Marketing Strategy & PMM

Product marketing patterns for positioning, GTM strategy, and competitive intelligence.

Table of Contents

• ICP Definition Workflow
• Positioning Development
• Competitive Intelligence
• Product Launch Planning
• Sales Enablement
• International Expansion
• Reference Documentation

ICP Definition Workflow

Define ideal customer profile for targeting:

• Analyze existing customers (top 20% by LTV)
• Identify common firmographics (size, industry, revenue)
• Map technographics (tools, maturity, integrations)
• Document psychographics (pain level, motivation, risk tolerance)
• Define 3-5 buyer personas (economic, technical, user)
• Validate against sales cycle and churn data
• Score prospects A/B/C/D based on ICP fit
• Validation: A-fit customers have lowest churn and fastest close

Firmographics Template

Buyer Personas

Economic Buyer (signs contract):

• Title: VP, Director, Head of [Department]
• Goals: ROI, team productivity, cost reduction
• Messaging: Business outcomes, ROI, case studies

• Title: Engineer, Architect, Tech Lead
• Goals: Technical fit, easy integration
• Messaging: Architecture, security, documentation

• Title: Manager, Team Lead, Power User
• Goals: Makes job easier, quick wins
• Messaging: UX, ease of use, time savings

ICP Validation Checklist

• [ ] 5+ paying customers match this profile
• [ ] Fastest sales cycles (< median)
• [ ] Highest LTV (> median)
• [ ] Lowest churn (< 5% annual)
• [ ] Strong product engagement
• [ ] Willing to do case studies

Positioning Development

Develop positioning using April Dunford methodology:

• List competitive alternatives (direct, adjacent, status quo)
• Isolate unique attributes (features only you have)
• Map attributes to customer value (why it matters)
• Define best-fit customers (who cares most)
• Choose market category (head-to-head, niche, new category)
• Layer on relevant trends (timing justification)
• Test with 10+ customer interviews
• Validation: 7+ customers describe value unprompted

Positioning Statement Template

FOR [target customer]
WHO [statement of need]
THE [product] IS A [category]
THAT [key benefit]
UNLIKE [competitive alternative]
OUR PRODUCT [primary differentiation]

Value Proposition Formula

Template: [Product] helps [Target Customer] [Achieve Goal] by [Unique Approach]

Example: "Acme helps mid-market SaaS teams ship 2x faster by automating project workflows with AI"

Messaging Hierarchy

Competitive Intelligence

Build competitive knowledge base:

• Identify tier 1 (direct), tier 2 (adjacent), tier 3 (status quo)
• Sign up for competitor products (hands-on evaluation)
• Monitor competitor websites, pricing, messaging
• Analyze sales call recordings for competitor mentions
• Read G2/Capterra reviews (pros and cons)
• Track competitor job postings (roadmap signals)
• Update battlecards monthly
• Validation: Sales team uses battlecards in 80%+ competitive deals

Competitive Tier Structure

Battlecard Template

COMPETITOR: [Name]
OVERVIEW: Founded [year], Funding [stage], Size [employees]

POSITIONING:
- They say: "[Their claim]"
- Reality: [Your assessment]

STRENGTHS:
1. [What they do well]
2. [What they do well]

WEAKNESSES:
1. [Where they fall short]
2. [Where they fall short]

OUR ADVANTAGES:
1. [Your advantage + evidence]
2. [Your advantage + evidence]

WHEN WE WIN:
- [Scenario where you win]

WHEN WE LOSE:
- [Scenario where they win]

TALK TRACK:
Objection: "[Common objection]"
Response: "[Your response]"

Win/Loss Analysis

Track monthly:

• Win rate by competitor
• Top win reasons (product fit, ease of use, price)
• Top loss reasons (missing feature, price, relationship)
• Action items for product, sales, marketing

Product Launch Planning

Plan launches by tier:

Tier 1 Launch Workflow

Execute major product launch:

• Kickoff meeting with Product, Marketing, Sales, CS
• Define goals (pipeline $, MQLs, press coverage)
• Develop positioning and messaging
• Create sales enablement (deck, demo, battlecard)
• Build campaign assets (landing page, emails, ads)
• Train sales and CS teams
• Execute launch day (press, email, ads, outbound)
• Monitor and optimize for 30 days
• Validation: Pipeline on track to goal by week 2

Launch Day Checklist

• [ ] Press release distributed
• [ ] Email announcement sent
• [ ] Social media posts live
• [ ] Paid ads at full budget
• [ ] Sales outbound blitz launched
• [ ] In-app notification active
• [ ] Metrics monitored every 2 hours

Launch Metrics

Sales Enablement

Equip sales team with PMM assets:

• Create sales deck (15-20 slides, visual-first)
• Build one-pagers (product, competitive, case study)
• Develop demo script (30-45 min with discovery)
• Write email templates (outreach, follow-up, closing)
• Create ROI calculator (input costs, output savings)
• Conduct monthly enablement calls
• Deliver quarterly training (positioning, competitive)
• Validation: Sales uses assets in 80%+ of opportunities

Sales Deck Structure

Demo Flow

1. Intro (2 min): Who we are, agenda
2. Discovery (5 min): Their needs, pain points
3. Demo (20 min): Product focused on their use case
4. Q&A (10 min): Objection handling
5. Next steps (3 min): Trial, POC, proposal

Sales-Marketing Handoff

International Expansion

Enter new markets systematically:

• Validate market demand (inbound leads, TAM analysis)
• Localize website, pricing, legal
• Establish sales coverage (hire or agency)
• Adapt messaging for cultural fit
• Build local partnerships and references
• Launch localized campaigns
• Monitor CAC and conversion by market
• Validation: 3+ paying customers from market in first 90 days

Market Priority (Series A)

Localization Checklist

• [ ] Website translation (professional, not machine)
• [ ] Currency and pricing localized
• [ ] Local phone number and address
• [ ] Legal compliance (GDPR, PIPEDA)
• [ ] Local payment methods
• [ ] Sales coverage during local hours
• [ ] Local case studies and references

Reference Documentation

Positioning Frameworks

references/positioning-frameworks.md contains:

• April Dunford 5-step positioning process
• Geoffrey Moore positioning statement template
• Positioning validation interview protocol
• Competitive positioning map construction

Launch Checklists

references/launch-checklists.md contains:

• Tier 1/2/3 launch checklists
• Week-by-week launch timeline
• Launch day runbook
• Post-launch metrics dashboard

International GTM

references/international-gtm.md contains:

• US, UK, DACH, France, Canada playbooks
• Market-specific channel mix and messaging
• Localization requirements per market
• Entry timeline and budget allocation

Messaging Templates

references/messaging-templates.md contains:

• Value proposition formulas
• Persona-specific messaging
• Competitive response scripts
• Objection handling templates
• Channel-specific copy (landing pages, emails, ads)

PMM KPIs

Quick Reference

PMM Monthly Rhythm