Productizing Ideas in the Services Industry with Tim Pröhm, VP at the KellyX Digital Innovation Lab
Release Date: 03/22/2022
How Product Marketers Lead As Company Quarterbacks with Kimberly Biddings, BIO-key International
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Product marketing is at the intersection of many teams in a product company. The work of a product marketer supports the wider product team, sales, marketing, executive stakeholders, and most of all, buyers. It’s for this reason product marketers tend to play a quarterback role, says , VP of Product at . As Kim knows from experience, they’re responsible for not just knowing a product in and out—they have to translate its selling points for others to use. Join Kim and Tina to hear more about the opportunities product marketers can bring to your growing organization. Follow us on and to...
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Why Your Positioning Should ‘Pick a Fight and Take a Stand’ with Catherine Spence, Microblink
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One of the fundamental strategies product marketers must lead is positioning. It’s what determines how you’ll talk about your product, your company, and your brand as you scale. So why do so many people get it wrong? , VP of Global Marketing at , joins Leanna to share her best lessons on brand and product positioning, from leading marketing at an international company to her own startup, Pomello. If you’re looking to stay in your comfort zone, this isn’t the episode for you. Catherine shows us why we need to use our positioning to pick a fight and take a stand, especially in B2B...
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Product Marketing’s Essential Purpose with Martina Lauchengco, Author of LOVED
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In today’s world, building a great product isn’t enough. You have to master your go-to-market strategy by telling a story that will leave a lasting impression on your audience. Product marketing gets you there, according to long-time product marketer and partner . Martina is the author of the latest book from the esteemed Silicon Valley Product Group, . Alongside Tina and Leanna, she explores how her career start as a product manager equipped her with the product curiosity and technical competence needed to thrive when marketing digital products. She shows us today how to...
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Trailer: Unlock Product Marketing
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Product marketing is the foundation for better product. It should play a strategic role in your business from day one. It's a product discipline to master and respect—not just a list of jobs to be done. But product marketers continue to struggle with recognition. Because the discipline is still new, the way product leaders think about product marketing is continuously evolving. That’s why and are taking over the Better Product podcast for a special series on the power of product marketing. Alongside fellow industry experts, they’ll explore why digital products need product...
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The Power of Your Positioning
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How you position your product can help you connect with the people who most need it, unlocking rapid growth for your company. But first, you need a solid foundation. Today, Christian and Meghan discuss what product leaders get right vs. wrong when positioning their products. Led by Meghan’s insights in product marketing, we’ll also walk through a process any team can use to find a position that will give you a cutting edge while letting you stay true to who you are. Follow us on and to see the latest in Better Product, a show part of the Better Product Community powered by ....
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Elon Musk, Twitter, and Ego in Product
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For better and for worse, ego follows us all into our work lives. But leaders must pay special attention to what role ego plays in building a product. Sometimes, ego can be the charisma an early-stage founder needs to get attention for what they’re creating. Other times, ego is a roadblock that can lead to ignoring critical perspectives from users and the product team. Using Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase as a case study, today’s show explores what role ego plays in product, when to use it to your advantage, and when to empower others to take charge. Follow us on and to see...
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When It's Time For A Product Glow-Up
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Everything has to start somewhere. But in product and in life, the beginning tends to be awkward. We have room to grow, and glow, up. The real question isn’t about whether we’ll glow up, but when. Christian & Meghan walk us through their answers from working in UX, product marketing, and brand to help us all find the best moment to embrace the “product glow-up” while staying true to our vision. Follow us on and to see the latest in Better Product, a show part of the Better Product Community powered by . The community is the connection point for product leaders &...
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How Product Research Limits Uncertainty and Helps Us Face Our Fears
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Product research is a discipline that’s transformed in recent years. The days of waterfall testing are over. Today, research is happening at every stage of a product’s life cycle, and there are more tools than ever before to help. But how do product teams stay focused on what truly matters? How do we single out real insights from an outpouring of data? Christian & Meghan unpack their lessons learned about product research and examine how the field has evolved. They’ll also explain why research isn’t actually about finding answers; it’s about limiting uncertainty. ...
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Experience-Driven Products for Relationship Wellness with the Founders of Ours
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Today we’re talking about love—but not in the way you think. We’re looking at the intersection of product and a timeless human experience: falling in, and out, of love. Forget couples counseling as you know it. co-founders , , and are using their relationship wellness platform to reduce stigma and build “software for love.” In conversation with Christian & Meghan, the Ours founders will help you cherish the couple experience (and building great products) all over again. For more insights on how product is shaping modern health and wellness, revisit our series on...
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Messaging Mix-Ups and How to Avoid Them
Better Product
Messaging is the story we tell about our product. But how do we know if we’re telling the right story? To talk about your product, you need to learn from the audience you serve, while never losing sight of the bigger picture your market provides. Christian & Meghan will share their observations on product messaging best practices and red flags to avoid; plus, they’ll explain why the best messaging is often the simplest. They’ll also attempt to message their own lives, as inspired by quotes from comment section fights and the great Humphrey Bogart. Revisit with of for...
info_outlineWith an uptick in challenges like the Great Resignation and remote work, companies who are hiring today must understand people—their users—in order to thrive. Tim Pröhm, vice president at the KellyX Digital Innovation Lab, recognizes this opportunity and is using it to introduce agile product thinking and a significant digital transformation to the 75-year-old recruiting firm Kelly. Kelly impacts thousands of workers around the world each year and is setting the example for how to attract and retain talent at a critical moment. In this episode, Tim shares how his team encourages startup strategy in the enterprise world, and how they are bringing the people ops wave to new heights through Kelly’s reach.
Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to see the latest in Better Product, a show part of the Better Product Community powered by Innovatemap. The community is the connection point for product leaders & practitioners to learn and share what it takes to design, build, market, and sell better products. Learn more at betterproduct.community.
Takeaways:
- People ops products only succeed if they are customized to the holistic employee experience.
- The job of people ops is to ask, “what do the people in your organization need to be successful?”
Things To Listen For:
[1:30] Tim’s journey to product & his career intersections with the service industry
[3:30] Background on Kelly and its global influence in the staffing & talent industry
[4:30] How technology & product thinking emerged in Kelly’s work in recent years
[5:00] “It’s not about the human interaction anymore” in a digital world
[5:30] Innovation emerged through rapid prototyping, being responsive to users
[7:00] Lessons from Laszlo Bock’s book, “Work Rules!” on people ops vs. HR
- HR focuses on compliance and traditional administration
- People ops focus on “the full, real experience” in the organization
[8:00] Why you shouldn't exclude people ops leaders from strategic product decisions
[8:30] If you can’t retain or attract talent, your org will fail; people ops can help
[11:30] HR professionals tried to “rebrand” as people ops before, but it didn’t work
[12:30] COVID made companies realize workforce strategy needs to be holistic
[13:30] The reality of “the overwhelmed employee” experience (hint: it’s more common than you might think)
[21:00] The importance of real-time visibility in business and people ops
[23:00] How automation, hiring, and people ops go hand-in-hand
[25:00] The growing importance of qualitative research
[27:00] “Digital transformation is a neverending exercise”
[30:00] Why startups and corporations need to “cross-pollinate”