Inside Olivine #24

🤝🏽How to build a strong relationship with Product as a PMM

Olivine Marketing

and

Saahil Patel

Feb 21, 2024

Hey all! Welcome to the 24th edition of the Inside Olivine newsletter.

I’ve written a few of these in the past, but for those of you who might be new subscribers, I’m Saahil, PMM at LinkedIn. I’ve also been freelancing with Olivine in my spare time over the last 3 years, where I’ve worked with quite a few cool startups building positioning and messaging strategies. My 5-9 looks like a combo of spending time gymming, dancing, or binging Netflix.

Currently, I’m based out of SF but am in the works of planning a move to the city that never sleeps (my deadline is May, please keep me accountable). If you happen to be reading this from NYC, I’d appreciate any moving tips (or if you just want to connect) in the comments!

Now, onto the goods: I’m going to be sharing some of my unsolicited advice on building a strong relationship with Product. My credentials? I was voted “Most likely to become best friends with every single one of his cross-functional partners” at our holiday party last year. And I let both my PM partners follow me on Insta. That’s the realest it can get 😉.

Why Your Relationship with Product Matters

One of the most important relationships a product marketer has is with product management. The word “product” exists in the title, so it goes without saying that being close to Product is part of the job (you really can’t escape it). As we navigate the responsibilities of influencing and shaping the product's path to market, it becomes crucial for us PMMs to proactively foster and strengthen our collaboration with the product team.

In my role (which currently sits in the “Inbound PMM” function), I spend the majority of my time with Product. As an Inbound PMM, I’m primarily responsible for being the voice of the customer to inform product strategies and roadmaps through deep customer/market insights. Essentially, this means I work with my respective PMs to figure out what we should be building and for whom. This means my relationship with Product is critical because without it, I would hate my job (or be out of one).

FWIW: This “Inbound” role might not be the case for everyone reading this newsletter, but chances are that if you’re a PMM, some part of your role involves working with Product. So, this newsletter will still be valuable and a good use of your time (I promise).

A Fun Little Analogy

Years ago, when I first started my career in PMM, I was told a fun analogy (one that I still reference pretty often today).

A relationship with Product is like being married with a child. You may have different parenting styles, ways of showing love, or how you want to raise the child, but at the end of the day, you want the best for your child. That’s exactly what a PMM and PM relationship is like — you may have different priorities, goals, and strategies you’re working towards, but you ultimately want your product to be successful.

My hope is that you’ll leave reading this newsletter feeling energized about strengthening your relationship with Product — one where you’ll be the first stakeholder to be consulted on a new strategy, where you’ll never have to fight to earn a seat at the table, and where you’ll be known across the biz for your subject matter expertise in customers, the market, and competitors.

So to set the scene, let’s start with understanding some of the overlap between the PMM and PM role.

Similarities Between PMM & PM

While there are tons of articles on the differences between PMM and PM, the similarities often get overlooked (and I would argue there’s more similarities than differences). Understanding how your roles are similar can actually help you be a better cross-functional partner and deliver value.

Customer-centric focus: Both PMMs and PMs prioritize understanding the customer; we just bring that understanding to life in different ways. As PMMs, we’re responsible for deeply understanding our audience—their needs, pain points, and behaviors. We then translate that foundational understanding into positioning and messaging that effectively communicates the value of the product to the customer. The PM, on the other hand, takes that knowledge to actually build products that not only solve problems but also align with customer expectations and preferences.

Cross-functional collaboration: If you’re a PMM, you’re often in dozens of meetings a day. And while we tend to think we’re the only function that suffers from meeting fatigue, that’s not actually true. PMs are struggling with the same thing, as they’re likely just as cross-functional as us, working with marketing, engineering, legal, bizops, and so many other teams. The nature of both of our roles is that we’re constantly getting buy-in from other teams so we can make decisions for the product.

Strategic planning: PMMs and PMs share common ground with strategic planning, serving as the architects of a product's success. While PMMs contribute by developing compelling go-to-market strategies, Product Managers define the overall product strategy, setting goals, prioritizing features, and charting roadmaps aligned with the company's vision. This collaborative, strategic effort ensures that the product not only addresses customer needs but also achieves overarching business objectives, creating a seamless and cohesive roadmap for the entire product lifecycle.

Discovering these shared aspects and common goals isn't just about ticking boxes – it's about building a connection. Recognizing the similarities in how we focus on customers, collaborate across functions, and plan strategically lays the groundwork for a more cooperative partnership.

Tips for Effective Partnership with PM

Now to the good stuff. So how do you actually build a strong partnership? This list is by no means exhaustive, but if I had to prioritize my top 5 tips, they would be the following:

1. Lock down clear roles and responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities of the PMM and PM can vary from company to company and may change based on the stage of the company and its priorities. It's important to ensure that the leadership team is aligned on what each team is responsible for and what those charters look like. Who owns product research? Who owns in-product messaging? Who's responsible for legal approval? Getting crystal clear on who does what and who the decision-maker is removes friction and ensures things move fast.

