Something I’ve noticed – most marketing teams are nimble, scrappy, efficient, and effective in the early days. But as the marketing team matures, they become slower and bulkier.

I think this is because most marketing teams implement processes, rather than focus on building a marketing system.

What’s the difference?

It’s a huge difference, actually.

A process is simply the execution of a task. It’s a step-by-step approach to getting something done. Marketing teams, especially in the process of growing, set up processes to streamline the volume of work they’re working on. They think that having a process in place will make their life easier… but that’s not always the case.

Processes can become rigid and inflexible. They don’t always account for the nuances and changes that inevitably occur – and change is pretty much the only constant in startups.

Sure, but processes can change, right? Except once everyone is conditioned to working a certain type of way, it’s easy to optimize and even build more sub-processes… but difficult to rethink the whole thing.

A system, however, is the overall environment that enables outcomes to be achieved. It’s a more holistic approach that takes into account all the factors that contribute to success, including the tools, technologies, and people involved.

By creating a system that is designed to enable outcomes, marketing teams can be better equipped to respond to changing circumstances. The system flexes, as required – taking the inputs in, working it through, and achieving an outcome at the end.

Why teams build processes

Ultimately, processes are easier to define and measure. They can be divided into smaller, manageable steps, and rewards can be tied to specific tasks. Each person taking part in a process can be OKR’d and performance-managed.

They can also provide limitations – an excuse or a reason for doing or not doing something.

But systems require a different mindset. Creating a system means providing an environment for success. A system takes into account not just the specific tasks, but the principles, tools, technologies, people, motivations, objectives, relationships, interactions, and contexts in which they are performed.

They require interoperability and an understanding that everything is a bit give-and-take. There will be swings-and-roundabouts in every stage. But systems lead to a more comprehensive, flexible approach that can lead to greater outcomes in the long run.

Build a system instead, with these principles

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I’m all about principles – I think they’re a great way to set out how you want to work, and use that to guide the implementation and execution.

If I were building a cross-functional marketing team, here are the principles that I’d implement from the start.

Collaboration

One team, one dream. Teamwork is crucial. Open communication and sharing of ideas across the team, and with stakeholders. Zero ego. All working for the good of our customers.

Flexibility

A system-based approach requires an ability to adapt to changing circumstances. This means being open to new ideas and approaches, and being willing to pivot when necessary. Being able to operate with ambiguity.

Customer empathy

We are nothing without our customers. They have to be firmly in the center of our entire operation. We have to consider their needs, preferences, and feedback in all aspects of our team.

Continuous improvement

We’re always going to get better, but we’ve got to start somewhere. We need to set up the feedback loops that regularly monitor performance, gather feedback, and make adjustments as necessary to ensure that we’re delivering the best outcomes.

Innovation

Average planning generates average results. Thinking outside the box and borrowing inspiration from other industries will help us to innovate and be more creative. Good artists copy; great artists steal.

Integrated

We have to move as one. Our work is integrated and holistic. Success for one is success for all. This means considering the interconnections between different components and teams and handover points, and ensuring that they work together seamlessly.

Mindset matters

Shifting from a process-approach to a system-approach isn’t going to happen overnight.

But building more of the principles above into your day-to-day work, and by agreeing more ‘system’ ways of working with your collaborators, you might find less need for rigid processes, and more opportunities for closer work and true partnership. Good luck!

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“What are your thoughts on product marketing KPIs?” is one of my must-ask interview questions.

Our work is so diverse, varied, and cross-functional that honestly, VP Marketing folks are scared of us.

They’re often super comfortable with demand gen roles: MQLs, conversion rates, CTRs. But product marketing? Inexperienced VPMs will often utter the dreaded phrase “So, how many datasheets are you going to produce this quarter?”

There’s no quick and easy answer to how you measure product marketing – and it really depends on the question you ask.

Here’s my attempt at breaking down the different questions you might be trying to answer, with an action plan for each that you can take back to the metaphorical office tomorrow.

Measure the impact of product marketing

How do you measure the impact of product marketing? Well, how long is a piece of string? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This is a really common question that many early in the product-marketing-hiring journey will ask, perhaps roles where the PMM is reporting into the CEO or a first-time founder, or where the marketing director comes from a non-tech background.

