What are the most effective ways to create a feedback loop between product marketing and product management?

Product managers are the ones responsible for taking care of a product from start to finish, while product marketing managers are responsible for managing the product launch process. For the best results, it's ideal for product marketing to be involved in the discussions of product roadmap between engineering and product teams from an early stage and given their designated seat at the table. When product marketing plays a strategic role, it brings valuable market insights, such as competitive analysis, market research, and customer feedback, into the product development process. This helps everyone on the team to make informed decisions and to create a product that meets the needs of the market in regular discussions.

As rightly pointed out by many to include product marketing from rhe initial days of building the product. This creates an environmnet where they will share some valueable insights, help you get direct access to users . All of which is a treasure and would help you take right decisions / prioritize better. Contribute on the messaging of the value delivered by the product. Post the launch it is very much needed to have a feedback loop to get unsaid information on how the product is being used or perceived.( Metrics will give this information although), but product marketing team might be able to give you insights that has to be derived from metrics. This will help improve the product.

Cross-functional Meetings: Schedule regular meetings between product marketing and management teams to share insights, updates, and feedback, ensuring alignment on goals and strategies. Shared Performance Metrics: Establish common key performance indicators (KPIs) that both teams contribute to, fostering a sense of shared responsibility and collaboration in achieving these metrics. Customer Journey Mapping: Collaboratively work on mapping and analyzing the customer journey, allowing both teams to understand and address different aspects of the customer experience effectively.

Monthly sync between Product Manager and Product Marketing Manager to align on goals and set priorities is a must. Also presenting strategy as a team in front of leadership is also helpful.

The first step is to build a shared understanding of the company's overall vision and then agree upon common goals that aligns to the vision. Involve the PMM colleagues when the roadmap is being formulated - help them understand the 'problem' being solved with each item on the roadmap. feature conceptualisation

An important aspect of communication and feedback bi-directional communication loop. Product marketers can create the ‘voice of client’. This starts by consistent and thorough feedback collection. A product marketer can start by building multiple listening posts through the user journey. These include NPS survey, in-product experience survey, user testing, etc. Product marketer can identify broad stroke themes and consolidate the feedback, remove noise from the data and share this with the broader company stakeholders including product team. This way product teams can leverage the feedback to inform product roadmap. .

An example of a practical approach to bring feedback loops, that I have seen to workout, is to set-up Workshops in the form of Agile-like squads comprising all key members (PM,PMM, Pre-sales and Sales, with one person taking the role of Agile PO, and an external individual acting as Scrum master). This approach, though time-intensive, helps all parties manage expectations and set goals together. This means, that Marketing/Sales targets,markets,engagements and feedback could cascade into KPIs, Collateral and Roadmap. It involves activities like preparing a backlog of tasks, setting Sprint goals, updating progress and closing completed tasks. I have found that this approach fosters collaboration, structure and quick decision making.

This is the most closely related topic to my profile. It's always a tussle to bring the 2 teams talk the same language. And its but obvious as they carry different profiles and skills. 1. The best way to bridge any gaps is to keep the engagement much beyond just communication. "SELL AS ONE" will prove wonders here as marketing could be an eye & heart to product management team and product management team could be a voice & head for product marketing team. 2. Marketing is a reality check and a need product should cover. But avoid over sell to disturb the value stream already established. Team should follow agile methodology to encourage change however with clear criterion of "Definition of Done". Focus on common goal "BUSINESS VALUE".

In my experience, embedding Product Marketing into product strategy, planning, and regular reviews and likewise embedding Product Management into go-to-market strategy, launch planning, and regular reviews was very helpful in providing transparency and an opportunity to contribute at the right points in time.

As a product leader at an SMB for a B2B AdTech platform, I have found that bringing in the PMM team saves time. I do this by involving them early in demos and user testing which helps them understand the solution faster. Then they help me with feedback on potential product-market fit issues or ways to market a solution to a persona.

As a product leader, I've found that initiating joint planning sessions is a great for collaboration and communication. This hands-on approach not only synchronizes our product roadmaps with marketing campaigns but also ensures that our marketing efforts are perfectly timed, seamlessly aligning with key product releases and updates. To facilitate this collaboration, I often advocate for the use of a shared calendar or roadmap. This visual tool becomes our strategic compass, allowing both the product and marketing teams to meticulously plan and execute strategies in harmony, ultimately driving cohesive and impactful outcomes.

If you're a customer obsessed PM, chances are you're interacting with customers on a regular basis so bring your PMM along! Give the PMM access to qualitative and quantitative insights and dashboards. Ask your design/research team to include the PMM in research readouts and customer interviews. Include your PMM in test & learn activities and ask for their input. Your PMM is often a wealth of insights and knowledge so integrate their learnings in the feedback loop.

Including product marketing in user research and testing phases can provide invaluable insights that shape both product development and marketing strategies. Jointly conducting user interviews, surveys, and usability tests can ensure that both teams have a deep understanding of the user needs and pain points. This collaboration can also lead to the co-creation of buyer personas and user journeys, which are critical for both product development and targeted marketing campaigns. By sharing the findings from these activities, both teams can make data-driven decisions that enhance the product and its market positioning. By the way, let’s not forget the Sales team as well. But that would be hopefully for another post!

