Desiree Motamedi

An example that stands out to me was Steve Jobs’ manifesto on Flash and its security problems. What was fascinating about it was actually Adobe’s response to it. They bought full-page ads in newspapers around the world, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times that said “We Love Apple.” I remember thinking it was a bold but weak response, and Flash’s reign ended shortly after. I feel that was an example of not pushing back hard enough, actually.

Everything starts with product. We make it a best practice to learn the goals of the product organization, then look at how the PMMs’ work ties back to them. Personally, I report into product, and it’s worth noting that a lot of PMMs do not. Reporting into product helps me ensure that, as a company, our goals are aligned. Practicing this flow of work enhances visibility between teams and it’s one of the main catalysts that brings our company’s vision to life. The ‘trickle down’ effect is prominent at Shopify, and our goals are common knowledge. Connecting product marketing’s goals with that of the product org is the only way to keep everyone moving toward the same north star.

We used to host a developer conference at Shopify called Unite where we’d speak on updated product releases either in-person or online, but as time has gone on, traditional marketing is changing. It was time that we acknowledge that and change the way we bring our products to market. We needed to find a way to give our stakeholders a reliable and consistent way to have visibility to our growth so that they understand what we’re doing for them and how we can make their lives easier. This is not only an experience for people to look forward to, but also a timeline of product progress, in retrospect. It gives us a bit of accountability knowing that our customers are looking at our product growth alongside us. This was a super collaborative effort—we worked with many or all the product leaders across the company, all led by CEO Tobi Lutke. Tobi had a vision to make product the center of Shopify’s story, and this central place of showcasing our accomplishments was the only way to bring it to life.

PMs are like your close family. There are lots of heightened emotions throughout a launch—good and bad. It’s a partnership that must stay rigid because they truly are your partner in crime. Some of the best PMs I’ve worked with have challenged me and honestly, I value that. Making sure that you hear everyone’s perspectives is the only way to be sure that you’re covering all of your bases in a launch. I encourage PMMs and PMs to push each other in the right ways for this exact reason. You’ll ALWAYS come out stronger on the other side. Also, it’s quite rewarding when the customer success team is then able to help you understand how impactful your work is, as well as the story behind it. I love contributing to an impactful storyline that truly influences people to buy our products, and that type of influence isn’t created by just one person—constructive criticism in collaboration is vital.

We typically begin by looking at their financial information, social media channels, and forums like Reddit to get a sense of what their customers are saying. We sometimes call competitors directly, acting as a customer. We can also get some great insights from our own customers about why they left a competitor. Partners who know the ecosystem are also vital in providing additional benchmarks and insight into where the needs, gaps, and opportunities are. There are a variety of third-party services that conduct interviews and offer valuable intelligence as well. The information’s out there; you just have to get creative.

I like to use the GTM T-shirt sizing exercise to prepare for launches. It involves first figuring out the level of resources you’ll need to GTM, then fine-tuning the criteria needed to make it the most successful it could possibly be. At this point, you want to assess things such as product value, the degree of existing customer reach, competition/market dynamics, and risks/sensitivities. Of course there is no fixed formula and these things vary based on each launch, but giving yourself this high-level visibility of the potential turnout helps you map out the most direct path to success. In my experience, XFN meetings are highly effective for accountability across teams, but they also help you bring this mapped-out launch to life—all while creating a cohesive and consistent story that your stakeholders can follow along with.

When we do competitive positioning, we try to take a holistic approach, examining companies across numerous areas. 1. We put together a general overview focused on their overall positioning and messaging from their website. 2. We dive a little deeper to look at specific product features and the company’s size to better gauge their offerings and available resources. 3. We also look at their social surfaces, pricing, top clients and existing customers. 4. We also dive into their press, both good and bad, to gauge how they’re viewed publicly and what the overall sentiment is toward them. The most important thing here, no matter what the approach, is to have one source of truth, one destination where people can get this information – this way, everyone is on the same page and can easily access the latest findings. We’ve used Google Docs to merge this information together, but it can be useful to create an internal website or similar destination as well.

Google did a great job with this as they are rigorous when it comes to alphas, betas, and general availability. They conduct regular market research through the different stages. To get the signal that we were on the right track with an early alpha, we met with customers regularly to see if the product was a good market fit and tweaked the product accordingly based on that feedback. Beta involved a larger cohort for feedback, looking more broadly at regional product market fit. Post-GA, we received feedback on performance. Ideally, this process is a 3-phased approach where feedback allows you to adjust the product roadmap for the future, prioritizing key features.

Of course there are a number of things that can go wrong when launching a product, but I think the most impactful lesson I’ve learned to date is that you must be prepared for both the good and the bad outcomes of a launch. In a previous position at Adobe, I was working on the CS 5.5 launch that rolled out only a year after the previous one—we’d usually allow for about 2-3 years in between launches. We were so excited about all of the product improvements that would come out of the rollout that we neglected some of the less favorable possibilities, such as people not wanting to make such a large investment in the new product after upgrading only a year ago. Needless to say, some of our expectations were not met for this launch due to this lack of preparation. The best way to overcome this common hurdle is to be sure that you’re over prepared—identify what can possibly go wrong before launching. I recommend putting together a pro’s and con’s list - if these particular things do end up going wrong, how can you be prepared to solve them as quickly as possible?

Aligning with the product team BEFORE launch is key. Take the time to set your expectations and benchmarks. There are a variety of considerations here, of course: awareness, adoption, engagement, to name a few. In my experience, fine-tuning these benchmarks a little bit goes a long way. Acknowledge that some KPIs are super important, and that some are dependent on other KPIs, for example. Observing results from a zoomed out lense is vital, but zooming in a bit helps you answer the reason behind your success in a launch. Another huge measure of success in a launch is customer satisfaction—your product needs to be solving a problem for your customers. Of course they need to be using it, but more importantly, they should be liking it!