Last week saw the launch of something we’ve been really excited about! PMM packs.

Each month, we deliver a themed pack, filled with slide decks, templates and articles direct to your inbox, for FREE!

All you need to do to receive your first pack is subscribe here.

This week, we’re delving into how PMMs keep an eye on their rivals with our competitor intel survey and we need your help! 🙏 Head HERE to complete the survey and have your say on the competitor intel climate.

While we were busy launching new things and gathering intel đź‘€ the Slack community were doing what they do best, asking and answering a whole bunch of important and informative questions.

Let’s take a look at them below.

Not in Slack already? Not a problem. Get in on the action (for free!) here.

Q: I have a question about standard language when it comes to tech products. I am working to standardize the way we talk about the product at my company, and while I realize this is usually highly contextual, does anyone have favorite resources that define best practices? Examples include "log in" vs. "sign in" or "on the platform" vs. "in the platform". Thanks!

A: "It’s really hard to get everyone on the bus (or is it “in the bus”?). Specifically, “signing-in” comes from physical appointment language (seeing your doctor), so logging in would be technically correct (and some will say a log-in is a successful sign-in). I had an insurance adjuster thank me last week for emailing her the “videotape” from my dashcam. I would simply maintain consistency in your written content, and have the product team on the same page when verbalizing/presenting the product features.

"I would simply maintain consistency in your written content, and have the product team on the same page when verbalizing/presenting the product features.

Customers, sales, execs, etc. will continue to use their own language - can’t fight it unless you’re attempting trademark-able language."

Jenkin Lee, Chief Product Officer at Baze

"This is SO difficult! I actually created an internal dictionary for my company and presented it to our key writers – aka UX copywriters & marketing!

But it still took a lot of time to get our website + software consistent across the board with language. It was a piece by piece project!"

Kerry Wheeler, Product Marketing Manager at Quorum

"It's definitely something to get buy-in from management and emphasize the importance of - it saves so much time when you're arguing about login/sign in, in a meeting! If you manage to position it as a glossary or style guide as part of the brand, it has more importance.

Culture won't change overnight, but it's always good to keep waving it around 'don't forget the style guide when writing'."

Jess Evans, Product Marketing Specialist at Caravelo

Q: One of my favorite ways to start crafting/evolving positioning is by listening to sales calls - even just by walking around a sales floor. Has anyone found a way to informally listen to the sales team remotely?

A: "Gong. All calls are recorded and you can even set-up trackers for keywords (we have them for competitors, new features, etc). There are some fun insights too around talk time and keyword analysis."

Farhan Manjiyani, Technical Product Marketer at Rev.com

"Chorus is in this space too, as is Otter and a bunch of others. An early-stage company that a friend of mine started called Scribbl could be interesting, but less feature- rich than the Gong's of the world.”

Tom Heys, Product Marketing Lead at Monitaur

Q: How do you prefer to receive promotional emails - HTML vs Text? I would love some suggestions, this would help to plan my email campaigns.

A:"In my experience, it depends on the goal. Both are great resources! If your goal is to have an email template for your sales reps or customer success managers and you want to give a personal touch: go with short, to the point text-based email. If the goal is to promote a general company highlight or product updates that will be sent to a brother audience make the most out of your HTML skillset."

Vivian Reglá, Product Marketing Manager at Red Points

"It depends on the customer. I worked in a PMM role where our clients preferred text (and used outlook mostly so images were downloaded). The problem is that sometimes it got caught in spam. It also depended on if it was a newsletter/content focused versus other objectives."

Ashley Klepach, Product Marketing & GTM Launch Strategy

Q: May I get your best tips and strategies on how to conduct an engaging and great product live demo?

A: "It really depends on the product and the audience. Demos for SMBs, Enterprises, Partners, etc. are all very different. My approach is to focus on what they wish to achieve with the demo and plan it accordingly rather than doing a scripted demo for everybody.

One of the key things to keep in mind is that it's not a good idea to talk only about your features. Instead, you should focus on how your product solves the prospect's problems.”

Arpit Choudhury, Chief Learner & Instructor at Data-led Academy

"Never do it sitting down, always stand or walk, it gets your energy moving inside you and keeps people interested, especially helps you cadence your words and sentences. Stay focused on the business issue, not the technology,  unless you are presenting to geeks, then ignore any sales or marketing spiels and go full- on geek overlord. Come up with a great name/brand to fake and have fun with it, we have used pubs, cars, phone companies, cakes, something that is appealing to the masses, not esoteric."

Keith Brooks, Product Evangelist, Speaker & Mentor

"A few thoughts come to mind.

  1. Write it as a story with the hero as the user; it will force you to focus on the problem and the value, rather than the features.
  2. Make sure your hero is your buyer (or buyer/user if B2C or B2B2C). Use verbiage that is relevant to their jobs, their industries, and their goals. Consider having multiple demos if you have distinct audiences, segments, verticals, etc.
  3. I use documentary script format with a two-column table, audio on the left, video on the right. Video includes screens and actions. Audio is your voiceover or key points outline; you can later embed these in the notes of a slideshow if that's effective for your team.
  4. Practice it yourself in front of people, ideally friendlies who are buyers. An actor friend who can guide on performance aspects. Record a video of yourself (and prepare to cringe). Rinse and repeat.
  5. Not sure who you're demoing to, but if internal, you should be the best demo-er in your company. If you can't sell your team, your team will not be able to sell your buyers."

Tom Heys, Product Marketing Lead at Monitaur

Q: At what stage should a startup hire a product marketer? At seed funding stage? A few months before launch? After product-market fit? Eager to hear your thoughts.

A:"I wrote out a long answer from the PMM perspective, but the more practical answer is probably “when they’d be more valuable than your next engineer.”

Garrett O'Brien, Product Marketing at Stitch/Talend

"I joined a startup as an online market and growth hacker... I can tell you that a PMM would have been more valuable then. In my perspective, when you don't have product-market fit, a PMM is the first marketeer you should hire."

Silvia Román, Head of Product Marketing & Growth at @Sooqr Search

"The sooner the better. Any early marketing hire at a startup (IMO) should have PMM skills. Doesn't mean they need to have a PMM only role though. You need someone who can bend as the business bends."

Josh Mendelsohn, Vice President of Marketing at ianacare