How to align technical product management with product marketing and integrated marketing for maximum effectiveness. A framework from my 20+ years in B2B marketing at leading technology companies.

1. Product Management/Marketing
Value Chain
How to Align for Success
My perspective from 20+ years in B2B/Tech marketing
@ToddEbert
www.toddebert.com
© 2011 Todd Ebert | 1.25.11

2. Common gaps in the marketing value chain
Technical Marcom / Sales
Product GAP Creative GAP Service
Managemen Agency Partners
t
Missing dedicated Product Missing dedicated Integrated/Field
Marketing role Marketing roles
• Insufficient • No/little integration of marketing
market/customer/competitive strategies & tactics
analysis • Poor communication to the Field
• Underdeveloped value prop & • No systematic feedback loop
key messages from Field/Customer to Product
• Lack of focus on customer/UX/UI
© 2011 Todd Ebert | 1.25.11 2

3. Business Product Mgt./Marketing is critical to success
Product Marketing Integrated & Field Marketing
© 2011 Todd Ebert | 1.25.11 3

4. An ideally structured marketing value chain
Integrated Content
Marketing Marketing
Owns Customer Mktg Owns Content Creation
Go-to-Market Plans, Web Sites, Wiki, Blogs,
Customer Messaging, Sales Social Media Mktg,
Tools, Marketing Plans, Reputation Mgmt.,
Campaigns, Collateral, Webinars, Videos,
Lead Gen, etc. Testimonials, etc. Sales
Field
Service
Mktg
Partners
Business Product Creative & Web
Mgmt./Mktg. Marketing
Owns Product Mktg Owns Brand Experience
Use Cases, Feature set, Corp Brand, Web Sites,
Plans, Compet. Analysis, SEO/WPO, Campaigns,
Pricing, Positioning, Advertising, Presos,
Value Prop, Key Mssgs, Collateral, Videos,
Differentiation, etc. Demos, etc.
Customer-centered marketing, messaging &
execution from beginning to end
© 2011 Todd Ebert | 1.25.11 4