Product marketing might seem complicated to outsiders, but it’s not an amorphous blob. We don’t weave magic (as much as we’d like to claim).

We usually work on a number of projects at one time, using our knowledge, skills, and experience to solve problems to improve an outcome. The trick is defining what the project is, and what metrics should be moved.

Some of these projects will be casual and everyday support, but sometimes you’ll be spending a ton of time on something – and need to prove you’re having an impact.

In these cases, I recommend setting out clear project briefs using an experiment canvas like the one below.

Of course, edit or reword this rough layout into something that works for you and your business. But broadly, an experiment canvas will be made up of:

• The assumption you’re testing
• A hypothesis statement that details what you’re testing, what you expect to achieve, and the timeframe for achieving it.
• Details on how the work will happen, and how the measurement will happen
• The results achieved
• Whether you validated or didn’t achieve the result, and what any next steps are to be

This can serve as a handy way to align stakeholders around the projects you’re working on, and also give your work a clear steer for success.

Measure the success of product marketing

Often, this question is phrased as ‘measure the success of product marketing’… but often is intended to be ‘measure the success of the product marketer’. Be very clear which one you are asking/answering.

The success of product marketing should ultimately track against the main needle-moving metric for your business each year.

For most traditional businesses, this will be revenue. For other companies, it might be a north-star product usage metric.

Each quarter, I’d expect to see product marketing work on projects that look to improve a specific metric that has an exponential impact on the main metric.

For example, a business needs to grow revenue in 2023.

• Q1 PMM projects focus on improving sales win rates.
• Q2 looks at above-the-funnel positioning to grow awareness and relevance.
• Q3 is tracking outbound sales performance.
• Q4 focuses on supporting MQL to Opp numbers.

Sometimes the focus on the main metric will change depending on the weather or the general mood in the business. And we need to look at the trends and the direction of travel, not ad-hoc metrics or enforced OKRs that don’t make sense.

Product marketing is collaborative, so the success of product marketing always depends on the relationships that exist between our stakeholder teams.

And we might run, inform, advise the work – but not have an active role in delivering or implementing. The success of product marketing cannot be based on a single metric, whether achievement or failure – but the whole of product marketing is more than the sum of its parts.

Monitor the performance of the product marketing team

I’ve phrased this in a specific way, but as above, some people ask this question and aren’t entirely clear in what they really mean: how do we monitor or measure the performance of a product marketing manager on a personal, role level?

This is probably the hardest question to answer.

Ultimately, you’ll need to measure their performance based on the job description you (hopefully) spent time carefully crafting, the role levels and expectations that you (hopefully) can lean on for consistency, and clear indicators of company culture.

Can you measure the performance of a product marketer on a single metric? No. On a single project? No. On the first underwhelming quarter? No.

On a consistent trend of underperformance? Definitely. On an unforgivable behavior? Absolutely. On a lack of response to well-attempted coaching? Sure.

The lack of clear metrics that product marketing owns is often confused with lack of accountability. It isn’t. Hold product marketers to account on the impact and the success they drive for your business.

Don’t track deliverables

Don’t bother trying to track product marketing with the number of deliverables created. It does nothing except drive busywork.

In fact, it has the inverse effect. Using metrics like the number of datasheets or webpages created, as a proxy for productivity, actually lessens the total impact that your product marketing team can deliver.

Evolve your approach

As you and your product marketing team mature, you’ll find new ways to monitor and measure product marketing through things like control groups, incremental revenue, testing, and more. Your approach will evolve and that’s a good thing.

Just remember to be clear on the questions you’re trying to answer. Impact isn’t success, and success isn’t performance.

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Just as I have before, I think every marketer in the world has had at least one significant failure under their belts.

That might be a product launch that flopped. Feature launches that missed the mark. Messaging and positioning that just didn’t work. The heavy marketing campaign with negative ROI.

In my experience, I think many marketing teams miss a crucial step that the product world has embraced: the need to validate. We work on big projects based on assumptions without thinking how they might perform in the real world.

And then we’re surprised when they flop.

Undeterred, we chalk failures down to misfires. We move onto the next project… and the circle repeats, ad infinitum.

