How HubSpot Launches Products
Partner Day Event 2015
Narrative 1
Hi.
Jeffrey Vocell Principal Product Marketing Manager
@jvocell
We’re going to talk about
1. How Product Marketing is Structured
2. Launch Process
3. HubSpot’s Three Seasons
4. Q&A?
@jvocell
Product Marketing at HubSpotStructure
@jvocell
Kipp BodnarCMO
VP, Content & Product Marketing VP, Demand Gen VP, Brand & Buzz VP, Sales Marketing
@jvocell
Team Manager
PMM PMM PMM PMM
@jvocell
VP, Content & Product Marketing
Product Manager Product Marketing Manager
Work as a part of a small autonomous team to define, and understand a problem then deliver a solution.
@jvocell
We have no roadmap
Or sprints
Instead, we focus on big themes that Solve For The Customer (SFTC)
@jvocell
Product Marketing at HubSpotLaunch Process
@jvocell
Product launches are a lot like overnight success. Many think they just happen.
In reality, a lot of planning and hard work goes into a successful launch.
1. How differentiating is this change?
2. How intuitive is this change?
There are two questions we ask for every release:
A quick example of non marketable, and intuitive
1. Settings layout change
2. Navigation change
Phase 1: Understanding
@jvocell
We’re directly embedded with our teams
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Deeply understand who you are selling to
Analyze the Market (TAM, GTM, oh my!)
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Look at competition. How are they positioning their product?
Scott Brinker’s Marketing Technology Landscape
Phase II: Positioning
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Step 1: Write a draft press release
What should you do with the Press Release?
• Share it with your Product Manager
• If you have a copywriter on staff, get any suggestions from them
• Reduce, and revise
Step 2: Create a Creative Brief & Positioning Doc
Phase III: Launch Plan
@jvocell
Create a Launch Plan
Step 1: Launch Overview
Step 2: Goals, Positioning, Screenshots
Step 3: Launch Channels
What are Product Notifications?
Launch Channels
Launch Channels
• Website• Blog(s)• Customer Blog• Marketing Blog• Sales Blog• Product Updates Blog
• Targeted Email• Dedicated Partner Email• Customer Forums on inbound.org• HubSpot Social Channels• Login Screen CTA• Internal Wiki
• Video• Press Outreach• HubSpot Academy• HUG Groups• Help Documentation• Webinar• Partner Dropbox• External Tool (i.e. websitegrader.com)• Influencer Outreach• Smart Content• In-App Messaging• Paid Advertising
Step 4: Internal Audiences
What is Product Nation?
• Once-a-month meeting with stakeholders from each department to discusslatest product updates, feedback, and plans. Led by Product Marketing, but some of the folks involved are:
• Product Manager• Support Product Expert• Services Product Expert• Sales Product Expert• Implementation Specialist• Inbound Professor (HubSpot Academy)• Sales Engineering
Product Marketing at HubSpot3 Seasons
@jvocell
HubSpot Launch Seasons
Seed Season INBOUND
INBOUND 2016
Tuna Season
Season 1: INBOUND
@jvocell
For a Large INBOUND Release:• Run the Launch Process we went through, but we’ll add:
• Message Testing - Generally 25+ weeks ahead of release • Video - Write script and work with in-house video team to produce • Case Study - We will always have a case study, or multiple, for a large scale release.
• Nurturing - Nurturing campaigns are launched while the keynote is being delivered
• New Web Content/Tools - New pages/microsites/or tools are launched while the keynote is being delivered
Questions?
@jvocell
Season 2: Tuna Season
What is Tuna Season?• Tuna season is when we look across the market at industry trends, look at a lot of our own internal data and deeply think about what’s coming next.
• From a launch standpoint we are generally releasing smaller releases in this stage, so while we may not actively be working on new launches we work on helping sales.
Season 3: Seed Season
What is Seed Season?• This is when new product development starts. • For Product Marketing, this is also when we immediately start to develop a Total Addressable Market
Questions?
@jvocell
