Stefan Gladbach’s Post

"Product marketers have too much on their plates." A common product marketing mantra. But by narrowing down the PMM function, do we specialize ourselves out of a job? No one loves being pulled in a hundred directions. Ideally, we would focus on the fun stuff: positioning, messaging, segmentation, and launch strategy/execution. But the landscape has changed. Companies are going leaner and more efficient. Employees wear more hats than ever. While the pendulum swings, something feels different about this change. AI is still in its infancy with obvious faults. However, AI will experience exponential growth. So, what happens when AI copy and human copy are indistinguishable? There will always be a role for product marketers to inject personality and creativity into messaging. But the task itself will take less time. Product marketers will always define ICP and market segmentation, but AI's insights will make the task more efficient. Companies notice this and expect PMMs to take on additional tasks that blur the lines of different roles. Those clinging to a stagnant skillset may not succeed. And this appears to be happening already. I've been surprised by how many roles now require skillsets typically reserved for demand gen or content teams. The jack-of-all-trades PMM is here to stay. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, however. This new challenge encourages us to stay curious, continually expand our skills, and potentially have an even bigger impact on product success. So, instead of reading that millionth article on perfecting messaging, maybe spend some time learning about the latest SEO trends.

Priorities change. It can be sad, but it's not always bad if handled correctly. This is my dog. We got him almost 16 years ago, so he's officially an "old" good boy. My future wife and I adopted him at the beginning of our relationship when we were still in college. It was a bad idea at the time as neither of us lived in a place that allowed dogs. So, we had to hide him when the landlord came around. If you have never owned a smaller dog, they like to bark. So, hiding is a difficult task. But he's a great dog, and for over a decade we adored him and took him everywhere we went. Then we had kids. One thing you don't learn from baby books is how fast the relationship with your dog changes. Dogs become a secondary priority immediately and your kids become the center of your universe. The cuddles, pets, and long walks all become less frequent. I often feel guilty when dwelling on it. But to my surprise, the change didn't negatively affect our dog. He seemed to intuitively understand the situation and his new role. He still loves attention, but he knows when we are distracted by kids. He shows a new protective instinct and is remarkably tolerant of being harassed by my toddler. Life changes. What matters in the past may not matter as much in the future. Luckily, most people (or pets in this case) are understanding of this. It just comes with the caveat of managing it the right way. The "right way" will vary by case, but it can be figured out with a little empathy. For me, it is getting my dog the occasional ice cream cone and telling him what a good boy he is.

Stakeholder alignment is never a favorite product marketing topic. But the ability to build consensus can make all the difference between success and failure. Product marketers interact with various teams, each with their own priorities. Achieving stakeholder agreement often seems impossible. And while there's no silver bullet for alignment, there are methods and tactics you can apply to increase your chances of success. Here are 7 ways to help build consensus: ✅Introduce ideas gradually over time For new concepts, the proposal shouldn't be the first time stakeholders hear about it. The mere-exposure effect says familiarity leads to liking. So, weave new ideas into conversations and meetings before making a specific ask. ✅Use empathetic listening Ask open-ended questions to uncover stakeholders' concerns. People want to feel heard. Recap their perspective to show you actually understand. ✅Propose solutions that address concerns Frame your idea as mutually beneficial and explain how it helps them reach their goals. Try calibrated questions like "how would this approach help solve your problem X?" to demonstrate empathy and encourage teamwork. ✅Apply loss-aversion principles Describe what's at stake if you don't move forward with an idea. People tend to fear losses more than they value gains. ✅Build coalitions for social proof Identify potential allies and win them over first. Use their support to create a domino effect. People often follow the crowd, so highlight others who already support the idea. ✅Start with a tall ask. When advocating for resources, begin by bargaining for more than you actually want. This makes your real ask seem more reasonable and a good middle ground. ✅Reduce pressure. End an ask with "but you're free to say no." Research says this simple phrase can double your chances of agreement by respecting others' autonomy.

Three kids walk into a guidance counselor's office for future career advice. The guidance counselor asks the first kid, "What are you passionate about?" The first kid answers, "I like to haggle. I want to make big deals happen." The guidance counselor says, "Sales is the right path for you." The guidance counselor repeats his question to the second kid. The second kid answers, "I am creative. I want to come up with fun ideas that inspire people to act." The guidance counselor responds, "Marketing sounds like just the ticket." Finally, the guidance counselor asks the same question to the third kid. The third kid ignores the question and says they are missing class, which directly violates compulsory education laws. The third kid explains to the first kid the impracticality of closing big deals. Neither party will sign the other's NDA and good luck reaching an agreement on terms and conditions. The third kid then turns to the second kid and describes how those “fun ideas” are just asking for a lawsuit. Any idea needs a 6-8 week thorough review to ensure it's stripped of any character that could cause problems. The guidance counselor says, "You are headed for Legal. May God have mercy on your soul. Now get out of my office!" The kids go back to class, but not before giving "legal kid" a swirly

