2-min Technical Product Marketing: Okta, Penny, Notion, and Gumloop.
July 2025, Part 1 release
📈 4 MICRO [PRODUCT MARKETING] CASE STUDIES
[1] Fixate on building trust as the currency for growing your brand rather than traditional storytelling in an AI-generated content world.
There are multiple steps to set your trust flywheel into motion. The first step is to zero in on your key product moment - some distinct feature that makes the product value "visible and understandable." The German discount supermarket Penny redesigned its packaging to display fixed prices in bright colors and fonts, highlighting its commitment to price stability.
[2] On onboarding: Guide users based on their intent and keep them engaged using checklists and incentives.
Many AI tools are unclear to users, making it difficult for them to understand how to apply these tools to their work. Gumloop removes uncertainty by asking users about their goals to customize onboarding, offering step-by-step instructions to launch their first AI agent, and also a library of templates for a quick start!
[3] Lean on social listening to choose creators for your influencer campaign based on the ideal end user.
Notion used the social listening tool Archive to source creators already talking about their product, and with a bias to personas that are heavy users, like startup founders, job seekers, and salespeople.
[4] Use the 4Ps (Person, Problem, Promise, and Product) hypothesis to get specific about your ICP, even if your product is just a few mockups.
The 4Ps include "(i) The Person who will use or buy the product, (ii) The Problem they need solved, (iii) The Promise or value proposition of the product, and (iv) The Product description." Even though Okta currently counts >60% of F100 companies as customers, their ICP at the beginning was SMBs that had 3 or more SaaS applications.
📚 1 BOOK & TOP 3 INSIGHTS
“Courageous Marketing: The B2B Marketer's Playbook for Career Success” by Udi Ledergor
[1] Use offline advertising to build virality online. Buy a small version of an offline medium (ex: TV ad, billboard). Get creative with the medium and photograph it! Share on social media with help from your employees and customers for reach.
[2] How to verify PMF before joining a startup as a marketing leader - (i) If they have customers, find out how happy they are with the product, read online reviews, and see their NPS scores. Look at the churn and retention rates. (ii) If they don't, find out their existing customer acquisition efforts. Hone in on why companies refuse to trial the product. (iii) Study employee retention and attrition. Great team members usually jump ship if they see a PMF problem. (iv) Evaluate funding since investors usually spot good and bad PMF potential.
[3] Allocate 5-10% of the yearly budget for experiments. Set this up as a recurring line item in every budget cycle. Use this budget to explore new channels and campaign ideas.
🧠 5 CURATED MARKETING THINK PIECES
[1] Designing an AI-Native Marketing Team: A Guide for Founders
[2] How your marketing team can adopt AI in one day
[3] Beyond journey maps: designing for control in AI UX
[4] The 25 Micro-Habits of High-Impact Managers
[5] Five Jobs: On human work in the gentle singularity