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INFORMATION AND RESOURCES FOR GO-TO-MARKET EXCELLENCE
If driving successful go-to-market is the chief aim for businesses around the world, why is it that so many get it wrong? Product Marketing is a force for change that can enhance processes across teams that result in go-to-market strategies and launches that have the greatest possible impact.
Why It Matters
A world class Product Lifecycle or PLC is that the heart of any effective go-to-market effort. Unfortunately, many organizations continue to stumble through launches without one or fail to improve on their existing processes, giving up valuable efficiencies and impact in the market.
Product Marketers that embrace the Product Lifecycle, understand its purpose, its nuances, how Marketing ties into it, and acts as its champion, will be a cut above the pack.
Endless headaches. It's launch time and the offering is not even close to ready. It lacks key features. Meanwhile, operations and support have no idea what's going on. Sales has been trained on a new offering that technically, doesn't exist. And it's the Product Marketing leader who has to explain why.
The Product Marketing leader's role can be one firing up the market for new offerings for Sales teams rather than fighting endless fires. The missing ingredients are a robust Product Lifecycle or PLC process and the leadership to drive systemic change when needed.
It's a gotcha moment. It comes eventually to all business leaders when they realize they need a better way to get to market if they are going to grow the business. Product Management is already in place but overwhelmed. Sales are functioning but at times, struggling. What's missing is the third leg of the stool - Product Marketing.
Business leaders that recognize that any world class go-to-market process relies on the role of Product Marketing to keep a pulse on the marketplace, check the direction of the portfolio, champion a stronger Product Lifecycle process, engage the larger Marketing engine, and enable Sales teams, will create go-to-market results that make a big splash.
Go-to-Market Excellence Starts With a World Class Product Lifecycle
Resources to Help You - Free to Download
Launch Tier Form
The Launch Tier Form represents a simple but methodical approach for determining the extent of Marketing resources and overall go-to-market efforts that should be dedicated to a given launch.
Launch Plan Template
Use the Launch Plan Template as a high-level capture of all of the activities that each Marketing function will perform in support of a given launch.
Marketing Requirements Document (MRD)
Use the Marketing Requirements Document (MRD) to capture all pertinent information related to a Tier 1 and Tier 2 launch. This MRD was developed in PowerPoint to make the MRD more practical and useful than traditional Word-based versions.
Posts on Go-to-Market for Greatest Impact
Launch Plan Template – Update
I’ve updated the launch plan template based on learnings from my latest launch. Feel free to use in your launch planning processes. I also recommend checking out the Launch Tier form as a methodical way to determine a launch tier. For more information on the…
Launch Plan Template
Crossing the Bridge Between Knowing How Important Your Launch Is and How to Allocate Marketing Resources to that Launch I’ve talked a bit about the importance of the Product Life Cycle (PLC) to Product Marketers and larger organizations overall. I’ve also talked about the importance…
A Healthy Tension
If You Have Tension Between the Teams In Your Product Life Cycle (PLC) Process, Congratulations! You’re Probably Doing Something Right. I’ve always been process-oriented since the very beginnings of my career. I can probably thank the Business Process Improvement training I had as an Internal…
What’s the Difference Between Positioning and Messaging?
Positioning and Messaging Go Hand in Hand but Their Meaning is not Interchangeable I’ve found colleagues in and outside of marketing sometimes use these phrases interchangeably. However, they really aren’t interchangeable. They have distinct meanings though I can understand why there sometimes is confusion. Let’s…
The Marketing Requirements Document or MRD
The MRD is the single most important content deliverable that Marketing can deliver but it can be more practical and usable. The Marketing Requirements Document (MRD) is the critical piece of any PLC go-to-market process that Marketing can deliver. It is the encapsulation of all…
When Product Management is De-linked from a PLC
Surprisingly, the very group that would benefit most from a robust Product Lifecycle process is not the one that always champions its implementation. Surprisingly, the very group that needs a PLC is not always the organization to drive a PLC process. Product Managers and leaders…
Small or Large – Why You Want a Product Life Cycle (PLC) Process
For all the recognized importance of having a solid PLC process in place, to their detriment very few organizations actually do. In my time as a Product Marketer, I’ve been at small and large organizations. And I can tell you that for all the recognized…
The Product Life Cycle (PLC) Process is a Risk Management Process
At its core, the PLC is a smart process to minimize the risk to companies of making poor investment choices. Among other things, the Product Life Cycle Process is a risk management process. When a robust PLC is put in place and practiced by the…
Launch Tiers and How to Use the Launch Tier Form
Use a methodical and collaborative approach to determining the importance of and resources needed for a given launch. I highly recommend that the Launch Tier Form be used with PLC core team members to determine the importance of a given new offering or enhancement. If…
Product Marketing Tools in the Toolbox
Sometimes You Need a Reminder of All of the Channels, Tactics and Tools You as a Product Marketer Have at Your Disposal We wanted to share this because often times, Product Marketing Managers don’t realize all of the channels, tactics and tools they have out…
Communicating with the Business
As a Product Marketing Leader or Individual Contributor, You Must Communicate Effectively With The Business You Support Generally, it’s easy for Product Marketers to go about their daily business for quite some time without engaging the business they support. After all, the business and its…
Creating a Product Marketing Plan
How Do You Create Your Product Marketing Plan? I’ve seen lots of different ways that organizations go about creating a Product Marketing plan as well as ways that Product Marketers and teams don’t go about creating a plan at all. In the end, I have…