It’s that time of year again on LinkedIn. Everybody is making their business predictions for the year ahead.
I actually got asked about my own tips the other day, while prepping for a podcast interview. What predictions could I make for Product Marketing in 2022?
After some pondering, I had a couple of small ideas.
I expect more companies will launch a public product roadmap (I’ll share more on that in a future post…) And I believe pricing will increasingly become a bigger part of a product marketer’s world. But there was one standout point I landed on.
So here’s my Product Marketing prediction for 2022.
This is a make or break year for Product Marketing.
Within 24 hours, last week’s post became the most read article on the Product Marketer to date. It was all about finding your next role. And as the piece mentioned, there has never been a better time to be a product marketer. We have never been more in demand.
Everyone is talking about Product Marketing. Just this week, I spotted a post from Harry Stebbings about how it’s the #1 challenge for any startup - after talent.
Now, I’m usually an optimist, but for me this presents a potential problem.
Product Marketing is in danger of becoming a ‘silver bullet’ for both growing and struggling companies.
“All we need is good product marketing, then the rest will fall into place”.
There’s a risk that in 10 years time we could all look back and talk about Product Marketing as a trend that happened, and not the essential, permanent department it should absolutely be.
We’ve seen it before. Marketing loves reinventing itself and creating new bandwagons to jump on. It wasn’t that long ago that people were falling over themselves to get into ‘growth hacking’. And who else remembers the phrase ‘Content is king’ being blasted everywhere?
I think my main reason for being worried is because so many people still don’t have a grasp of what Product Marketing is. One of my favourite PMMs, Matt Hodges, flagged this earlier in the week.
If there isn’t a common agreement about what we do, you could end up with rogue PMMs giving the discipline a bad name, resulting in companies saying “Yeah, we tried Product Marketing, but it didn’t work for us. Next!”
On the flip side, Product Marketing is in the spotlight right now and this is our time to shine. This could be the year that sees companies switch from viewing us as a shiny new department that might just fix everything, to seeing us as a staple of any high-performing marketing or product org. We just need to tackle a few big things.
1) Clearly define what we do.
2) Show our value.
3) Make an impact.
Clearly define product marketing at your company
There’s a lot of PMMs starting in new roles this month, often as either the first product marketer at their company or in a team where Product Marketing is still a nascent discipline. So it’s super important to set expectations about what you’re going to achieve this year.
I get nervous when I hear Product Marketing candidates talking a lot about demand gen or email marketing. It suggests we have a lot of product marketers out there without clearly defined roles, who are doubling up as general marketers, or who don’t have a full grasp of what Product Marketing actually is.
If we don’t have a clear understanding ourselves, then the companies hiring us won’t either. Their expectations will be warped, and eventually someone will ask “How is this any different to growth/content/brand/digital marketing?”
So go in and be clear about what Product Marketing is. And if that’s too tricky to begin with, maybe just be clear about what it’s not.
If I had to have a stab at this on your behalf I'd say...
It’s not the marketing that happens inside the product. It’s not simply announcing product features as they ship. It’s not performance marketing. And it’s definitely not marketing operations.
But you'll want to work this out for yourself and adapt the answer to your company’s needs.
Tie product marketing to revenue
I’ve written before about Product Marketing metrics and how it’s sometimes hard for PMMs to be on the hook for a specific number.
When in doubt, make sure you’re basing your strategy/plan for the year on initiatives that will move the needle on the company’s top goals. Specifically, work that will contribute to revenue growth.
It might be increasing total users, new paying customers, ARR or retention - work out the Product Marketing projects that can unlock these goals.
Make an impact
There’s a fine balance between product marketers needing to be strategic and long-term thinkers while also being operationally effective. Don’t be afraid of getting stuck in with some actual work.
This is a bit of a cliché but how about starting the year with a 90-day plan? In your first 30 days, gather and build consensus about what Product Marketing should be at your company. Between days 31 and 60, take that show on the road and promote Product Marketing internally - so everyone has a clear set of expectations for your role and/or team. And in those final 30 days, go about executing on your plan.
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Overall, I’m excited about 2022 for product marketers. If we can collectively go about better defining the discipline, showing our value, and making a true business impact, we’ll shift from Product Marketing being viewed as the new shiny must-have department, to becoming an indispensable part of any growing company. Let’s go make it happen. 👊
P.S. In my next post, I’d like to write about the companies that are absolutely nailing Product Marketing right now. If there’s a brand you’d like to shine a light on, please let me know, and I’ll make you’re credited with the tip. Cheers! 👋