Same same but different. After interviewing two of the most brilliant Product marketers (Michele Nieberding and Zubair Ahmed), we’re serving up their unfiltered answers. To stomp out bias. Yalla let's start!

1: How does CRM Marketing support Product Marketing goals during new feature launches or product updates?

Michele:

• CRM is a critical amplifier for Product Marketing. Once we’ve defined the positioning and key value props, CRM helps us scale that message in a way that’s timely, personalized, and tied to user behavior.

• Think of Product Marketing as defining what we say and why it matters, and CRM as the engine that ensures it lands with the right users at the right time.

Zubair:

• CRM Marketing helps bring product updates to life by talking to the right users in the right way. New users might get a simple walkthrough, while power users get a deeper dive. We use channels like email or in-app messages to guide adoption, track who’s engaging, and follow up if they’re not. It’s also a great way to gather feedback from the people who matter most for our product.

2: How do both teams collaborate to define messaging and positioning for different user segments across lifecycle stages?

Michele:

• This is where tight collaboration pays off. Product Marketing typically owns the core messaging and positioning including what the feature is, why it matters, and what problem it solves. But CRM brings the segmentation lens: who’s most likely to care right now?

• Here’s what that looks like in practice:

  
  

• PMM provides: narrative, product benefits, differentiators, value drivers.

• CRM provides: user segments, behaviors, preferences, timing insights.
  Together, we map the messaging across lifecycle stages (onboarding, active use, dormant, power users) and tailor accordingly. For example, a power user might get a “Pro Tips” email, while a dormant user gets a reactivation nudge with clear value reminders.

Zubair:

• Both Sales and Product marketing teams equally play a role in shaping messaging and positioning. CRM brings insights on user behavior across lifecycle stages, while sales provides real-time market feedback on what prospects are asking, what’s resonating, and where friction lies. 

• For example, if we have 10 clients interested in app development- 2 cold, 8 warm or hot; we’d analyze who’s converting, what content got them there, and where they’re coming from geographically. That helps our marketing team double down on what’s working and create sharper, segment-specific messaging that meets users where they are.

3: What are the touch-points where CRM and Product Marketing collaborate to educate users and drive adoption?

Michele:

The big three:

• Launch campaigns – Email, in-app messages, and push notifications tied to product releases.

• Lifecycle education – Tooltips, guides, nurture emails, or usage-based nudges that reinforce ongoing value.

• Behavior-based workflows – Triggered communications (e.g., user took X action but not Y) that move users down the adoption path. Though I do think AI is taking this to a whole another level 🙂

Zubair:

• We team up at moments like onboarding, feature launches, and re-engagement campaigns. CRM helps identify where users are in their journey, and Product Marketing shapes the messaging to match whether that’s a welcome email, a quick tip on a new feature, or a nudge to come back. In-app messages, tooltips, and email flows are common tools they use. CRM tracks what’s working, so the team can follow up with more relevant content. Feedback from users feeds back into the loop. 

• It’s all about helping the right users get value at the right time.

4: How do you align on KPIs to measure the success of joint campaigns (e.g., feature adoption, retention, engagement)?

Michele:

NOTE: It depends on the project (i.e. is this a product launch? solutions/bundling? new feature only for customers? etc?) But because we’re only as good as what we can measure. We usually align on:

• Feature adoption rate (pre/post campaign exposure)

• Engagement uplift (CTR, session duration, usage depth)

• Retention rate (especially after major updates)

• Activation milestones (e.g., user performs key actions within a set time)

We agree on what “success” looks like before launch. If CRM owns channel performance and Product Marketing owns messaging effectiveness, we both own the outcome.

Pro tip: Build dashboards that tie campaign exposure to product usage events. Tools like Mixpanel or Amplitude make this easier to visualize.

Zubair:

• To align on KPIs for joint campaigns, CRM and Product Marketing start by agreeing on the core business goals, first thing first, whether it’s driving feature adoption, improving retention, or making an uptick in an engagement. 

• Then, they pick specific, measurable metrics that reflect those goals, like activation rates, usage frequency, or churn reduction. 

• Both teams use data from CRM tools and product analytics to track progress in real time. 

• Regular check-ins help review performance and adjust tactics if needed. This shared accountability ensures campaigns stay focused and deliver real impact.

5: How do you ensure CRM communications reflect the latest product positioning and updates from the Product Marketing team?

Michele:

We treat this like an editorial process. I recommend a standing cadence, biweekly or monthly, where PMM updates CRM on:

• New messaging frameworks

• Updated value props or customer stories

• Upcoming launches and deprecations

• Top-line product roadmap highlights

We also centralize source-of-truth docs like messaging playbooks or launch brief —in shared workspaces (e.g., Notion, Google Drive). That way, even if you're building a triggered lifecycle campaign months later, you’re still aligned with the latest narrative.

