Devon O'Rourke

Define customer segments to align packages with their value needs. Document current marketecture to clarify product vs. feature distinctions and understand packaging elements. Conduct competitive research to inform strategy, noting that imitation isn't always ideal. Define packaging options using a feature-value matrix to assess feature uniqueness and popularity. Test, model, and price plans by gauging willingness to pay and modeling pricing options. Plan for go-to-market strategies, recognizing the challenges and opportunities in communicating new pricing and packaging.

According to the Product Marketing Alliance, a positioning statement “identifies your product’s unique value to customers in relation to your main competitors.” This statement sets the stage for your entire marketing plan — including messaging, branding, lead generation, and sales strategy — and will become the image consumers have in their mind of your product, which means you need to make sure it stands out. Positioning is not a one-and-done proposition. As brands, products, and markets evolve, you need to continue iterating your positioning to match. This means you need to develop a consistent process that ensures you’re looking at all the right pieces and talking to all the right stakeholders.

Message testing is key. Go-to-market teams must have a bias for action, period. Start testing out different versions of your messaging. Develop specific goals, design an approach (qualitative/quantitative, emails, interviews, A/B testing onsite, etc.), and measure results. Ultimately, the goal is to validate pain points, benefits, and propensity to buy as well as test specific messaging for clarity, comprehensiveness, and value. The data from these tests will give you confidence in how you will connect with your audience and should give you the foundation to develop your product’s narrative. Using narrative design will give you an edge, even in the most crowded categories.

Tips for customer research: Incentivize - Feel free to test which type of incentive is more appealing to your customer base - whether it is a financial or a non-monetary gift. Be Strategic, Not Frequent - Sometimes we think “the more often, the better my chances,” but when reaching out to customers, that’s rarely true (see feedback fatigue). Don't solicit feedback at every point of the customers' journey - think strategically about at which points or after which user milestones you have the best strategic opportunity to receive valuable insights. Be Upfront & Transparent - Always be transparent about the intention and goals for the conversation, the amount of time it will take, and how both parties can or will benefit from the time.

Measuring the effectiveness and proving value is a constant challenge (and opportunity ). Some tips: Metrics: monitor win rates, conversion rates, and analyst reports for go-to-market initiatives; asset utilization, deal cycles, and win/loss ratios for sales enablement; campaign performance, site traffic, and MQLs/SQLs for marketing support; and onboarding data, feature adoption, and churn rates for product adoption. Quantifying Wisely: Be patient in evaluating metrics and highlight the marathon nature of product marketing compared to other organizational functions. Organizational Education: Educate your entire organization on product marketing's role and identify relevant success metrics for meaningful evaluation.

Building a solid partnership between product marketers and product teams is vital. Here are key steps to foster this relationship: - Align on Goals: Establish shared goals to ensure a collaborative environment, focusing on product adoption to drive shared accountability. - Identify KPIs: Set and measure performance metrics for each tactic in your go-to-market strategy, using historical or industry benchmarks to gauge success. - Communicate Effectively: Utilize storytelling to convey data insights to both external and internal teams, offering a broader business perspective. - Maintain Consistency: Adopt a regular cadence for sharing performance updates with stakeholders to build trust and keep everyone informed on progress towards goals.