In my first article for this newsletter, I shared how product marketing is one of the most cross-functionally dependent roles within any B2B software business. In my second article, I discussed the value of the relationship between product marketing managers (PMMs) and analyst relations. Now I want to take a step back – in this short intro, I’m setting the stage for a series of articles I’m looking forward to writing: my upcoming “Product Marketing Team-Ups” series. In these posts, I’ll share the positive business outcomes created when PMMs build strong partnerships with a variety of critical functions and roles across the organization.
Product Marketing’s impact spans the whole organization
As I kick off my first set of these Team-Up articles, I wanted to share the specific roles/teams within each of the major functional organizations with whom I’ve personally had the pleasure of partnering. Some of my posts will likely be at the full organization level, while others may be at the role level – similar to what I did for my analyst relations article. Guess that’ll just depend on how much I have to say!
Note: I recognize that where certain teams report in a company depends on the individual organization, so I’m just listing the most common reporting relationships in my personal experience.
Product/R&D organization
- Product Management
- User Experience (UX) and product design
- Engineering
- Product operations
- Product-led growth
Sales organization
- Sales
- Presales/solutions consulting
- Inside sales/SDRs/BDRs
- Partner/channel sales
- Sales enablement
- Sales or Revenue operations
Marketing organization
- Revenue marketing (e.g., demand gen, customer marketing, growth marketing)
- Corporate Communications/PR
- Analyst Relations
- Brand marketing
- Field/Event marketing
- Content marketing
- Website marketing
- Customer Advocacy
- Competitive intelligence
- Social and Community marketing
- Partner marketing
- Marketing operations
Customer Success organization
- Customer support
- Account management
- Professional services
Finance/Strategy organizations
- Finance
- Corporate strategy and business development
- Program Management Office (PMO)
As I kick off this series, please let me know if there are any specific teams/functions that I didn’t mention above where you feel product marketing must build strong relationships.