Kathryn Lye

3 August 2015

1 Comment

Developing Product Marketers

We’re currently trying to hire a number of product marketers and I’m regularly asked questions about personal development. What are the opportunities for progression? What’s available from a personal development perspective? What training is available?

This is particularly pertinent when people are switching industries, or when they perceive us doing something highly technical that, at least on the surface, can appear difficult.

Yes, we’re developing and selling software to technical folk. And, yes, there is a need to have a solid understanding of the product and audience if you’re going to succeed as a product marketer at Redgate. But we don’t expect you to know everything the minute you walk through the door. Prove during interview that you’ve got the enthusiasm and aptitude for software, and we’ll spend time with you on the rest.

What happens when a new product marketer joins Redgate?

First up, you’ll be given an induction plan that will guide you through your probation period. This is pretty detailed to begin with, to ensure you have enough time dedicated to learning about Redgate and how we market, and you get to grips with your products and the market.

You’ll spend time with product teams and sales people, and you’ll hopefully be able to get out and meet a customer or two. You’ll also spend a lot of time with your new manager – they’re there to help you settle and will do everything they can to make you a star in your role. And you should ask questions, lots of them! We may not think of absolutely everything, so we need you to point out where there are gaps in the information we’re giving you.

What next?

Skills maps are being rolled out across Redgate and we use these to aid personal development conversations. Product marketing is such a varied role and these are useful in helping people and managers identify strengths and areas they’d like to develop.

As you can see below, there are a bunch of core skills and then more specialist areas that people can choose to work towards over time. From the skills map, we identify a few areas together and build this into a development plan that will detail who you need support from, how you might go about doing the learning, and includes clear milestones. At each milestone, we’ll review progress and, if we need to, adapt the plan.

For your strengths, you’re encouraged to share your learning and experience across the team and may even get the opportunity to mentor a colleague or someone wanting to move into Product Marketing.

Not everyone wants a formalized development plan. That’s fine too. But it doesn’t mean you won’t learn and grow in your role. It just means we need to take a different approach to how you improve your skills and experience over time.

What are my options for learning?

All sorts. Different skills are taught via different methods and, of course, everyone learns in different ways. We have a combination of methods available, from conferences and events to offsite training, books and courses to online learning and mentoring. You’ll get the opportunity to talk through this with your manager and together come up with the best approach for you.

When one of us is out at conference we’re encouraged to write up our learning and key take-aways and share them amongst the team. This helps learning spread at a time marketing is undergoing change.

What are the options for progression?

Redgate has a relatively flat structure so progression doesn’t always mean moving up the chain. Redgate is a company that is changing all the time, roles and opportunities are being created, and people move between functions as well as into management roles. There is certainly progression within product marketing and, although I can’t say there’s a clear path from product marketing into management or other roles, I can tell you there will be a lot of opportunity.

What do we expect from you?

As much as I’m here to guide and support you in your personal development, I’ll need your input. I need to know where your interests lie, what motivates you, and how you prefer to learn so I can understand how to best support you. Most of all, I need you to commit to your learning, own it, and really drive it forward.

Want to find out more? Take a look at a typical Product Marketer role.