journey. To gain the utmost satisfaction from your role, it's crucial to focus on what you genuinely enjoy. Think about the aspects of the PMM role that excite you most. Whether it's the customer collaboration found in sales and success roles, or your passion for diving deep into marketing strategies, identify these elements and seek opportunities to enhance and maximize your experiences in these areas.

PMM is probably the most strategic marketing path. Why? You are closer to the business and critical decision making than in any other role. You have an opportunity to impact product decisions, packaging and pricing and go to market. At the same time you are rarely producing end user assets and get the glory such as brand or demand gen marketers have. Your reward - making other teams around you successful, if you like such things - you have picked the right path.

Esta me gusta. Mktg de productos es disfrutar el viaje que implica convertirte en un gerente de esta materia. Tendrás altas y bajas que todas ellas te darán aprendizajes, lanzaras o relanzar productos que tendrás que medir, lograr consolidar o reestructurar en el tiempo y sobretodo trabajar arduamente con creatividad y pasión para que ventas lo compré, lo adopté, lo empuje y sobretodo lo venda. De repente si no es que muchas veces la harás de vendedor para enseñar a otros a como posicionar algo. Sufrirás y celebraras campañas estrategicamente diseñadas o no. Relevante al ser gerente tendrás pupilos que querrán seguir tus pasos y te convertirás en líder de la palabra, metodología y humanismo que esta gran área representa en las empresas

In my experience, being a PMM can often require being both a solver & a creator - and sometimes just one of these at a time! You’ll be focused on solving the business problems of your audience, where possible, with your products. And you’ll also be regarded as a problem solver for internal stakeholders like sales. Sometimes you solve by creating. And sometimes you’re connecting the dots of information for others to understand & use in simple, easy-to-follow ways. Hopefully, you enjoy learning about your product portfolio, practice using or demo’ing it, & begin a journey of creating assets or experiences for others to see & use your product. Create can start w a brochure or a video or be a full on demo - there is no right way to start!

Es una carrera de experiencia, no universitaria. Después la.perfeccionas con cursos.o certificaciones de la misma. A lo largo de este recorrido, cada paso y cada experiencia, ya sea un curso, un proyecto exitoso o incluso un error, contribuyen a la formación de habilidades y conocimientos esenciales. Este proceso de aprendizaje continuo no solo te prepara para asumir mayores responsabilidades, sino que también enriquece tu perspectiva y te convierte en un profesional más experimentado. Las relaciones profesionales juegan un papel crucial en este viaje. Valorar y nutrir estas relaciones puede abrir nuevas puertas y enriquecer tu carrera de maneras inesperadas. La curiosidad y la innovación son motores que impulsan el desarrollo.

Tesla, led by Elon Musk, exemplifies key principles of successful Product Management. With a customer-centric focus, Tesla's electric vehicles align with the demand for sustainable transportation. Cross-functional collaboration is evident in the integration of cutting-edge technologies, and an iterative, agile approach is reflected in over-the-air updates improving vehicle performance. Data-driven decisions enhance features like autonomous driving. Tesla's strategic vision extends beyond cars, aiming to revolutionize energy with products like Powerwall. Clear communication, user-centric design, and effective risk management contribute to Tesla's continuous innovation and its position at the forefront of the automotive and energy industries.

Get comfortable being responsible for everything but recognition for nothing 😁 But also the opportunity to learn a diverse range of skills, build relationships across the entire organization and gain insight at every step.

If you have had the luxury of working in multiple industries, you have likely seen how the go-to-market processes and tactics for products, services, and solutions can vary. Look outside your industry for inspiration and best practices. A great recent book I recommend to Product Marketers is "Build" by Tony Fadell.

In my case I was a bit lucky, when I got selected for an internship at Microsoft, I was the only intern to get a Product Marketing Role. Of course I had 0 idea in this field as I was more connected to Digital Marketing. Nevertheless, I fell in love with the role as I was kind of running "my own business" in a way. I tried to learn as much as I can from other PMs and other colleagues at Marketing. Every PM has a different approach but the most important thing is to have the mindset to learn and adapt. 8 years later, I'm still doing product marketing and love it.

I agree that the product marketer is the glue that holds all departments. In my experience the product marketer has to clearly understand the user, in terms of their desires, fears and outcomes that they want to achieve with a particular product. Then the process to understand the desired outcome of the user must be completed and that’s what the product will deliver.