In an earlier article, we've shared some of the complexities related to lawtech and legaltech and the strategies necessary to attract and hire top talent.
Because these categories are so complex and nuanced, it only makes sense that product marketing hires are crucial to the success of any legal or lawtech product taken to market. Without a well-executed GTM strategy, the business runs the risk of failing to fully capitalize on the potential of a product launch.
Most organizations identify product marketing as one of the most challenging hires to find. Our firm has an 18-year track record recruiting this function for both startups and scale-ups, and we've identified the two key traits shared by the world's top Product Marketing Managers.
Full Picture Vision
Product Marketing Managers (PMMs) are responsible for bringing products to market and ensuring their success. Therefore, PMMs must understand how software products are developed from ideation to launch to effectively communicate the product’s value proposition, features, and benefits.
This ‘start to finish’ understanding helps PMMs communicate the product’s features to the target market in a way that resonates with them. It also enables PMMs to develop effective messaging and positioning strategies that resonate with the target audience and ICP.
Cross-Functional Communication Wizards
Product marketing touches almost every part of the organization. Therefore, strong PMMs must be able to communicate and collaborate seamlessly.
- Collaboration with Developers: PMMs must work closely with Developers to ensure the product is developed according to the market requirements. A thorough understanding of the software development process helps PMMs collaborate with Developers more effectively, communicate their needs, and understand the technical aspects of the product development process.
- Collaboration with Customer Success: PMMs can help customer success teams develop retention strategies by providing insights into customer behaviour and engagement metrics. They can analyze customer feedback to identify areas of improvement in the product and help customer success teams develop strategies to address these issues.
- Collaboration with Product Management: PMMs work closely with product management teams to develop product launch plans, including messaging, positioning, and marketing campaigns. PMMs also conduct competitive analyses. They provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of competing products, which helps the product management team develop products that can compete effectively in the market.
- Collaboration with the Sales organization: PMMs collaborate with sales teams to develop sales enablement materials that help Sales Reps effectively communicate the product's value proposition, features, and benefits. This includes product demos, sales scripts, and sales training materials. PMMs also provide sales teams with insights into the strengths and weaknesses of competing products helping sales teams to differentiate the product from the competition effectively and address objections that customers may have.