Slides from first meeting

1. Product Management & Product Marketing
Special Interest Group
Northface Ventures
& ScotlandIS
 


2. Agenda
• Very brief intros
• Overview
• Prioritise Topics
• Agree frequency & style/purpose
of face to face meetings
• Community Software for the
Group
• Membership ?
• Date of next meeting
  

3. Intros
• Name
• Job Title
• Company
• What we do
• Stage of company development
• State of productisation
• Key reason for joining the Group
• Commitment to contribute


4. The Mantra
The Product and Channel
have to be built around the
market problem and the
way that the market wants
to buy
  

5. Structuring for sustained growth
I decide what
we build
CEO
Admin
VP of VP VP
Finance CTO
Engineering Marketing Sales
Ops
Marketing Product Product Channel Direct Channel
Comms Management Marketing Marketing Sales Management
  

6. Why we do Product Management &
Product Marketing (PM&M) & Channels
• PM&M formalises processes and gives
them owners
• Without Product Management you’ll get
the “wrong product”
• Without Product Marketing you will not
exploit the value in your product
• Channels deliver scale and incremental
capabilities
  

7. Everyone is involved but…
• Whole product development needs to be
coordinated to ensure quality and punctuality
Product Managers OWN this
• A product needs to be packaged and
promoted so it can be sold
Product Marketers OWN this
  

8. Profiling Channel Marketing
• Determine channel strategy
– Per territory/vertical
• Profile target channel partners
• Design channel engagement
• Create partner value proposition
• Adapt Product Marketing outputs to suit
channel requirements
• Hand all this to Channel Management to
recruit, execute and manage
  

9. Profiling Product Manager 1
• Attributes
– Technical but not an engineer
– Knows and loves the process
– Knows and uses the product
• And his competitors products
– Is a diplomat not an evangelist
– Keeps documents on everything
– Where the product is poor, not where it’s
good.
– Pessimist
  

10. Profiling Product Manager 2
• Activities
– Collector and arbitrator
• Engineering to Field & Field to Engineering
– Company’s product authority
• Features
• Schedules
– Mediator/enforcer of schedules
  

11. Product Management Value
• Ensures relevant products
– Delivered on time and with quality
• Produced efficiently
– Consistent company view of product / schedules
– Process provides accountability in change mgt
– Documents reduce dependency on individual
• Partners and customers are more satisfied
– Can plan with confidence
  

12. Objections to Product Management
• “We don’t have the resources”
• “Methodology is time consuming”
• “Detailed technical descriptions
are enough”
• “CEO/CTO/CMO has that job”
• “We know what to build already”
  

13. Profiling Product Marketing 1
• Attributes
– A strong and competent communicator
– Naturally enthusiastic and energetic
– Knows his market
• customers view and competitive landscape
– Can manage budgets
– Knows how to do complex/integrated
campaigns
– Writes compelling business-oriented
material quickly
  

14. Profiling Product Marketing 2
• Actions
– Lead generation
• Direct and with channel
– Public face of company
• Company to field (& sales resource)
• Company to partners/press/analysts
– Deliver the company positioning
• Collateral & Communications
– Mediator/enforcer of positioning
 


15. Product Marketing Value
• Consistent, focused messaging
• In line with market language/dynamics
• Collaborative marketing with partners
• Generates market awareness & interest
– For direct/indirect sales
  

16. Objections to Product Marketing
• “That’s sales’ job”
• “We don’t have the resources”
– “Promotion is too expensive”
• “We know the market already”
• “Marketing never generates real leads”
  

17. How PMkt relates to PMgt
Product management and Product marketing are two
different disciplines
• That share the same objective – success in the
market
• That share much of the same data – client and
market information and intelligence
• Use many of the same sources of research and
verification – clients, firms, competitors and the
market in general
• Contribute to each other as information and
intelligence sources to help achieve the same
objective.
  

18. Product Mgmt in the Organisation
• Product Manager is the owner of the product on behalf of
Executive Management
• Product Manager is the customer of Engineering
• Product Manager uses Product- and Channel-Marketing to
create the value proposition, positioning, messaging and
support required to effectively sell his product
• Product Manager uses channel (direct and indirect) to get his
product to market
• Product Manager is responsible to Executive Management for
life cycle decisions (birth, renewal and “death”) of product
• Product Manager has P&L responsibility for the product life
cycle (multiple years)
  

19. APPENDIX
The following slides contain the
feedback from the original survey we
undertook when we first imagined the
group existing.


20. ScotlandIS Product Managers
Special Interest Group
Respondents: overseas (5)
Respondents: indigenous (9) iTAC Software AG (Germany)
Atlas Interactive Wittenstein High Integrity Systems
Wolfson Microelectronics (2) (UK/Germany)
Bloxx LibreDigital, Inc.(US)
Amor Group IBM (2: US, Zambia)
PrismTech Group Limited
Money Dashboard Respondents: inward (6)
University Of Dundee (2 students) Amazon
NCR
Cisco Systems (2)
Freescale Semiconductor (2)


21. Do you agree with the premise that a Product and
Channel Community would be useful?








22. Have you any comments on the stated Objective or
would you amend it in any way ?
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



23. Three Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are
envisaged for the community - please would
you rate them?





 




 





24. 




 
 


25. Should the community be pitched at operational manager level? (In small
organizations and start-ups these roles may be fulfilled by senior
managers, directors or even the CEO)

 
 


26. We believe we should be careful who joins the Product and Channel community – at
least initially. People need to be really enthusiastic and have something to add – be
willing to give something in (e.g. tools, opinions, case studies, etc) and willing to share
their pain (i.e. problems they are looking to solve. Chatham House rules will apply. Do
you agree?

 
 


27. Members should be predominantly, but not exclusively,
from the tech sector as we may be able to learn from good
practice in other sectors Do you agree?


 




28. Should we ask people to declare/classify
themselves as Experienced or Aspiring/Novice
on applying to join?





    


29. Which of the following types of company should
be included to begin with?





 
 
 




   
   
   
 




30. Should companies wishing to “learn the trade”
be able to apply to join the groups ?


 




31. Do you think non-ScotlandIS members who ask if they
can join should be required to pay a fee?



 




32. 
 




 

 
 
 
 
 

 
  
  
  
  
  











  
  
   
 
  
  
 
  
  
 

 
  
   
 
  
  
 
 

  
 
   
    
    
    
   
   
   
   
   
  
  
  

 
 
 
 

  





what elements you think this should have
As regards the online community please tell us


33.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
‘’  
 
 


34. In addition to the online community should the Group have a
facility to organise conference calls to allow continuing
discussion and knowledge exchange?
 


35. Do you agree we should aim to hold
occasional workshop meetings?



 




36. 


  











   
   
 
  
 
 
 

     
 
  
 
 
 

  
  
 
    
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
  
Possible Areas of Interest
 
   
 

 
 

 



37. Possible Areas of Interest
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 


38. Other Ideas
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
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• 
•  

• 
•  
•  
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