What are the key skills and tools for product marketing managers in the age of AI and data-driven marketing?

As a product marketer, I work at the intersection of product desirability, viability, and scalability. The product marketing role is effective when working alongside product teams to define the product strategy prior to jumping into the positioning, messaging, etc. aspects of the role. Starting with desirability and viability, partnering with user experience, market research, data analysis teams to assess the level of attractiveness to its intended audience and viability (clear value proposition, willingness to pay, differentiator, etc.). Only once this is clearly established, the aspect of scalability comes into play, i.e., positioning and messaging the product, and launching and promoting it to the target audience.

Bullshit/grift detection and honesty are the key skills needed in PMs in the age of so-called "AI". Understanding you are being conned, and how, are key to avoiding wasting mental cycles, team efforts, and budget on nonsense barely functional tools that will make you look incredibly foolish, lose your customer trust, and tarnish your brand once the hype bubble inevitably bursts.

The greatest skill for a PMM can wield is 'influence without authority'. PMMs should know how to apply AI to combine hard and soft skills in a manner that allows them to influence everyone they work with, toward the customers benefit. Having issues starting a new sales enablement process? Damn the blank page! Enter ChatGPT, Claude, AI tool of choice. Can't quite find the words or research to effectively deliver a POV that PMs must consider? Stage left, AI tool of choice. Above content generation, image generation etc... these AI tools are reasoning engines, giving you an effective, knowledgable sounding board that can help you plan where to go next. Use these powers responsibly to ensure rising tides lift all the boats around you :)

Product copyrighting is one of the primary skills that a Product Marketing Manager should have. While PMM works closely with PM to understand what the product/feature does, at the same time they need to be thorough & simple with the product messaging which will be the touch points for the customers. - The messaging can apply to promotion/launch (which makes the users connect to the product) - The messaging can apply to product messages (which helps the users to use the product seamlessly) - The messaging can even apply to FAQs and documents (which helps users to figure out solution for any problem) In most of the organisation, product marketing is carried out by the product team with the help of product managers having marketing acumen

Leading a product management organization is being the GM responsible for the business unit from defining the vision, product strategy and managing the P&L. A product marketing organization is responsible for the go-to-market strategy for a company's products. This includes conducting market research to understand the target audience, developing positioning and messaging for the product, and creating a plan for the product launch and ongoing marketing efforts. The team also works closely with the product development team to ensure that the product meets the target market's needs and differentiates from the competition.

Market research and analysis is the cornerstone of the product marketing role. It can be quite overwhelming to decide where to start, however I always try to narrow it down to "what are the big questions we want answered?

Exciting insights from this article on navigating the evolving realm of product marketing, especially with the integration of AI and data-driven strategies! Leveraging AI tools alongside human creativity and insights can accelerate the marketing process, automating tasks like market research, personalized messaging, and campaign optimization. However, it's crucial to remember the human element—customer feedback and real-world data provide invaluable context and guidance. By effectively harnessing AI while staying grounded in human understanding, product marketers can streamline operations and enhance decision-making, ultimately driving success in today's dynamic marketplace. #productmarketing #ai #marektingstrategy

Apalancar con la IA el análisis del mercado más alla de una estadistica con datos cualitativos permitiriá tener una visión casi como predecir el futuro una visión más amplia que el mercadeo hoy tiene una limitación.

Product marketing demands a blend of skills: a strategic mindset to understand market trends, customer behavior analysis, and competitive landscapes. Communication prowess is vital for crafting compelling messaging and content that resonates with diverse audiences. Strong analytical skills aid in interpreting data, enabling informed decision-making. Collaboration with cross-functional teams, creativity in ideation, and adaptability to evolving market dynamics round out the skill set, ensuring effective product positioning and successful go-to-market strategies.

A successful product marketing manager doesn't just possess these skills individually; they must also be able to combine them effectively and tailor their approach to the specific needs of their product and target audience.

In my opinion, none of those tools should be the preminents ones product market use in their day-to-day job. Tools like Excel, Power Pivot, Power Query, the add-ons from providers of syndicated market data for the CPG industry like Nielsen, Iri should be the most important ones to use, at least for B2C Markets.

ChatGTP needs to be added to this - It's a recognised tool that can be immensely helpful! It's also a great oracle for identifying the right tool for the task at hand.

As a product marketer you should know these tools : 1. Canva/Figma for design 2. Jira for task management/tracking 3. ChatGPT/ Bard- to get ideas or content for campaigns ( make sure to be as detailed as possible) 4. Excel/ Tableau or any other tool to make sense out of data 5. CRM - to get information about users 6. Some social listening tools. 7. Google Ananlytics/ Apptweak / semeush/ hotjar / Firebase for analysis More important you should know what is the value prop that you can use to reach out to maximise your funnel conversion.

Product marketing relies on an array of tools for comprehensive strategy execution. Analytics platforms like Google Analytics and Tableau offer insights into customer behavior. Marketing automation tools such as HubSpot and Marketo streamline campaign management and lead nurturing. For personalized experiences, AI-driven platforms like Dynamic Yield and Optimizely prove invaluable. Social media management tools like Sprout Social and Hootsuite aid in audience engagement. CRM software such as Salesforce CRM helps manage customer relationships, ensuring a holistic approach to marketing endeavors.

The ideal tools are those that align with your specific workflow, budget, and team needs. Experimenting with different options and continuously evaluating their effectiveness is key to maximizing your product marketing toolkit.

