Playbook Page

How ClickUp VP of Product Marketing Mike Berger Structures Product Marketing Teams (Examples from Marketo, Gainsight, SurveyMonkey and ClickUp)

Ex-VP, Product Marketing @ ClickUp, SurveyMonkey, Gainsight, Marketo

Summary

Some of the most common questions I get from other marketing leaders relate to how to build and scale a product marketing team. If I’ve learned anything throughout my career, it’s that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. There are simply too many dimensions to consider to arrive at a single solution. In this playbook, I’ll share what I’ve learned from building and scaling product marketing teams at companies including Marketo, Gainsight, SurveyMonkey, and most recently, ClickUp.

Who this is for:

Marketing and product marketing leaders organizing and growing product marketing teams, or executives who are thinking about how to best resource the product marketing function.

What you will learn:

Core dimensions to consider structuring your team around
Other factors that will influence structure
How (and when) to assess talent
Determining the right management structure

Playbook Content

The Challenge

Product marketing is a multifaceted function that can vary greatly from one company to the next. It sits at the center of product, marketing, sales, and customer success. Responsibilities are varied, encompassing market research, thought leadership, competitive analysis, messaging and positioning, customer insights, and potentially, quite a bit more. And we haven’t even gotten into the core dimensions that go into how to best organize a product marketing team. Suffice to say, there’s a whole lot to consider when designing — and building — a high-performance team!

Process

7-Step Process to Scaling Product Marketing teams

My approach to scaling product marketing teams follows these seven key steps:

Start with strategy: Structure the team to best align with the company's strategy for driving growth.
Assess current structure: Understand the current team structure, and the “why” behind it.
Determine where product marketing sits within the org: The placement of product marketing within a company will strongly influence how it is organized.
Design the future structure: Evaluate the many dimensions that influence team structure.
Define the scope of responsibility: Bringing other functions under product marketing can create GTM synergy and drive strong results.
Slot in the right talent: Ensure alignment between candidates' skills and experiences and the primary dimensions around which the team is organized.
Establish the management structure: Strike the right balance so leaders can lead, and team members get the coaching they need.