5. Business Product Manager/Marketer
“Owns” the business line & orchestrates all functions
Responsibilities:
• Business mgt.: owns the P&L/forecasts,
seeks new opptys, conducts mkt
analysis, SWOT, segmentation,
competitive analysis, etc.
Marketing & Training
• Product mgt: defines products based
on customer/mkt analysis, owns the
roadmap, use cases, features, external
components, UX, usability, customer
feedback, dev priorities
• Pricing: develops business cases, price
tiers, what-if analysis, sales projections,
promotional offers, etc.
• Place: develops roll-out strategy for
direct and indirect channels.
• Promotion: creates detailed
messaging brief with target segments,
pain points, positioning, value prop,
key messages, competitive
differentiators, etc.
• Systems: drives required bus.
processes & internal systems to
achieve objectives
• Planning: orchestrates launch
planning/calendar across functions
• Evangelism: assists on big deals, helps
Internal focus External focus train, gives demos, acts as
spokesperson for Media/Analysts
• Reporting: creates and analyzes
Dashboard of KPIs (leads, revenue,
profit, tickets, customer sat. etc.)
© 2011 Todd Ebert | 1.25.11
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6. Example: Product Manager, Peripheral Arterial Disease, Pfizer
Responsible for managing the lifecycle of the product portfolio (full P&L responsibility)
Product Suite: Description: Onboarding/Training:
• Balloon angioplasty catheters Lead the cross-functional team responsible for the PAD • 1 week biology/physiology/medical device training
• Guide wires portfolio in order to meet corporate targets for revenue and • 1 week product and sales training
• Guide catheters operating income • 1 week field sales ride-alongs
• Stents (endovascular prosthesis) • 1 week shadowing cardiologist/radiologist
Business Management Product Management Product Marketing Corporate Development
Built annual plan in sync with corp. Lead PAD cross-functional • Developed positioning/key • Briefed industry analysts
strategic plan/objectives : team: message document on new products
• Mkt assessment for peripheral • Partnered with R&D Mgr. • by target customer type • Worked with PR to
arterial disease to plan product roadmap and decision-making unit develop media plan
• Mkt Size & growth rate for based on customer needs • Developed training mtls for • Lead spokesman for
each procedure and clinical trial timelines new products & helped train product line
• SWOT analysis • Visited leading sales force • Lots of interviews
• Decision maker pain points doctors/researchers to • Organized & hosted qtrly with key medical
• Segment analysis (targets) gather requirements Sales advisory council trade pubs
• radiologists • Organized & hosted • Worked with MarComm to • Attended key medical
• cardiologists doctor advisory board develop, plan and execute symposia & shows
• neurologists • Worked with Clinical to marketing strategy and • Spoke at doctor case
• thoracic surgeons host animal labs for docs tactics reviews
• Geographic analysis to evaluate new devices • Sales tools • Conducted demos
• US • Acquired & tested • Advertising • Got input from
• Europe competitive devices • Direct marketing leading researchers
• S. America • Created collateral • Customer events • Got compet. info
• Competitive analysis highlighting our • Trade shows • Worked with Business
• Medtronic advantages • Briefed Ad agency, served as Development on
• Boston Scientific • Trained sales on how to SME for all mtls & campaigns acquisitions related to
• Guidant use the data • Orchestrated launch events my portfolio (neuro
• 12 mo. rolling calendar • Researched new growth • Worked with Finance on wires, catheters,
• Clinical trials segments (neuro, tracheal, pricing models balloons, occlusion)
• FDA approvals enteral, etc.) • Worked with Regulatory on • Travelled quarterly to
• Feature updates • Built business cases for insurance reimb. strategy Europe & S. America to
• Line extensions developing new prods or • Developed Sales contests meet key docs and
• New products acquiring them • Assisted on sales calls with coordinate plans with
• Rev forecasts by prod line & geos • Developed launch plans key influencers & major accts Country Managers
© 2011 Todd Ebert | 1.25.11
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7. Integrated Marketing Manager
“Owns” the marketing/communication to the customer
Responsibilities:
• Develops integrated marketing plan
Field Comm. & Training
including quarterly programs for awareness,
acquisition, upsell, retention and win back
• Creates and manages marketing budget
• Translates positioning and key messages
from Product Mgt. Into brief for creative
team/agency [value prop, differentiators,
voice & tone, etc.]
• Leads team in development of brand,
positioning and graphic look/feel
• Project manages content/creative/web
teams to execute integrated campaigns with
advertising, landing pages, PR, lead-gen,
events, social, etc.
• Creates draft content for web, PR, social
and Field [internal] communications
• Works with PR/AR team on media/analyst
briefings & speaking opportunities
• Develops sales tools including:
presentations, collateral, demos,
testimonials, videos, apps, emails, etc.
• Syncs/coordinates marketing plans with
partners and International teams
• Plans/coordinates master schedule for
launches including training, field
communications and customer
communications
• Tracks effectiveness/ ROI of marketing
campaigns & tactics; makes adjustments
• Gathers feedback from the Field & Mgt.
© 2011 Todd Ebert | 1.25.11
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8. Example: Integrated Marketing Manager, Identity Solutions, Entrust
Responsible for global marketing plans & execution (awareness & demand gen)
Product Suite: Description: Onboarding/Training:
• GetAccess (single-sign on) Plan, manage and execute integrated marketing strategies • 1 week new hire training on products
• Digital Certificates (SSL) encompassing: branding/positioning, advertising, sales tools, • 1 week shadowing product manager
• IdentityGuard (2-factor authentication) web marketing, events, direct marketing and PR/AR in order • 1 week in field with Sales
• TransactionGuard (fraud detection) to increase brand awareness & drive qualified leads.
Marketing Planning Branding/Messaging/Content Tactical Execution Analytics/Reporting
• Member of the cross • Own, lead and manage • Work with in-house creative • Work with Database/CRM
functional product team. development of the portfolio team, ad agency, PR agency to manager to analyze
• Assists product mgt. in brand, positioning and graphic execute integrated campaigns segments and develop
building annual strategic plan, look/feel • Advertising (print, online) campaigns (acquisition,
then develops 2 quarter plan • Translate key message doc from • Search (PPC) ads retention, upsell, winback)
of key marketing programs Product Mgr. into creative brief • Viral video • Build and maintain
including vertical specific for design team & agencies • Landing pages Dashboard to track
programs. • Weights on top value props • Emails effectiveness of marketing
• Develop and manage master & competitive differentiators • Webinars campaigns & tactics:
budget and calendar with • Voice & Tone • Events & sponsorships • Unique visits
prioritization by strategic • Stakeholder & Legal approval • Select, negotiate and manage • Traffic sources
/revenue impact • Create “cheat sheets” for Sales relationships with vendors • Keywords
• For each program develop an with customer targets, • Agency, PR firm, media • Top content pieces
integrated marketing plan qualifying questions, value planning, Web design, SEO, • Conversion rates
that drives: props, key differentiators, telemarketing, events, etc. • Abandon rates
• Awareness (PR, AR, elevator pitch & objections • Develop web strategy and work • Inbound leads
advertising, events, etc.) • Develop sales tools including with design and SEO firm to • Outbound leads
• Demand Generation • Presentations optimize content • Cost per lead
(email, direct mail, tele- • Brochures & data sheets • Web pages, e-books, online • Share of Voice
prospecting, webinars, • Proposals demos, videos, savings • Ad equivalency value
etc.) • Demos calculators, etc. • Track and manage all
• Retention/upsell • Success stories • Work with Events manager on program expenses against
(database analysis, email • Savings calculators trade shows, customer the master budget
campaigns, CRM, etc.) • Email templates & seminars, road shows, etc. • Determine ROI for each
• Coordinates planning with newsletters • Work with PR/AR team on tactic and program
International counterparts • White papers media/analyst briefings & • Update plans and
• Analyze results and report on • Competitive comparisons speaking opportunities budget based on key
success vs. objectives • Liaison with International mktrs learnings
© 2011 Todd Ebert | 1.25.11
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9. The three P’s are the key to success
Get the right people in right roles going in the right
People direction
Assign one overall owner for each product portfolio
Possession with full P&L responsibility [skin in the game]
Use product marketing best practices to stay market-
Process driven, customer-focused and differentiated
© 2011 Todd Ebert | 1.25.11