Speaker: Gwendolyn Smith
Gwendolyn Smith: Hi Gwen here and I oversee product marketing for Transunion Portfolio of advanced analytics solutions. And for how all of our solutions integrate with our technology platform partners.
What key takeaway will PMMs get from your talk?
Gwendolyn Smith: Mergers and acquisitions happen all the time yet not many folks are talking about what it takes to bring diverse and oftentimes competing products together. I've been a part of about 15 acquisitions and there's a lot that we have to consider as product marketers. I'm talking about reducing risks and market reputation, messaging and even balancing internal relationships as you get to work with a new company, culture and personalities. And we're going to have some fun in our discussion at this conference as we get a couple of different perspectives. As I'll be joined by one of my product marketing peers who joined, my current team via an acquisition.
What is your best piece of product marketing advice?
Gwendolyn Smith: My advice to any product marketer is two part, which is one, make as many friends as possible and two be flexible. We are the liaison between many different teams and have to influence a lot of people without necessarily having a lot of direct reports. So you can do this by getting in touch with your customers and really becoming an expert in your industry. And the second bit is to just be flexible, be as flexible as possible, dates change all the time. It's, it's not usually your fault. But you've got to remember to be nimble especially when we are making our launch programs. And never commit to dates externally to cover yourself.