Building strong Product Marketing - Product alignment (and ending feature surprises)

When product ships without you 

Has your product team surprised you with new features - or worse, full launches? Maybe some launches you only hear about right before they’re due to go live, (or maybe even after 😱), or worse still, you hear about it from the customer support team.

Well you’re not alone. Most product orgs are under immense pressure to show velocity. And with a typical ratio of one product marketing manager for each two to three product managers (if you’re lucky), PMMs often get stretched really thin. Sometimes well-meaning PMs may cut product marketing out - not to sideline - but just to avoid a perceived bottleneck. 

The result? Features go live with minimal PMM oversight. GTM teams panic. Sales has no enablement, and you’re left plugging holes left and right. This isn’t to say that features should be treated as launches but a certain level of visibility is required. Product Marketing has the unique view across product pods and customers. Often one product manager may not realize or anticipate the customer reaction or how it will interact with another launch. Product Marketing provides that extra line of sight, connecting the dots across product and users.

You keep asking to be given more time, to be brought in sooner but it isn’t working. At least not consistently. So how do you break the cycle without breaking your relationship to Product?

Step 1: Tier your launches

Not every release deserves the same level of attention. Apart from the obvious resource challenge this would create, it’s important to remember that people (customers and prospects) need context and storytelling to really pay attention and understand launches. 

PMMs create clarity by defining launch tiers and the support each tier receives. 

• Spell out required lead times

• Bucket features and launches into tiers. Share examples and reasoning. 

• Map the support for each tier (email, in product comms, webinar etc.)

• Be sure to get buy-in from your marketing partners! 

• Revisit every quarter or so to make sure it still makes sense, given internal or external changes 

This removes confusion and sets realistic expectations.

Step 2: Establish a roadmap rhythm 

Set up a regular, structured meeting where Product Managers, Product Marketing Managers, and GTM leads meet. The goal is to drive alignment around what is being released, when, and what marketing support it will receive. 

This rhythm should exist at both the pod and the org level, where the pod meeting preps for the org level meeting. 

• Pod level - PMs and their PMM partners connect to review what’s coming, discuss launch tiering, and align on the user journey. 

• Org level - Product + Product Marketing jointly present the roadmap to GTM teams quarterly, sharing key themes, documentation, and expectations. 

This helps shift the culture from “Us versus Them” and from “surprise feature drops” to cohesive storytelling and transparency across the company. GTM teams feel heard and prepared and customers experience intentional, valuable releases - not noise.

Step 3: Show the Value Product Marketing Delivers 

Product orgs sometimes skip engaging PMMs because they don’t see the value. Make it visible. Leave no doubt as to the value you deliver and what their product is missing, if they don’t bring you in early. 

• Share market insights and customer research that help shape product

• In Slack, All Hands, Dept All Hands (ask to join and present)

• Sharpen positioning and messaging with competitive intel and testing

• Help them to understand how users think in the product and in other channels

• Showcase the good stuff

• demonstrate how storytelling + GTM alignment accelerated adoption in the past

• Highlight a “best in class” launch as proof of what partnership can achieve

• Paint the big picture

  • Help product to see what’s happening across the company. This is particularly important in larger, siloed, organizations.

The more PMs see the impact of working with PMM, the more likely they’ll be to pull you in earlier.

Step 4: Diagnose what’s really blocking success

OK so maybe you’ve tried all of the above and it's still not working. 

Well, if you’re still being sidelined, apply the same research skills you would launch. Dig deep to understand the behaviour. What’s preventing Product from engaging you? Why don’t they see the value? 

• Share surveys out

• Schedule 1:1s and ask the hard questions 

• Package up your findings and prepare a response strategy

• Share with leadership to ask them for influence and support

Step 5: Assume Good intentions

No matter what challenge you’re faced with in work, or in life, it’s always helpful to remember that everyone is operating under their own pressure, trying to achieve their goals. More often than not, PMs aren’t trying to exclude you, they’re just moving fast and trying to get things done. 

Approaching the relationship with curiosity and a “find common ground” mindset will help you get further than frustration.

Ready to Bring this into practice?

As part of my coaching at Trellis, you’ll get access to proven launch tiering frameworks and practical tools you can apply with your product partners. Together we can build systems that not only prevent fire drills but also showcase the value you bring as a PMM.