Product Marketing and Product Design
Overlap or opportunities that few people see?
Many people have doubts about how PMM and Design are related, how they can generate more value together and if, in fact, they are a big overlap. To clarify this, I invited my former colleague who I admire so much: Diogo Kpelo, Director of Design at Unico IDTech. In this article, we worked together to unravel these questions from our complementary points of view and experiences.
Let’s start with the essential work of each area very succinctly.
The Core of Product Marketing
PMM’s mission is to translate what the product does into what really matters. For this, Product Marketing monitors the development of prototypes, positions the Product based on the value proposition, considering the competitive alternatives, exclusive attributes and delivered value, develops the communication strategy and messages , coordinates the launch plan (GTM) and monitors the adoption of features and products by observing the behavior of users. To learn more, read here.
The Core of Product Design
Design’s mission is to improve the customer experience, delivering benefits through solutions to known problems, with products and services that add value, are easily used, accessible and recognized. Design does this by sharing lessons learned that mitigate risks, influencing decisions through user knowledge, making the solution increasingly assertive and reducing waste in processes.
Now, check out the following table. It shows the territories of each area and makes the activities carried out by PMM and PD tangible in practice, with an overview of the responsibilities:
Synergy and benefits of working together
In addition to having Product in the name (which already means a lot!), both areas have:
- Customer focus, whether already acquired (user) or not (target/prospect)
- Alignment with business and product objectives
- Data consumption for decision making and prioritization in your DNA
- Own methodologies, but rely on stakeholder engagement to maximize deliveries
For these points alone, it is worth exchanging ideas between Product Marketers and Product Designers, whether for navigation tips within the company and better ways of relating to the Product team.
But going further: when brand identity is reflected in content, communication, and the product itself, it is possible to create a holistic and authentic user experience across all touch points. If PMM joins the process “too late”, will probably bring shallow inputs that may even be considered in the product development process, for example, in wording. If the work is integrated since conception, it will probably be possible to generate value in a deeper way, for example, in features that translate the essence of the brand into the experience.
When the brand builds for the product and vice versa, the potency is incomparable.
An example of translating brand identity into a product is TikTok, whose mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. Or Waze, which aims to outsmart traffic, together. Isn’t that exactly what these platforms do? :)
Regardless of who was born and matured first (brand or product), at the end of the day, integration between them convey consistency and reflect in a customer-focused work.
To do that is to walk the talk.
Bonus Block: FAQ
Q: Who owns the product’s value proposition?
A: the recommendation is that it be a Product-led process, as it should be the result of cross-functional work (with Design, Product Marketing and business areas). The PM person has the full view of the product and must ensure that everyone has a voice to contribute their specific views in building the value of the solution. In other words: it is ideal for Product Management to lead the work that will have the value proposition canvas (or any other preferred methodology) as deliverable:
This canvas will be the source for the processes of each area, for example, the positioning leaded by PMM.
Q: who should lead Desk Research, gathering available knowledge from the public?
A: whoever, the important thing is that someone does it. We consider that the keys to success here are:
- Lack of vanity (that we spend less time discussing who is the owner)
- Communication (pulling and aligning what works for each reality)
That said, it is recommended that there is a single repository that the areas collaborate to feed. Remember to bring a “so whats” block, ie: how does raw data turn into intuitive and strategic actionables?
Q: who is the customer’s voice?
A: No one in the company alone is. Everyone must consume NPS, research and discoveries, as well as chat with customers, record learnings and circulate them. It’s everyone’s.
Q: who defines the customer journey?
A: the final word is Design + Product, consuming inputs from the areas — including PMM. The purchase journey (top of the funnel) should have more PMM inputs, as it is the area that “looks out”.
Q: Who interacts with Business/Ops?
A: the day-to-day exchange should be more intense with PMM, due to the cross-functional nature and the need to co-build solutions, sometimes extra-tech. Design must be 100% aligned with Product in roadmaps and prioritization.
Q: Who is responsible for visual identity?
A: as PMM acts as a point of contact between the business, Product and Marketing, it is responsible for involving the Branding team at the correct timing — which, based on the brand platform, develops the sub-brands / product brands and their usage guidelines; Design then develops the Design System for application to the product. However, it is unlikely that the Branding team will be able to cover all possible product cases; thus, naturally there is a need for the Design team to be part of the identity evolution, pointing out identity pains and lack of flexibility that impact the application. This should become a flow of exchange, co-construction and natural evolution between the Design, PMM and Branding teams.
Q: Should rituals happen between PMM and Design? What is recommended?
A: Yes, sure! Especially at the time when the product is in conception, it is important to have a recurring exchange (elaborate) but then there may be a greater spacing. It is recommended to create a slack channel for real-time sharing of new learnings and continuous exchange.
Now, we propose a reflection. Undoubtedly, Design is a more mature and consolidated area than Product Marketing, therefore, PMMs can learn from the trajectory and be inspired by the space already conquered by PD. At the same time, designers can and should be allies in building a similar path for PMM, which is enriching in terms of soft skills and human relations — in addition to obviously generating more value for the client. So… have you, PMM or Designer, already started a conversation to get to know this important stakeholder in your company better?
Does it make sense to you?
Let us know :)
