[I recently gave a talk on 'the yin and yang of building great products' at a Products that Count webinar hosted by Denise Hemke. As a product marketer, I've been thinking about sharing my thoughts and experiences in the field for some time now, and this talk provided the perfect opportunity to do so. In this blog post, I'll dive deeper into the world of product marketing and share some insights and tips that I hope product managers (PM) and product marketing managers (PMM) from all walks of life will find valuable.]
We've all been there. When we go to buy shampoo at the store, it can be confusing. We may not know what kind to get - the one for oily hair or the one for thick hair? Do we need something that helps with dandruff?
The same thing has happened in the B2B SaaS world. There has been a Cambrian explosion of apps. Cheap money, fast innovation, and free distribution have been the primary drivers behind the proliferation of B2B software.
How do you set yourself apart in this crowded world? Are you seeking ways to make the purchasing decision easy for that shopper strolling down the supermarket aisle? If so, the art of product marketing is where you should seek your answer.
But, in order to be the best in product marketing, first and foremost, you need to build an organization around it.
The Mesozoic Era
In most organizations, marketing is an afterthought when building the product. Two months before the launch, the product team notifies the GTM teams about the new product in the pipeline. Marketing is given the mandate to market the product as it is. This creates a few problems:
Sales or marketing teams don't feel ownership.
There is not enough time to provide feedback on product differentiation or positioning.
Last-minute scrambling to get the product out.
PMMs reading this post can relate to this situation. Many people underestimate the frequency of this particular occurrence, but in reality, it happens much more often than people may realize.
It takes two to tango..
In today's world, product marketing should take center stage. Product managers (PMs) and product marketing managers (PMMs) work as co-generals managers, hand in hand, to achieve success. The product team is laser-focused on customer insights and go-to-market (GTM) strategy, while marketing is committed to mastering the product and its unique selling points. And the best part? The GTM process kicks off right alongside the building of the beta product.
This is a game-changing approach! The ideal yin and yang of building and launching great products. Or as we used to say at Google, "Know the Customer. Know the Magic. Connect the Two.”
The Modern Family
This all sounds good on paper, but what is the ideal organizational design for optimal engagement between product and marketing? I have seen two kinds of org designs:
The Google Triad Model involves the close collaboration of three key departments: Product, Sales, and Marketing. Their collective efforts were instrumental in propelling Google Enterprise forward. The Product team serves as the primary liaison for all product-related decisions and is the representative for engineering in all discussions. Meanwhile, the Sales and Marketing departments, representing the GTM organization, are responsible for driving revenue growth.
The Atlassian Quad Model comprised a PLG-led GTM approach. During the initial phase, the sales team primarily focused on farming instead of hunting, while customer acquisition was the responsibility of the marketing team. Under this Quad Model, Product, Engineering, Design, and Marketing collaborated as a cohesive unit, overseeing all aspects of product development and GTM. This model was replicated for all products in the Atlassian family.
In both scenarios, the Product Manager (PM) and Product Marketing Manager (PMM) work together very closely, almost as if they were co-owners of the product.
Learning the steps
Successfully running an organization using the triad or quad model is not an easy task as it requires a lot of effort and hard work. Even though it may sound simple, it is often easier said than done. One of the most common challenges faced by many startups during their initial stages is the lack of a proper product or marketing function.
It starts with the leadership - the leadership needs to believe in the model. And then, it just automatically trickles down into the organization. Trust-building takes time, but open and transparent communication is key, along with clear roles and responsibilities for the respective functions. Without trust, the model falls apart.
To further enhance the alignment and collaboration among team members, the implementation of shared Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and goals is crucial. By setting common goals and objectives, each team member knows what they are working towards, and how their individual contribution aligns with the overall success of the team. This strategy also promotes accountability and encourages teamwork, leading to the yin and yang of building great products.
Let’s get this party started!
Assuming that you have established a solid foundation, the product launch is just a few months away. You have been tasked with creating a strategy one-pager and a mock blog post to prepare for the launch. Where should you start?
Understanding your market category
This is the most important question you will ask about your product. Is it a communication tool or a collaboration tool? Will it replace Google Docs or Notion? Where does it fit in the enterprise tech stack?
Many founders are obsessed with creating market categories. But category creation is harder than you think. You have to spend a considerable amount of time educating the market about the category before you educate them about your product. There is also a possibility that a late entrant into the market might grab more market share than the incumbent. Additionally, your sales team will spend a considerable amount of time justifying the spend - much easier to say that the tool is a replacement for an existing product in a known category.
A very simple way to answer the category question is to ask "What is the primary use case of the product?" and/or "What is the 'verb' describing the product?" Here's an example from Stride (Hipchat v2, “banana” was the internal code name):
Understanding your competitive landscape
Once you have understood the category, you need to spend a considerable amount of time looking at your competitors. There are two important things to remember while you assess your competition:
Don’t just focus on product features and differentiators. Spend a considerable amount of time understanding their messaging, positioning, and GTM.
Don’t only look at primary competitors. Look at secondary competitors as well. Secondary competitors don’t compete with you directly but usually compete for the budget pool.
Here is a simple table that looks at the primary competitors of Confluence:
Note: Traffic data has been taken from similarweb.com and are for comparison purposes only.
Clearly, Google Docs and Microsoft 365 are the behemoths when it comes to traffic. However, let's take a closer look at how Confluence’s competitors have positioned their products. We can now easily map these products into two sub-categories of positioning:
Note: The size of the circle approximates the brand equity and reach.
This positioning exercise, along with a feature comparison chart, helped the product manager (PM) and the product marketing manager (PMM) think strategically about how to build and position Confluence in the long run.
