AMA: Udemy Former Director of Product Marketing, Grace Kuo on Stakeholder Management

Great question and something I deal with on the daily! Ad-hoc requests: * Set expectations: Be clear with the requestor on timelines (why you can't get to it immediately, etc.) and try to let them know when you can get to it. * Gauge importance of the request. If it's HIGH priority for your VP, CEO, etc. or something essential for a key initiative, then quite possibly you'll have to get to it sooner. * Ask questions: On top of how important it is, ask how the request will be utilized, or who it's geared towards. Often the more questions you ask, the better you can point them in the right direction or understand how meaningful the request is. * Other resources: Are there other resources they can tap into? Is the answer or template somwhere else that you can empower them with? * Delegate: Are there other people on your team that can help out? * Stay organized: I try to log all requests in a central source so that eventually when I have free time, we'll be able to get to them.

A RESOUNDING YES! (And by dippin your toes, I mean understanding their function and collaborating - not try to run their show. Let the subject matter experts do their thing, but make sure you are integrated in their planning and ensure these teams are working together.) I believe in order to truly be effective and impactful as a Product Marketer, you have to not only have an understanding of other key functions that you work with but partner closely with these functions. By understanding other key functions, you gain: * Context * Empathy Having these 2 key elements will only help you do your job better and help you manage key stakeholders with more effectiveness. For example, meeting with your Demand Gen team to understand their campaign planning, content creation, ad campaigns, will help you potentially integrate key messaging, product launches, etc. You're not necessarily directing them to run their campaigns a certain way, but you are connecting them with the foundational value props/messaging of your solution. They can take that and make their creatives more impactful and aligned with overall PMM strategy. For Product, you absolutely need to be aligned with their workflows, understand and align your goals with theirs. If this doesn't happen, you will be planning in silos and the two will never form a strategic partnership to run a successful/powerful GTM. 

Be thoughtful and get to know them (processes, workflows, areas of focus, etc.) Often it can be jarring as a new PMM to go straight to providing (sometimes unwarranted) feedback to your PMs, Designers, Engs. Get to know them first and understand the background of the project/product so that you show you care about context and their way of work. Build credibility by providing thoughtful approaches to how you operate as their partner. When you do provide them with feedback, help them understand the framework/philosophies/examples from competitors or similar companies that you utilize, so they understand where you're coming from.

Have a plan...and SHARE IT. 1. Stakeholder Management Milestone Meetings: I often share roadmap/GTM plans at key meetings like Sales Management meetings, CS team meetings etc. So that it shows you have a plan and are top of the launch. This should happen during development, beta, pre-launch, and at launch! 2. Weekly Updates: Here at Udemy I send out a weekly status update on key areas of the business. This again brings visibility and pro-active communication on status. 3. Weekly PM meetings: Have a weekly sync with your PM. Make sure you are on top of what's happening with development and equally let your PM know what's going on with GTM. 4. Get Feedback: Don't plan in silos. Get feedback on messaging strategy, key value props etc to see if they resonate. This helps get perspective from all areas of the business, while showing other teams that you are incorporating their feedback. 

The key thing for messaging frameworks that are shared with your org is know your audience. As PMMs, we are often creating different messages for different audiences. When you share your framework, be clear on how to use the messaging, and for whom the messaging is created for. i.e. Whenever I prepare a launch, I always label the messaging the SALES team should use in talking to prospects, messaging Customer Success should be using for customers, key value props for Marketing, etc. For Leadership, it's really important to give them Executive Summaries..again just to show that your team is on top of the launch and that they get visibility on what's happening with the GTM/product, etc. A quick summary of key elements: - Audience - Key Value Props - Launch Timeline - Pricing/Packaging (if applicable) - Outcomes desired - Competitive advantages/comparison, etc.

Give customers high level visibility, set expectations, but show them you value their feedback! 1. Roadmap: Build a deck that gets CUSTOMERS excited! Show them that (hopefully) the things they've been asking for is coming. Give them a high level understanding on strategy and focus. 2. Messaging: Give your CS or Sales team messaging to use when customers ask for specific timelines. i.e. "Here at ORG NAME, we are fluid in our development so timelines often change. We will do our best to be proactive to let you know what's coming, but we want to ensure we set expectations with our customers. Please continue to provide feedback, we truly appreciate it!" etc. 3. Vision: Often before you share the details of your roadmap, it helps to share a product/company vision to your customers. It can be aspirational, but realistic. This can mitigate a lot of questions/concerns and get customers excited about your brand. In terms of a framework, a few slides with the right visuals/messaging can do the trick! 

My favorite blogs / podcasts aren't necessary focused on Product Marketing, but business & product in general. I think it's important to have a holistic approach to Product Marketing, so that means listening/reading about Product, Demand Gen, Marketing, Business, etc. Podcasts: Masters of Scale OV Build This is Product Management Blogs/Content: Harvard Business Review Hubspot Blog CMO.com 

Great question. Because your resources are limited, you have to focus on the high priority items and bring visibility into what you do! 1. Classify your launches: We use the classification of A, B, C, and X. A's and B's require PMM attention 100%! Work on high priority launches 2. Evangelize PMM: Do a roadshow of what Product Marketing does and its impact for key teams within your organization (i.e. product meetings, sales meetings, CS, leadership etc.) This presentation should include: - GTM strategy - Objectives/Goals - Outcomes you acheive when you bring PMM into the picture 3. Focus: Because we work so cross-functionally, we are inundated with a lot of requests and have to focus on quite a few initiatives. It's important to focus on the things you can get to, set stakeholder expectations in terms of what you will accomplish, get it done (show results) and then move on to the next. This way you are making impact one step at a time and not trying to do everything (because you wont get to it and if that happens, ppl will lose trust in the team.)

I love telling a good story...: Background: For internal stakeholders, you really have to set context/background. We are in the weeds with planning day to day for a specific launch or initiative, but you can't expect internal stakeholders to be the same. To help drive messaging home, set the right context. What's the problem? Paint the problem that you're trying to solve, but sometimes what works best isn't just a statement of "We are trying to improve the checkout process..." but tell them a story of common problems that users encounter with this issue. i.e. "Pete is in a rush to get this gift to his Mom for Mother's Day, but because he had issues navigating the checkout page, didn't check the right shipping time. Mom didn't receive the gift on time = sad Mom, angry Pete". Solution: Clear and concise value based messaging helps drive messaging home. Avoid marketing-speak ... that always helps!