This will likely be the cheesiest post I have ever written. But it’s the 4th of July, so why not? It’s not a secret that Americans feel dread and anguish toward the future. Tribalism has led to more extreme views, isolation from those who think differently, and a fear that the other side is trying to destroy the country. Ironically, tribalism is the real enemy that holds us back from a better future. It’s nearly impossible to make meaningful change when such distrust exists for your fellow citizens. The comedian Jim Jefferies has a great bit from one of his standups that I will paraphrase. You can’t beat hate with hate, it just causes more hate. Love doesn’t always beat hate, but it stands the best chance. If there is someone in your life who you truly despise, try to show them nothing but love and compassion. You may not turn that person around to liking you, but if they continue to hate you, eventually everyone will start to see them as the a**hole. It's Independence Day, so celebrate what is still great about America. I have been to all 50 states and can say it’s a truly spectacular country with amazing people. So, let go of grudges, animosity, and bitterness to those around you. Try not to judge those outside your bubble/beliefs. The correct path is stopping the vitriol and isolation. Love is the only way to heal. Basically, don’t be the a**hole. 

"My Advice for Product Marketing vs. Real Advice" I don't usually make reels, I like my videos a little longer. But since it's a short week, let's get silly. Often the advice we give in product marketing doesn't address the core issues we face on the job. The world's greatest messaging can quickly be derailed by endless approvals and compromises. Competing requests leave little time for market and competitive research. Sticking to an ideal launch date can be next to impossible. And finally, the product manager often doesn't get enough blame. Ok, I made that last one up. But these challenges are why I have a passion for alignment tactics and the more nuanced areas of the job. Navigating internal politics, time management, and prioritization are underrated parts of the job. Spending a fraction of your time developing those soft skills can make you an exponentially more effective product marketer.

Do you believe best practices in product marketing exist? Are we fooled by the echo chamber into thinking there's a universal right way to do things? There's a downside to the endless explosion of product marketing tips, information, and resources available. In this environment, a few individuals rise to the top and are labeled as thought leaders. Their ideas are distributed in podcasts, books, courses, and all over social media. These thoughts become the norm and are endlessly repeated as best practices on your LinkedIn feed. But once an idea is labeled as a best practice, it's not often challenged. There often isn't data to support the idea because why analyze something we all know is great? For example, standard advice says to create clear and concise messaging. This makes sense; no one likes jargon. But there's evidence to support that being vague and cryptic can cause intrigue. So, universal simplicity in your messaging can make things too boring for your audience. It makes me wonder how much we hold ourselves back by accepting common practices as dogma rather than forging our own path. Maybe don't take that product marketing course. Maybe try to find inspiration and knowledge from elsewhere. A stand-up comedy special can teach you more about storytelling and hooking an audience than the greatest "messaging" book. Knowledge sharing from peers is awesome and extremely helpful in your career. But an overreliance on these tips only stifles our imagination and the differentiation we all strive for. But don't listen to me; I'm part of the product marketing echo chamber 😉

How do you make educational content entertaining? It’s something we must figure out often as product marketers. And it’s something I am personally trying to figure out with my YouTube channel. Every two weeks I have been releasing new product marketing comedy skits titled “The Product Marketing Chronicles” I have received good feedback on the comedy skits. They are also fun and relatively easy to make. On the down week between comedy skits, I try to release an educational video on a product marketing topic. Finding a way to make a 6-7 minute educational video “entertaining” is a much harder task. And admittedly some of the videos have been a snoozer. So, I have been tweaking a few ideas, and think I am on the right path. I still have a way to go, but I am starting to blend some of the comedy, changing scenes, and characters of the skits into the educational videos. This new start begins with a new ongoing series called “Lessons from the Chronicles” In this series, I take a real issue raised from the comedy skits and explore ways of solving the problem. For the first part of the series, I discuss best practices for navigating the product manager/product marketer relationship. Let me know if I missed anything or if you have any stories to share. (Side note: No videos next week as it’s America’s birthday, but I will be back with a comedy skit the following week.) (2nd side note: My wife informed me my camera quality is crap, so I will upgrade it. The filming should look better next time. One benefit of marriage is having someone give you honest feedback.)

Thank you to Leanne Dow-Weimer, MBA for having me on her podcast: Markigy: The Science of Marketing Strategy Podcast I have been listening to Leanne's podcast for a few months and sang its praises in a post I made a while back. So, I was thrilled to be a guest. I had a lot of fun shooting the stuff on things I like to complain about like alignment, what causes bad marketing, AI, and why the best product marketers come from sales 😉. Give it a listen. Full episode in the comments.