In the product world, John Cutler (who you should follow on Twitter!) designates a product team that work like this to be a ‘feature factory’. These teams are tasked with building features and shipping them without much concern as to whether they actually help solve customer problems.

In the marketing world, I call these kind of teams ‘conveyor belts’.

Conveyor belt marketing teams just take whatever comes down the pipe – like product features, new marketing campaign ideas, messaging, collateral requests – and just run with it.

Ideas, campaigns, launches are just put into the world with best intentions, but weak discipline as to whether they will actually have an impact.

And new tactics, new projects are always coming down the assembly line (from leadership, from product or sales teams) – so any mistakes and missteps are never long-lived enough. We’ll do better with the next one!

Don’t be a conveyor belt marketing team

Please, I implore you. And it’s not too difficult – any teams can start getting better today.

First, start with strategy

What’s your company strategy? What’s your marketing strategy? What are the big questions your marketing team are trying to answer or prove to move the business forward?

It’s surprising how many teams don’t have these in place.

I’m a fan of the Good Strategy, Bad Strategy ‘strategy nugget’. The book is a must-read.

Three steps to develop strategy:

1. A clear diagnosis of your current situation and context: you need to know where you’re coming from to determine where you’re going to go

2. Principles that will guide you through the next phase of execution and learning: key word is ‘principles’: a truth or proposition that you hold beliefs in

3. Aligned tactics that detail ways in which the principles will be applied to the situation: the steps you will take to move forward

As the book details, many teams think strategy is a declaration of the goals they will achieve. That is not strategy.

Then, link tactics to goals to strategy

OKRs!

You do need to set goals that get you close to achieving your strategy. And then you need to align those tactics underneath so you can measure them accurately.

Sometimes, it’s not possible to link some work to discrete metrics. Product marketing, is notoriously difficult to measure although somewhat possible by looking at the first-, second-, and even third-order impacts of work. For example, working to improve product messaging will hopefully make website conversions increase, improve sales outbound response rates, and reduce sales cycle times.

Don’t forget to validate

Validation does not always mean long, drawn-out tests to check if something works!

Validation can be quick and simple. Use your internal teams (preferably with a wide range of people) to check what‘s missing, what’s incorrect, and what could be better. Throwing something in front of a few friendly customers might be enough.

When validating, I try to see if the idea and then the execution is heading in the right direction to ensure the objective will be met.

For example creating buyer personas – these will be mostly used by the sales and marketing team – so share them with a few internal people to see if they are useful and helpful ways to think about the market.

To test positioning and messaging, test in PPC ads and landing pages or with sales outbound teams to see if it will be more resonant with your customers.

The biggest tip I can offer is… don’t actually build before you need to. This post from Strategyzer is one I revisit regularly. If you can validate and learn something before building, then try to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

That might mean:

• Regularly created PDF one-pagers to test with audiences as you work through a messaging project, rather than a big-bang launch

• A landing page and PPC ads, rather than a big PR push

• ‘Wizard of Oz-ing’ a potential new service before you invest in building product features

• Blog posts and quick surveys to test engagement, rather than a huge research report

Lastly, review and communicate

Hold regular retrospectives: what worked well and what didn’t? What actions and improvements should we think about next time?

Share what you’ve learnt within your wider teams and help build a wider collective consciousness of decisions, learnings, and understanding of how your customers and other stakeholders react and function.

And refresh your strategy as you learn more. Strategy is not a set-and-forget exercise – it should evolve as you learn more about your customers, market, and your executional capabilities.

Don’t be a conveyor belt marketing team

If you’re stuck deep into a conveyor belt way of working, change won’t happen overnight – but even the smallest changes can make a big difference.

If you’re struggling to make improvements, try these small steps:

• Strategy – for a project, set out a quick diagnosis and share your principles for moving forward

• Goals – look for a simple measure of success that isn’t delivered or not delivered, but a metric that can be monitored and improved, and work collaboratively with those directly responsible

• Validate – get some customer input into an idea before executing; I guarantee you’ll leave with better ideas than when you started

• Communicate – don’t finish a project and forget about it; revisit in 4-6 weeks and see how it was received, the results, and ask others for their opinion

Once you can free yourself from a conveyor-belt way of working, you’ll be more empowered, more strategic, and deliver better results. Good luck!

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