Learn how HubSpot launches products and the Go to Market process we utilize. This presentation was made for ProductCamp Boston 2016.

1. How HubSpot Launches Products

2. Partner Day
Event 2015
Narrative 1
Hi.
Jeffrey Vocell
Principal Product Marketing Manager
@jvocell

3. We’re going to talk about
1. How Product Marketing is Structured
2. Launch Process
3. HubSpot’s Three Seasons
4. Q&A?
@jvocell

4. Product Marketing at HubSpot
Structure
@jvocell

5. Kipp Bodnar
CMO
VP, Content &
Product Marketing
VP, Demand Gen VP, Brand & Buzz VP, Sales Marketing
@jvocell

6. Team Manager
PMM PMM PMM PMM
@jvocell
VP, Content &
Product Marketing

7. Product Manager Product Marketing Manager
Work as a part of a small autonomous team to define, and understand a problem
then deliver a solution.
@jvocell

8. We have no roadmap

9. Or sprints

10. Instead, we focus on big themes that
Solve For The Customer (SFTC)
@jvocell

11. Product Marketing at HubSpot
Launch Process
@jvocell

12. Product launches are a lot like overnight success. Many
think they just happen.
In reality, a lot of planning and hard work goes into a
successful launch.

13. 1. How differentiating is this change?
2. How intuitive is this change?
There are two questions we ask for every release:

14. A quick example of non marketable, and intuitive
1. Settings layout change
2. Navigation change

15. Phase 1: Understanding
@jvocell

16. We’re directly embedded with our teams
@jvocell

17. Deeply understand who you are selling to

18. Analyze the Market (TAM, GTM, oh my!)
@jvocell

19. Look at competition. How are they
positioning their product?
Scott Brinker’s Marketing Technology Landscape

20. Phase II: Positioning
@jvocell

21. Step 1: Write a draft press release

23. What should you do with the Press Release?
• Share it with your Product Manager
• If you have a copywriter on staff, get any suggestions from them
• Reduce, and revise

24. Step 2: Create a Creative Brief & Positioning Doc

25. Phase III: Launch Plan
@jvocell

26. Create a Launch Plan

27. Step 1: Launch Overview

28. Step 2: Goals, Positioning, Screenshots

29. Step 3: Launch Channels

30. What are Product Notifications?

31. Launch Channels

32. Launch Channels
•Website
• Blog(s)
• Customer Blog
• Marketing Blog
• Sales Blog
• Product Updates Blog
•Targeted Email
• Dedicated Partner Email
• Customer Forums on inbound.org
• HubSpot Social Channels
• Login Screen CTA
• Internal Wiki
•Video
• Press Outreach
• HubSpot Academy
• HUG Groups
• Help Documentation
•Webinar
• Partner Dropbox
• External Tool (i.e. websitegrader.com)
• Influencer Outreach
• Smart Content
• In-App Messaging
• Paid Advertising

37. Step 4: Internal Audiences

38. What is Product Nation?
• Once-a-month meeting with stakeholders from each department to discuss
latest product updates, feedback, and plans. Led by Product Marketing, but
some of the folks involved are:
• Product Manager
• Support Product Expert
• Services Product Expert
• Sales Product Expert
• Implementation Specialist
• Inbound Professor (HubSpot Academy)
• Sales Engineering

39. Product Marketing at HubSpot
3 Seasons
@jvocell

40. HubSpot Launch Seasons
Seed Season INBOUND
INBOUND
2016
Tuna Season

41. Season 1: INBOUND
@jvocell

42. For a Large INBOUND Release:
• Run the Launch Process we went through, but we’ll add:
• Message Testing - Generally 25+ weeks ahead of release
• Video - Write script and work with in-house video team to produce
• Case Study - We will always have a case study, or multiple, for a
large scale release.
• Nurturing - Nurturing campaigns are launched while the keynote is
being delivered
• New Web Content/Tools - New pages/microsites/or tools are
launched while the keynote is being delivered

43. Questions?
@jvocell

45. Season 2: Tuna Season

46. What is Tuna Season?
• Tuna season is when we look across the market at industry trends,
look at a lot of our own internal data and deeply think about what’s
coming next.
• From a launch standpoint we are generally releasing smaller releases
in this stage, so while we may not actively be working on new
launches we work on helping sales.

47. Season 3: Seed Season

48. What is Seed Season?
• This is when new product development starts.
• For Product Marketing, this is also when we immediately start to
develop a Total Addressable Market

49. Questions?
@jvocell