Facilitation: Product Marketing’s Overlooked “Super Skill”
WRITTEN BY Nick Moore, Fluvio Consultant
“Product marketers are the people responsible for being able to deeply understand and therefore articulate what is different and better and remarkable about your offering.”
-April Dunford
The foundation of product marketing is understanding: products, people, and more.
That said, understanding is not inherent. Understanding requires that one rely on insights, or inputs, rather than instincts. As such, successful product marketers must be adept aggregators of internal and external insights to accurately inform outputs: product decisions, marketing strategies, etc.
Indeed, inputs are the raw materials of product marketing. Quality inputs lead to quality outputs; however, product marketers often over-index on outputs, to the detriment of organization-level outcomes: increased revenue, reduced churn, etc.
As an example, product marketers love frameworks, and for good reason: frameworks provide a structured approach to problem-solving and decision-making that produce consistent, quality outputs.
But, product marketing frameworks are dependent on insights collected from internal and external stakeholders. Inputs that are incorrect, incomplete, or both taint outputs. Sometimes tainted outputs are intercepted; more often, their insidious effects go unnoticed, polluting outcomes.
The ability to extract, and employ, information efficiently and effectively — often without personal expertise or experience — is facilitation: product marketing’s overlooked “super skill.”
Facilitation is more than leading meetings or moderating discussions. It is the art (and science) of guiding individuals or groups through processes and decision-making. Facilitation skills are essential to most-every aspect of product marketers’ day-to-day, including:
Communication
Product marketers are responsible for gathering customer insights. Facilitation enables effective communication with customers, uncovers unmet needs, and ensures that product development efforts are aligned with customer expectations.
Product marketers must conduct customer interviews, focus groups, and surveys to develop compelling messaging that addresses customer pain points and differentiates the product in the market.
Collaboration
Product marketers work with diverse internal teams, each with its own objectives, priorities, and perspectives. Facilitation ensures that all stakeholder voices are heard and ideas are synthesized into coherent strategies.
Product marketers must facilitate discussions, workshops, and brainstorming sessions to ensure that all parties are on the same page regarding product positioning, messaging, and go-to-market strategies.
Decision-Making
Product marketing involves making numerous decisions, from defining target markets to prioritizing features and channels. Facilitation elicits open dialogue, navigates conflicting opinions, and catalyzes mutually-acceptable solutions.
Product marketers must guide teams through decision-making processes, whether it's evaluating market research data and competitive landscapes, defining launch timelines, or allocating resources to drive a successful product launch.
Innovation
The market landscape is constantly evolving, requiring product marketers to adapt quickly and innovate continuously. Facilitation encourages experimentation, solicits diverse perspectives, and challenges conventional thinking.
Product marketers must facilitate ideation workshops, encourage creative thinking, and test new concepts to uncover innovative solutions, stay ahead of competitors, and meet evolving customer demands.
Facilitation isn’t merely an add-on to a product marketer’s repertoire. It forms the foundation of effective leadership, allowing one to guide stakeholders and entire organizations toward the most-productive outcomes. Yet, facilitation is not exclusive to leadership. In fact, it is a critical competency that can empower anyone at any level within their organization.
Per the Product Marketing Alliance’s 2023 “State of Product Marketing” report, product marketers identified communication (79.5%), collaboration (77.5%), and strategic planning/business skills (71.5%) as the top skills essential to success. Facilitation encompasses each of these skills. Perhaps soon, facilitation will be considered equally indispensable.
Source: State of Product Marketing Report 2023
Facilitation skills — like all product marketing skills — must be learned; as such, this will be the first in a series of posts that explores more-specific aspects of facilitation in the context of product marketing. Stay tuned!