Zubair:

• To keep CRM communications aligned with the latest product positioning, we establish a strong feedback loop between teams via JIRA, an automated system of updates and shares that goes internally with our team. Product Marketing shares updated messaging, key value props, and launch assets early on.

• CRM then integrates this content into campaigns, ensuring consistency across emails, in-app messages, and other touchpoints. Regular syncs and collaborative reviews help catch any gaps or outdated info. This close partnership makes sure customers always get timely, accurate, and on-brand communication.

6: Can you share an example where CRM data or insights helped shape Product Marketing messaging or campaigns?

Michele:

• One standout moment was when our CRM team flagged that users who skipped a specific onboarding step had a 40% lower activation rate. We had been messaging the feature as “advanced,” assuming only power users cared.

• Turns out, it was foundational and that insight led us to reposition it as a “quick win” feature in all our messaging. That change alone increased onboarding completion by 15%. CRM data is one of our best reality checks. It tells us what users actually do, not just what we think they care about.

Zubair:

• Sure. For example, a client suggested adding more fields to improve lead quality. Once we received that feedback through CRM channels, we quickly passed it to the product team and logged it in JIRA for development. Meanwhile, Product Marketing used this insight to update messaging highlighting how we actively listen and improve based on user needs. This made our campaigns more customer-centric and helped build trust while driving better adoption of the updated feature.

7: How do you coordinate content calendars or campaign timelines to avoid overlaps or mixed messages to users?

Michele:

We run shared campaign planning in quarterly sprints with a joint calendar that includes:

• Product releases

• CRM lifecycle campaigns

• Seasonal initiatives

• A/B tests or experiments

We also meet in “content council” meetings monthly to gut-check for overlaps, reinforce what’s already working, and ladder everything back to a consistent message architecture.

If something feels off like too many emails in a week, or mixed CTAs we course-correct FAST. It’s a shared user experience.

We use Asana here, but sooo many options on how you do that.

Zubair:

• To avoid overlapping campaigns and mixed messages, we use shared content calendars combined with automation tools like Dripify and Instantly to schedule and streamline content delivery. These platforms help us automate personalized messaging across channels while ensuring timing doesn’t clash. Regular team check-ins keep everyone aligned, and the automation allows us to maintain consistent, well-timed communication without overwhelming users.

8: What are the biggest challenges you face in collaborating and how do you address them?

Michele:

• Timing and prioritization. Product is always shipping something, and CRM is juggling a ton of workflows. It’s easy for comms to feel last-minute. To fix this, we build in early alignment points like bringing CRM into launch planning 4–6 weeks ahead of release. And we document campaign briefs with clear goals, copy, and CTAs early so there’s no ambiguity or last-minute chaos.

• Changes in the market can impact this as well, but if/when that happens and a pivot needs to be made, I like hopping on a “recall” call and always come with ideas/solutions, not just FYIs.

Zubair:

• One of the biggest challenges we face is helping clients understand the full ecosystem of marketing their product and how to give and receive feedback effectively. Sometimes, they expect immediate results or overlook how different parts of the system (such as CRM, content, and Product Marketing) connect. To address this, we invest time in education- breaking down workflows, showing how feedback loops work, and setting clear expectations. When clients see the bigger picture, collaboration becomes smoother and more productive.

9: When product marketing wants to push a feature but CRM data shows low interest, who wins the debate and how do you navigate this tension?

We both win when we reframe the question: Why is there low interest?

• Is it because the feature’s hard to find?

• Is the value unclear?

• Or is it just not solving a real problem for the user?

Product Marketing might believe in the strategic importance of a feature, but CRM brings the real usage truth. We’ll often agree to test it with different messaging or in a small segment first. If it lands, great. If not, we pivot.

Data trumps opinion, but curiosity should guide the conversation.

Zubair:

• It’s not about who wins, but about aligning on what’s best for the user and the business. If Product Marketing wants to push a feature but CRM data shows low interest, we dig deeper together. Is it a messaging issue? Wrong audience? Poor timing? We test variations like targeting a smaller, more relevant segment or repositioning the value. Data informs the direction, but both teams stay flexible. The goal is to learn fast and make smarter decisions, not win debates.

Annnnnd cuuut! There you have it, straight from two Product Matketing pros. Now it’s on us CRM ppl to turn those nuggets into real-world wins: plug them into our data, sync up withPM, and build journeys people actually stick around for. Alignment is always a win win.

See you on the next one. Salam 👋🏼