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AMA: Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing, Candace Marshall on Product Marketing Career Path
May 8 @ 10:00AM PST
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Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing, Candace Marshall on Product Marketing Career Path
Top Questions
Candace Marshall
Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing • May 8
In large companies, you can make your mark as a PMM through alignment and relationships. Firstly, it's important to ensure your work directly aligns with the company's goals and objectives. Start by familiarizing yourself with your business unit's OKRs (objective key results). For example, if you......Read More
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Candace Marshall
Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing • May 8
First, I love how proactive you are being as you look to expand into product marketing! I personally have not taken this course but there are so many resources including those here right on Sharebird. Product Marketing Alliance (PMA) and Pragmatic Institute offer some great courses (including fre......Read More
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If you had to build out a team of PMMs from scratch, how would you organize your team and which roles would own what?
In other words, if you went from one to ten - what would the structure look like? 1 Director/team lead, 2-3 Senior PMMs, and 4 PMMs? Would the team be divided by audience segment? By product? By strategy vs. tactics (i.e. larger GTM vs product launch)?
Candace Marshall
Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing • May 8
Sounds like your business is growing - how exciting! It's hard to answer this question without knowing how your business is structured but I'm happy to share common structures for 10 pmms. Structurally, a people manager or team lead should have at least 3-4 people; this is typically a good "pod" ......Read More
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Candace Marshall
Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing • May 8
Absolutely. In fact, there are numerous CMOs who came up the ranks through product marketing. Take a look at ex-Salesforce product marketing leaders - many of them have gone on to become CMOs of public and private companies across various sizes. To grow into a marketing leadership role, consider ......Read More
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Candace Marshall
Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing • May 8
My best advice is just dive right in! Learning happens best on the job, even if it feels uncomfortable at times (trust me, I've been there). Stay focused on the objective/project at hand, but make sure to carve out time for feedback and coaching from your manager, especially if you're taking on n......Read More
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Candace Marshall
Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing • May 8
The best thing about being a product marketer is the strategic role it offers and the opportunity to have a seat at the table when shaping the direction of not just a product or service, but the business as well. I also love that we serve as the voice of the customer, delving into their needs, ch......Read More
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Candace Marshall
Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing • May 8
Firstly, I'm so sorry if you've been impacted by layoffs. My advice is to reach out to your network for support, advice, and potential job opportunities. We're here for you! In the meantime, definitely invest in continuous learning—consider taking online courses, attending workshops, or even goin......Read More
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Candace Marshall
Zendesk Senior Director, Product Marketing • May 8
IMHO, the jump from Senior PMM to Director/Head of PMM is one of the biggest! Having people management skills is important, yes, but it's not the only skill that's needed at that level. It's critical to be a strategic leader - this means aligning initiatives with business objectives. You've got t......Read More
1156 Views
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