Webflow’s Secret to Empowering Cross-Functional Teams
Product marketing is a game of influence without authority. It's one thing to get alignment across a team of your own direct reports, but what do you do when you need cross-functional participation and buy-in from your peers?
In order to answer this question, I interviewed Gaby Izarra, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Webflow.
Gaby provided tons of practical advice on:
- Getting project alignment across the organization
- Bringing out the creativity in diverse teams
- How to get people excited about projects
- How she runs product launches down to the document template
🤔 Start with the facts
Though somewhat counterintuitive, one common pitfall of cross-functional leaders is to tell people what to do and how to do it. Gaby’s approach is highly research-based, starting with the customers’ needs.
Starting with the facts reduces friction. Everyone is working from the same sense of reality. Campaigns and launches don’t start with someone having an idea, or if they do, the idea has been vetted through market research. When everyone has the same foundation of facts and information, the next step is figuring out how to meet the customers’ needs.
🌈 Involve others in the process early on
Often, you’ll hear managers talk about how they get buy-in from other team members or cross-functional team leaders. Gaby turns that idea upside-down. Rather than getting buy-in on her ideas or her department’s ideas, she presents the target customer, the research about their needs, and the metrics for success.
When the team creates the plan, there’s no need for buy-in. You don’t have to convince people to do something that they themselves created. Gaby’s idea of empowerment is clear and defined: Give the team facts and targets and let them come up with the course of action.
🛠 Three steps implement the launch-based approach
Step 1: Present the data and measures
The product launch plan goes out before the first launch meeting, so people can come prepared. By presenting the facts about what the customers want, the team gets a jump start on making wise decisions and avoids getting sidetracked. You can start with ideas about the campaign, but the more you leave it open, the more the team feels they can be creative.
Step 2: Allow the team to brainstorm strategies
Let the participants in the meeting come up with different strategies and campaign ideas. Don’t settle for the first idea that comes up. Make sure that people feel it’s okay to have crazy ideas — sometimes the best ideas start with something off-the-wall.
Step 3: Break it down into teams and milestones
Every sub-team should be clear on their role in the launch. The product team should understand what features to prioritize and when to release them. Paid advertising and content management teams each have their publishing schedules. As you create the plan, make sure there is an organized way of keeping everyone aligned.
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