The market for apps is probably as hot as it will ever be and companies need every opportunity to build a competitive advantage. Of course, the strongest path to success comes with aligned execution and a clear product vision. How can the relationship between product and product marketing ensure success across all teams? Doist Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Neil Vidyarthi, takes the Product Talk mic to speak on the alignment X-factor that ultimately drives the customer journey.
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On the relationship between product marketing and product management
As host Patrick Blute puts it, “it really is always about strategy, alignment, kinship, and building for the end user experience”. That’s the daily dance that occurs between product management and product marketing. Getting those two in line is imperative for product success.
“It’s aligning on the customer journey – That is the number one thing I’ve seen with high performing teams. I’m talking about product, product marketing, business development and support. When those things are aligned, it creates the X factor that is hard to measure.”
“It’s a step by step process of little decisions and little buy ins and communications that create those kinds of cultures that lead to exceptional relationships, and therefore customer journeys.”
On product lessons
“I’d say what I learned from product the most was, don’t launch without growth loops.”
Words of wisdom that every product manager can take away from the episode. With a career that spans both sides of the hours, Neil has unique wisdom on what it takes to crossover. Neil and Patrik continue on to discuss pivotal lessons from product management that apply when moving into product marketing.
“Ultimately, marketing is not going to be able to do it without an amazing product. I think everyone knows that, and so the advantage, when product creates something like a growth loop, is that marketing can accentuate it and build on it.”
“The nice to have, I would say is, is if product does positioning and understands a little bit of the context and shares that when they’re creating the product itself.”
“It’s an art and a science. I think that positioning is an essential part, and doing that work at the beginning – to understand who’s using it and sharing it with marketing – can unlock a lot of potential with the project.”
What product managers need to know about the PMM role
Product management has been likened to the central cog amongst a series of team spokes. It can be difficult to advocate for all stakeholder teams while keeping the product locked to the north star. Neil shares the things product managers need to know about the product marketing side of the equation.
“There’s a saying about product marketing; product marketing has to represent the users to the product team, and represent the product to the users. We act as such an excellent conduit between the users and product. Sometimes there could be a hesitancy for product managers to reach out because it’s hard to put another step into the process.”
“Number one – if you’re releasing anything, we’re there. We’re going to help with your copy, we’re going to help position it, we’re going to help even coordinate the release for you because the dates can be tricky. Product Marketing is a very new discipline and it’s not clearly defined even in our space. Understand that we’re really here to serve and amplify, and build up for you.”
About the speaker
Neil Vidyarthi is a senior product marketing manager at Doist, a pioneer of remote work that specializes in productivity software. Doist created the award-winning task management app Todoist, which helps over 25 million people stay organized and productive, and Twist, a team communication platform that combines long-form discussions and chat messaging into one that is trusted by 400K teams like MIT, Starbucks and Shopify. Neil joined Doist in 2017, bringing over 10 years of experience managing product marketing content and campaigns at companies such as Electronic Arts, Adweek, and his own content marketing agency, Insightful. He is a full-stack marketer with a product mindset who takes a strategic, data-informed approach to launching new campaigns, from feature launches like Todoist Boards to game-changing product launches like Twist. He believes organizations work best when every team is enthusiastic about their shared responsibility to deliver an exceptional customer journey. He is based in Ontario, Canada, is fluent in both English and Japanese, and is passionate about remote work and calmer, more organized workflows.
About the host
I am the Director of Brand & Sustainability for Transfix, a leading transportation solutions provider, combining tech and a best-in-class carrier network to reshape the future of freight. I am also a host for Product Talk helping bring product leaders together to answer the question: "What makes a great product?"