Secondary Competitors
Today, companies are evaluating all their communication and collaboration tools to determine which ones are most crucial. Sometimes, it can be challenging to differentiate between Confluence, Airtable, and Asana. Therefore, it is essential for you to understand your secondary competitive landscape:
Which means, you need to repeat the exercise you did with your primary competitors:
As evident from the chart above, current productivity tools can be too complicated for buyers. Every tool wants to be the only one you use and they're all competing for your money.
Understanding your target ICP
The most important thing to remember in B2B SaaS is that users and buyers are not the same, especially when it comes to Enterprise Buyers, who may never use your product. This creates a dilemma when thinking about messaging and positioning. If you are the founder of a startup, your website messaging will be geared towards the user if you have a PLG (bottom-up) GTM motion, and towards the buyer (top-down) if you have a SLG GTM motion.
Your target ICP can be broken down into:
Org demographics: org size, vertical, geography, etc.
Buyer and/or User Persona: IC or manager, function, C-Level, etc.
The cool thing about PLG motion is that you can create custom persona journeys starting from ads, landing pages, sign-up onboarding, all the way to activation. For example, in the case of Confluence, we experimented with solutions for functional teams and found that it only worked when the end-to-end experience was custom. You cannot hack your way by just marketing if the product does not match the messaging.
Your secret sauce
Now, you have all the answers to create your positioning, also known as your secret sauce:
Do you understand your market category and what "your product" is?
Do you understand your competitive landscape and how "your product" is different?
Do you understand your target ICP and who will use "your product"?
What is your unique value proposition and why should someone use "your product"?
Plug the information into the table below ("Stride” is used as an example):
I love this framework because it is simple, easy to understand, and captures your secret sauce in a sentence.
Developing your story
Once you have discovered your secret sauce, you are halfway there, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done as you build your product's messaging. Some of the important things to remember are:
Keep it simple - It's easy to overcomplicate things. Try to keep the messaging as simple as possible and focus on the value to the customer, not just the technical details.
Example: Notion is the connected workspace where better, faster work happens.Rule of three - Your prospective customer has a limited capacity to remember, so when creating messaging, apply the rule of three and focus on no more than three value props on your website or white paper.
Example: Bitbucket Cloud - collaborate across multiple teams, ship quality code, and automate deployments.Make it punchy - Make it memorable for your prospects. The punchier your messaging, the more effective it will be. Don't be afraid to be controversial.
Example: Canva - What will you design today?
Here is a template that I have used for messaging. It has four sections: value statement, explanation, customer pain points, and supporting features. This was the initial draft messaging for Stride. Note that it has four value propositions, but we didn't use all of them, all the time.
Few other things to remember as you work on your messaging before launch:
Test and refine: No one gets it perfect the first time. Get it in front of prospective customers and see how they react. Gather feedback and refine your messaging.
Align with brand: This is more applicable for organizations with multiple products. Ensure that your product messaging aligns with your brand identity and mission.
Keep it consistent: Make sure your product managers and sales team are trained on messaging and use it consistently across all mediums. It’s very important that everyone uses the same language.
Repeat, repeat, repeat: I can’t emphasize how important this is in the long term. You will be really successful when all your customers, partners, and employees remember what your product stands for.
Ready for takeoff
You have crossed the t’s, dotted the i’s, and your product is almost ready for launch. However, there are a few things you still need to sort out:
There can be confusion between product and marketing when there is not a clear understanding of product launch phases, such as closed-beta, open beta, alpha, and GA. Make sure there are clear definitions and distinctions for each phase.
Product teams often want to make a big splash, even when there is a closed beta. However, this can defeat the purpose of the big launch as customers may have to wait on a waitlist for three months before gaining access and potentially forgetting about the product.
Ensure that there is clear alignment across the organization regarding the primary goals and KPIs of the product launch. Once the end is in sight, start preparing for the launch by meeting on a weekly basis as an operating team to track progress and make key decisions.
It is not over
Your job is not done once the product is launched; in fact, your work is just starting. There are a few things to remember post-launch:
Messaging: Your messaging needs to evolve every 3-6 months. Technology is moving at an astonishing pace, as are your competitors. Your customer needs are also evolving. If your landing pages are not being as effective, maybe you need to redo the messaging.
Funnel: Yes, this is the most important advice I can give. Before you can pour gasoline on the top of the funnel, work as a cross-functional team monitoring the health of the funnel. Understand where the drop-offs are happening and fix the leaks in the funnel.
Features: The product team will be consistently launching features after the main launch. The PM and PMM teams need to categorize the features and tier them - resources are limited, so the cross-functional team needs to focus on the most important features.
Outbound Fury: The marketing team has the responsibility of acquiring new customers for the product. You need to say something every week - there needs to be a consistent external presence via blog posts, press releases, social media posts, customer comms, etc. to keep the momentum going.
Let the games begin..
The world of B2B SaaS products is crowded, making it crucial to stand out through effective product marketing. Building a strong organization around product marketing is essential, as it often gets overlooked during product development. To succeed, product managers (PMs) and product marketing managers (PMMs) must work together closely from the beginning, aligning customer insights with go-to-market strategies.
Mastering the art of product marketing requires a delicate blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and customer-centricity. By understanding your target audience, crafting compelling narratives, and leveraging available marketing channels, you can effectively communicate the value of your product and differentiate yourself from the competition.
Remember, effective product marketing goes beyond simply promoting features and benefits. It's about building emotional connections, solving real problems, and providing unique value propositions to your customers. It's an ongoing process that requires continuous learning, adaptation, and optimization to stay ahead of market trends and consumer demands.
So, embrace the yin and yang of building great products, and remember the words of wisdom: "Know the User. Know the Magic. Connect the two." With this mindset, you'll be well-equipped to navigate the ever-changing landscape of SaaS and build truly remarkable products that resonate with your target audience.