2. Get to know them outside of work

Building a strong relationship with the Product team starts with being human. Take 5 minutes out of your next 1:1 and get to know them for who they are outside of work. What are their hobbies? How do they like to work? What gets them excited? When you invest in this relationship, trust will naturally build up, and they will see you less as a stakeholder they need to get buy-in from and more as a strategic partner that they can go to when they're building a strategy.

I actually asked one of my PMs, Gina, to share what she thinks I (aka the role of PMM) bring to the table. This is what she said:

“PMM plays a critical role in achieving the overall product vision by partnering with PMs to understand the needs of our customers through research, prioritizing projects that will drive maximum value, and crafting customer-first UX and messaging that helps accomplish our customer JTBD, enabling PMs to focus on product development. Our joint efforts can result in cohesive strategies that maximize product value and resonate with target audiences in a way that helps to accomplish our goals.” — Gina Benvenuto, Sr. Product Manager at LinkedIn

Thanks for making me sound like a rockstar, Gina! But in all seriousness, the only reason I’m able to do this is because Gina trusts me, and this trust was built overtime by seeing Gina as a human and friend, rather than just a coworker or stakeholder I need to work with or convince.

3. Unite on shared customer understanding

Shared goals begin with a shared understanding. Both of you care deeply about the customer, so why not bring that knowledge and curiosity together? Develop a shared language around customer needs so that when you're presenting to leadership, you're saying the same thing.

💡 Try this: In your 1:1 document with your PM, have a section specifically dedicated to "new learnings" that you both take a few minutes to fill out before hopping on the call. This helps you both learn new things about your audience and continue to evolve and shape your customer understanding.

4. Get cozy with the PRD (Product Requirements Doc)

Just as PMMs own a GTM doc, PMs own the PRD which outlines the product strategy and requirements. I used to be guilty of avoiding this doc, and it’s a huge mistake—stop it! While it might seem like a technical document that is beyond your scope, diving into it is an investment in collaboration. Use this as an opportunity to ask the tough questions. Challenge the strategy proposed. Ensure that the solution actually aligns with the actual pain points of the customers. Your role here is not just as a reviewer but as a strategic partner contributing to the success of the product. This is how you can actually deliver value in a way that contributes to the product strategy and build credibility.

5. Research as a dynamic duo

Plan your research collaboratively with PMs. Share your goals and get their insights early on. After all, they’re the ones who will be implementing any of the recommendations you propose. By involving them in the process, you not only gain valuable perspectives but also make them active contributors and get them invested in the research. Tactically this can mean sharing the research brief, inviting them to calls, asking for their thoughts, and so on. When you're prepping your readout, sync up with your PM to ensure your narrative aligns seamlessly with theirs and you both have the same takeaways.

So what should you NOT do?

This could turn into a whole other newsletter, but time's not on our side for that right now. Maybe I'll revisit this topic next year with some in-depth tips 🤓. For now, here are three things I strongly advise against.

❌ Think you know all the sh*t: While confidence is essential, avoid coming across as if you know it all. Embrace a humble and receptive attitude, acknowledging that there's always room for learning and improvement.
❌ Micromanage your PM: Avoid micromanaging your product partner. No one wants someone nagging them all day. While collaboration is crucial, trust them to make informed decisions about the product's features and development. And if you do happen to disagree, bring data and rationale to the table to make a compelling case rather than “personal opinion”.
❌ Hide your product marketing plan: Keep the product team in the loop and seek their insights on everything you’re working on. The worst thing you can do is develop positioning or a GTM that doesn’t align with your product roadmap. Collaboration ensures that marketing is aligned with the product's true strengths and objectives.

My Final Note

This is a relationship worth investing in. So much of our role as a PMM is to ensure the right product is being built and to influence the direction of it. And we really can’t do that without a strong relationship with our PM partners. If you plant the right seeds for this relationship, you'll watch it bloom into something beautiful and thriving.

Till next time,

Saahil

Fresh finds

Tool I love: Anyone hear of Perplexity? I just came across it, and I'm totally hooked. Think ChatGPT meets Google search. Instead of bombarding you with a list of search results, Perplexity breaks it down for you, gives you the gist, and even throws in some citations. It's like having a real conversation with a search engine.
Shallow dive: If you're not already subscribed, I suggest checking out Tamara Grominsky's PMM newsletter. Personally, I enjoy receiving them - they're easy to digest, engaging, and help me stay in the loop and motivated about my career in PMM. I loved this edition, where she delves into transitioning to a Chief Strategy Officer role, really got me pondering my next career move. Worth a read!
Deep dive: I’ve been working on a segmentation project at work recently and found myself needing to brush up on some old (and very important) marketing skills. This blog post by SurveyMonkey was a great (long) read that helped me think through how to build and prioritize the right segments. Key to both a product and product marketing role.