There is a HUGE debate going on in marketing circles right now on the questions of: 1) Will AI replace marketing copywriters? 2) Will AI-generated marketing copy perform better or worse than copy written by top marketers? 3) Will AI users be able to tell if AI-generated marketing copy is garbage? 4) Will AI replace SEO and SEM marketers? Chamath Palihapitya said it best when he said that the value-add role of the future will be "AI prompt engineer". Marketers need to stop thinking of themselves as the originators of the copy / ideas and start thinking of themselves as skilled manipulators of AI machines. This way, AI becomes like a calculator - in capable hands, it can produce great research, copy, and insights in a fraction of the time.

Product Marketing and AI: AI is the ultimate intern of the digital age, tirelessly crunching data and serving up results faster than you can say "coffee break." But here's the kicker: it's like having an intern who's read every book in the library and knows every joke in the universe—well, almost. So, if you want to unlock the treasure trove of knowledge, just ask away! Just remember, with great querying power comes great responsibility. So, sharpen those wits, folks! The AI's ready to impress, as long as you're ready to ask in style.

AI offers tremendous potential for product marketers. Whether it is finding the optimal time to publish a social media post or to send out campaign emails to optimize for engagement/ open rates, or other examples — Marketing has been using AI for several years. Generative AI, a new kind of AI, now also offers the opportunity to generate text, tighten it, rephrase it, provide alternatives, adapt it by audience, etc. provides a whole new level of opportunities for those who learn how to use it. The sooner product marketers explore it, the bigger the edge will be that they have in the market.

AI tools can be of great help to product managers and product marketers, as they can help liberate time from analyzing consumer feedback and turn it into actionable recommendations that can better serve the customer experience. In my experience, the consumer wants information in real-time and responses to be available when they need it and does not necessarily want to have human interaction to get this content. Content creation is an area in which AI can help product managers to enhance sales enablement and customer service tools, to further enhance the customer experience I the buying and support journey. I believe is a game changer to support personalization from a product marketing perspective as well.

As a product marketer, recent advancements in generative AI are incredibly exciting. AI can be especially useful to automate some of the more mundane (but incredibly important) tasks like company and product research summarizations, content outlines, and headline idea generation. Having said that, there is a risk of over reliance on AI. Skilled product marketers know that there is the potential for engines to misinterpret context, generate poor quality content, perpetuate biases, and not maintain brand consistency.

The emergence of AI tools has significantly increased the expectations placed upon Product Marketers to enhance their efficiency through their utilization. One major apprehension surrounding generative AI tools is their tendency to produce information that lacks factual accuracy. Establishing a basic understanding of these tools and their limitations is crucial prior to their comprehensive implementation and usage.

The biggest opportunity as a marketer (or entrepreneur) is to not be afraid of the speed and evolution of AI, but try to learn as much about it as possible. Use it, play with it, and establish your own direct knowledge and understanding of its uses and limitations for you and your job. Don't try to pass any AI work as your own. Instead, become better and faster than your colleagues at your job with the help of AI. Staying on the AI cutting edge today is the best job security you can have as a marketer tomorrow.

It's primarily an opportunity for me to delegate repetitive tasks, foster ideation, and enhance execution speed. AI isn't a replacement; rather, it necessitates a clear understanding and a well-defined perspective to effectively guide its actions. Plus it's fun ;)

Yes, product marketing managers face many challenges in the age of AI and data-driven marketing. However, after reading Elizabeth Weil's article: "You Are Not a Parrot, and a chatbot is not a human. And a linguist named Emily M. Bender is very worried about what will happen when we forget this" put into perspective the importance of understanding the limitations of AI and recognizing that it is not a substitute for human intelligence. I believe product marketing managers who understand AI is just a tool, not a replacement for problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity will continue to have a competitive advantage.

En un mundo completamente interconectado, cualquier opinión o noticia negativa puede perjudicar seriamente la reputación de toda empresa y dar al traste con el trabajo de años en unos instantes. Por tanto, es muy importante que la estrategia no solo contemple una relación y atención esmerada a los clientes, sino que también tenga en cuenta cómo reaccionar ante una crisis reputacional.

-Building business connects with large system integrators and cloud partners is of prime importance. - Influencing the influencers is quite effective for positioning and gaining mindshare. - Creating marketing awareness with procurement team, apart from CIO and business units. -Flexibility on change management -Availability of customer references

In addition to Satish Sir's points, we see Product Marketing managers today adding efforts to increase their share of "Influenced Revenue" and some direct contributors to that would be, a. Influencing the influencers. This is crucial, with business and tech/IT teams working together in decision-making. It's no longer either-or. b. Procurement teams are seldom included in marketing awareness campaigns, while they are available to consume relevant content and influence decisions.

Product Marketers also tend to have an amazing ability to mitigate product brand concerns that may be easily overlooked, be it brand/reputation damage resulting from outages, bug-heavy releases and unmet customer expectations. They work comms magic! ✨

As a professional in evolving field of product marketing in the age of AI and data-driven marketing, it's essential to consider several additional aspects beyond just skills and tools. Embracing a culture of continuous learning is crucial, as the landscape of AI and data-driven strategies is constantly changing. It's important to stay updated with the latest trends, techniques, and technologies in AI and analytics. Understanding ethical considerations and privacy regulations associated with AI and data usage is also vital to ensure compliance and maintain customer trust. Furthermore, fostering strong cross-functional collaboration, especially with data scientists and AI specialists, can provide deeper insights and more effective strategies.

Instead of looking towards what AI can do spite of marketers I’m looking more towards what marketers can do spite of AI. The key irreplaceable skill is what some of us calls the angle, or the sharper corner of product-market-fit. It’s the emotional anchor between the product and market. More importantly the problem-solution gap. Product marketing is unlike brand marketing whereas the achieved result needs to be conveyed to end consumer. AI’s can always be given an angle but they can’t deliver it in target.