I prioritize involving marketing representatives in our product development meetings right from the early stages. Their valuable insights into market trends, customer behavior, and competitive analysis play a pivotal role in shaping our product decisions. This collaborative inclusion isn't just about improving product quality; it's a strategic move that empowers our marketing teams to craft compelling campaigns seamlessly aligned with the product's unique selling points. It's a holistic approach that ensures our products not only meet market demands but also have a strategic and impactful market presence from day one.

It all starts with a strong appetite for collaboration between both teams and relying on each other's expertise in key areas. In my experience, an always-on feedback loop between product and product marketing teams has led to: - Lesser back and forth = Better output on the first try - Product teams achieving a good balance between technical product development and creative marketing work - Product marketing teams bringing a ton of insight and market knowledge into the product roadmap process.

Co-Creating the collaterals are so important since marketing would need that technology muscle to make sure that it creates the impact in their story telling to the end consumers. periodic collaboration with marketing teams, using a simple and ubiquitous language to make them understand the product features, understanding consumer behaviors and product adaptation, co-creating the go to market strategy, periodic feedback loops are some key areas when it comes to PM and PMM teams.

Product Marketers care most about the benefits of a product/feature, over the actual functioning of the feature. The Product Manager has the deepest knowledge of the problems to be solved by the product. So it’s important that the Product Manager explain both the feature and the benefit to the Marketer. The Marketer can then drive buyer and user behavior by focusing on the product’s Benefits.

Feedback is crucial to responding to changes in demand and environment. Having some guideline questions for other stakeholders, leads to clear and productive feedback. For example: What are the facts or circumstances that led you drive this feedback? This might seem like an obvious question. Nonetheless, people tend to omit details, because they think it is not needed or there is no time for it. For product managers, it is important to find out the background story to identify the true nature of the situation for a proper assessment before acting on it. Better not to expect others to give details, rather proactively ask open-ended questions. When asked, people are often eager to share their story or findings, because they feel appreciated.

Actively seeking feedback from product management on marketing strategies and materials can lead to more cohesive and effective campaigns. Setting up a formal feedback loop, such as monthly review sessions where product management can provide input on marketing plans, can be beneficial. It’s important to not only solicit feedback but also act on it and communicate the changes made. This demonstrates that their input is valued and leads to continuous improvement. For instance, incorporating product management’s insights on user behavior trends can refine messaging and promotional tactics, making them more resonant with the target audience. Let’s not forget, we have established that Product Mgmt and Marketing are not having common goals!!

Strategies for Collaborative Celebration and Learning: Shared Success Metrics: Establish shared metrics to track product performance, marketing effectiveness, and customer satisfaction, allowing both teams to celebrate milestones and identify areas for improvement. Cross-Functional Workshops: Organize cross-functional workshops where product and marketing teams can brainstorm ideas, share insights, and collaborate on solutions. Customer Feedback Sharing: Share customer feedback regularly with both teams to ensure a shared understanding of customer needs and pain points. Joint Recognition and Rewards: Recognize and reward individuals and teams from both departments for their contributions to product successes and marketing achievements

I’ve found that co-creating objectives & key results(OKRs) to be a powerful tool to drive alignment across product, product marketing & beyond. OKRs is a goal setting framework to help the Product Manager and key stakeholders align on: 1) what we are building and 2) how we know if we won - it’s a way to keep score or measure progress - read “Measure What Matters” by John Doerr to learn more about OKRs. Your OKRs can also be used to have tradeoff conversations with stakeholders. WHEN new feature requests or break/fix issues arise, you can point to your OKRs, discuss the value each will bring, and decide how to re-prioritize the work.

Make sure to share your product strategy with your product marketing team. So they understand the big picture and can put your roadmap and priorities in context. This will help them plan ahead, especially around press releases, conferences, and booth sponsorships.

Collaboration, cooperation, setting common goals, using a simple, common language, using the same tools and mutual respect. There is nothing unusual here. Typical elements of good organizational culture in a company. This applies to all departments, not only PM and PMM.

I am using data based decision making approach while driving global enterprise initiatives. I actively promote and emphasize the significance of relying on data for decision-making. By leveraging shared analytics and performance metrics, I establish a common ground for evaluation. Providing both teams with access to the same data is integral to the approach I take, fostering objectivity in discussions and enabling us to refine strategies based on real-time insights. The data-driven decision-making ensures that our actions are not just informed but also aligned.

One additional point to consider is to Foster Cross-Functional Training and Development: Encourage cross-functional training sessions where members from product marketing and product management can learn about each other’s roles, challenges, and best practices. This can involve job shadowing, joint workshops, or even formal training programs. By gaining a deeper understanding of each other’s domains, team members can develop a more empathetic and collaborative working relationship. This cross-pollination of knowledge can lead to more innovative solutions and a stronger alignment of strategies, ultimately benefiting the overall product development and marketing efforts.