Scaling a product marketing team at a fast-growing startup

Diana covers the evolution of the product marketing team at Segment as it grew from 10 to 400 people.

Diana shares how she built out the team, changed their focus, added team members, and delineated their responsibilities over time

Transcript

1. Presented by Diana Smith Head of Product Marketing at Scaling PMM at a High-Growth Startup Adapt or Die
2. How often do you get this question?
3. PMMs are like superheroes. We can help solve a number of problems.
4. At a high growth startup, your focus should change as your company evolves.
5. Your job is to find the gap.
6. I’m your host Diana Smith Head of Product Marketing at Segment Tweet me @DianaHSmith @sf_haiku Email me dianaharlansmith@gmail.com Or check out Segment segment.com Shameless plug for our data conference next week: synapse.segment.com
7. FIND THE GAP KNOW THY CUSTOMER LOVE YOURSELF Lessons in scaling product marketing AT A HIGH-GROWTH STARTUP
8. 1.Find the gap
9. 1. What work isn’t getting done? 2. What are your top challenges as an organization? Find the gap TOP CONSIDERATIONS
10. PRODUCT MARKETING SALES PMM
11. USER ACQUISITION • Messaging & positioning • Educational content • Volume of customer stories NEW PRODUCT REVENUE • Market insights for product roadmap • Product launches • Activation & retention SALES EFFECTIVENESS • Onboarding & collateral • Deep customer stories • Objection handling Some options for focus COMPANY PROBLEMS AND POTENTIAL FOCUS AREAS
12. Series A Series B OUR GROWTH PATH Gap Product development Key metric Signup > paid Marketers 1-3 Salespeople 1-10 PMs 0.-0.5 Employees 4-50 Gap Content / education Key metric New sign ups Marketers 3-10-5 Salespeople 10-30 PMs 0.5-5 Employees 50-150
13. Series C Series D OUR GROWTH PATH Gap New products Key metric NRR Marketers 5-20 Salespeople 30-90 PMs 5-12 Employees 150-375 Gap Sales effectiveness Key metric ARR/AE Marketers 20-30 Salespeople 90-130 PMs 12-18 Employees 375-475
14. Find the gap! Then, communicate your focus.
15. 2. Know thy customer
16. Know thy customer BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE This curiosity will help you • Build resonant messaging • Influence the product roadmap • Develop effective campaigns
17. Tools at your disposal USE EXISTING DATA SETS TO GET A JUMP START 1. Customer interviews 2. NPS analysis 3. Market and customer surveys 4. Win/loss analysis 5. Salesforce product requests 6. Competitive analysis 7. Top requests from sales and success leads 8. Analyst calls
18. Synthesize! HELP YOUR TEAM IDENTIFY WHAT TO DO NEXT Sample syntheses • Top requested product features by customer segment • Top concerns to address from NPS feedback • Top competitive gaps where we lose deals • Top objections to train sales on handling IF EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT, NOTHING IS IMPORTANT.
19. 3. Love yourself
20. 3. Love your lanky, awkward teenage self
21. WATCH FOR ORPHANS NO ORG STRUCTURE IS PERFECT Love your lanky, awkward teenage self EMBRACE THE DUMPSTER-FIRE OF HIGH GROWTH, WITH GUARD RAILS GIVE CLEAR OWNERSHIP
22. Give clear ownership to the most important things THEN DOCUMENT YOUR ORPHANS SERIES A #ALLOFTHETHINGS MARKETER 1 • Messaging • Demand Gen • Product Launches • Case Studies Orphans • Anything that’s not completely on fire SERIES B LIGHT SPECIALIZATION PMM 1 • Features 2 & 3 • Competitive Intel PMM 2 • Features 1 & 4 • Sales Content Needs Orphans • Features 5 & 6 • PR & AR SERIES C ALMOST TO A MATRIX PMM 1 • Product Area A • Customer Persona 1 PMM 2 • Product Area B • Industry Campaign PMM 3 • Product Area C • Conference Content Orphans • Customer Persona 2
23. • You can never do all of the things that would be high-impact. That’s the burden and joy of high-growth. • Even when you’re underwater and need a life raft, don’t rush your hires. Pink flags will likely turn into red flags later. Lessons learned the hard way YOU WON’T ALWAYS HAVE EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL. THAT’S OKAY. DO ALL THE THINGS YOU CAN NEVER DO ALL THE THINGS
24. You’ll likely agonize over your org structure HERE’S A SECRET: PERFECTION IS A MYTH
25. You’ll likely agonize over your org structure SPOILER: PERFECTION IS A MYTH • Here’s a secret: There is no perfect organizational structure (by product, by segment, a matrix). • Each one has pros and cons. • Align based on burning needs. BY PRODUCT LINE • Pros: Roadmap influence • Cons: Cross-product stories BY CUSTOMER SEGMENT • Pros: Aligned with sales/customer- focused • Cons: Lack of product influence MATRIX (GTM + PRODUCT) • Pros: Great coverage across PMM responsibilities • Cons: Lower quality execution/doubling up resources
26. Focus where there are gaps in your company. Then communicate your focus. Know your customer better than anything else. This is how you add value. Some areas will grow faster than others. You’ll never cover it all. That’s why this is fun. Adapt or die @DianaHSmith SCALING PMM AT A HIGH-GROWTH STARTUP
27. Thank you! Diana Smith Product Marketing @DianaHSmith Scaling PMM at a High-Growth Startup THIS HAS BEEN AN EPISODE OF
28. synapse.segment.com Free code: synapsewdiana