When you think about product marketing, you might immediately think of launches, lead generation, and messaging. But according to Mat Silva — an experienced Product Marketing Manager who has worked across Brazil, Japan, Italy, and the U.S. — true product marketing goes far beyond launch day.
In our latest Product Marketing Genius episode, Mat shares insights that are highly relevant for CEOs of fast-growing tech companies. His perspective isn’t just about going to market — it’s about staying in the market, growing your share, and building customer loyalty long after the initial launch hype fades.
Most companies focus heavily on product marketing before and during a launch. Yet Mat makes a compelling case that post-launch is where the real opportunity lies.
Maintaining momentum after launch — through product innovation, customer feedback loops, and lifecycle management — is critical for sustained revenue growth. Scaleups that ignore post-launch strategies risk missing out on cross-sell opportunities, renewals, and valuable customer insights that can fuel the next wave of product innovation.
As Mat puts it: “Product marketing isn’t just the voice of the company to the market — it must also be the voice of the customer back to the company.”
For tech scaleups aiming to dominate their niche, this customer-driven feedback loop can be a powerful differentiator.
Another standout insight from Mat: Diplomacy is a core product marketing skill.
Coming from a background in international relations and economics, Mat likens PMMs to diplomats inside an organization. They bridge sales, marketing, product, engineering, and customer success. To succeed, they must negotiate, align, and persuade without formal authority.
For CEOs, this is an important hiring lens. The best PMMs aren’t just great at crafting positioning statements — they’re great at building cross-functional trust and moving teams toward a shared goal.
Without those soft skills, even the best strategy can stall out internally.
Mat’s international experience also sheds light on a key challenge for scaleups: global expansion isn’t just about language localization — it’s about market adaptation.
Each country has unique economic indicators, regulatory environments, and cultural nuances that affect how products should be positioned, priced, and delivered. Effective product marketing for international expansion requires upfront research, market-specific GTM strategies, and adaptability post-launch.
If you’re planning global growth, building an internationally-savvy product marketing function isn’t optional — it’s essential.
Product Marketing Genius is brought to you by Caribou Strategic, helping tech scaleups stand out and succeed.
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