Customer-Centric Product Marketing: Strategies for Alignment with Yitzy Tannenbaum

Yitzy Tannenbaum, Senior Product Marketing Leader at Palo Alto Networks, discusses bridging technical and GTM teams, crafting customer-centric strategies, simplifying complex cybersecurity concepts, and leveraging data-driven insights to deliver impactful marketing outcomes. He also emphasizes the importance of aligning product value with customer needs and more.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your product marketing journey.

I started my career in a pre-sales role at IBM, where I gained valuable technical GTM experience working with marketers, sellers, and customers. I quickly realized my passion lay in storytelling and connecting the dots between products and customer needs, which led me to product marketing. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with a range of companies—from startups like AlgoSec to larger organizations like NICE, Meta, and now Palo Alto Networks. At Meta for example, I led product marketing for a product used by over 1.2 billion people, which was an incredible opportunity to influence how technology can scale to meet diverse global needs.

In all my roles, I focus on bridging the gap between technical and go-to-market (GTM) teams. I bring market context to product managers and distill product value for sales and marketing teams, ensuring every stakeholder understands how to align with customer needs and business goals.

What are some product marketing challenges and opportunities in the cybersecurity space?

Cybersecurity is unique in that product marketing often intersects deeply with technical expertise. In addition to the traditional PMM responsibilities, PMMs in the cybersecurity space also act as technical advisors, often acting as the sole technical voice in a marketing team.

This dual responsibility creates both challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, PMMs must constantly stay updated on evolving threats, regulations, and technologies while translating these into compelling messaging. On the other, it positions PMMs as strategic influencers across the company. We don’t just market products; we educate stakeholders, shape roadmaps, and build trust with customers.

The complexity of the market also presents a unique opportunity to differentiate through clarity. In a space where jargon can dominate, simplifying the message and emphasizing tangible customer outcomes is a powerful way to stand out.

As the bridge between technical and go-to-market teams, how do you ensure alignment and communication to effectively bring products to market?

This is arguably the most critical responsibility of a PMM. Ensuring alignment requires constant communication, collaboration, and the ability to translate technical complexities into clear, actionable insights for different teams.

• With Product Teams: I advocate for customer-centric development, challenging product managers (PMs) to look beyond “cool” features and focus on solving real customer pain points. Building trust is essential, and I achieve this by offering a market-informed perspective that supports their strategic planning while aligning their vision with customer needs. This collaboration ensures the product is both innovative and relevant.
• With Sales Teams: Sales enablement is key. If sales teams don’t fully understand the product’s value proposition, they risk creating their own narratives, which can dilute or misrepresent the message. I ensure they have clear, concise, and compelling materials, delivered in formats that resonate—whether that’s one-pagers, workshops, video series, or interactive Q&A sessions.
• With Marketing Teams: PMMs bring immense value by crafting clear, relatable, and differentiated messaging that resonates with target audiences. This includes distilling complex product features into customer-centric stories and aligning them with overarching brand narratives. PMMs also play a crucial role in the project management of product launches and version releases, orchestrating efforts across multiple teams to ensure smooth execution and timely delivery.

Ultimately, the PMM acts as the connective tissue between these functions, ensuring that every team operates from the same playbook and is aligned on delivering value to customers. It’s this coordination and clarity that make launches successful and messaging impactful.

How do you collect and leverage customer feedback to consistently improve product GTM messaging?

Customer feedback is a cornerstone of effective product marketing. I rely on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods:

• Quantitative: Surveys, Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and data analytics from product usage patterns provide valuable insights into trends and pain points.
• Qualitative: Customer interviews, feedback at events, and casual conversations are priceless. I find there’s nothing more inspiring than hearing first-hand what excites a customer or seeing their enthusiasm when describing a feature, they love.

This feedback isn’t just about messaging; it informs everything from feature prioritization to campaign strategy. When customers feel heard, it deepens trust and loyalty, which ultimately drives growth.

“In a space where jargon can dominate, simplifying the message and emphasizing tangible customer outcomes is a powerful way to stand out.”

How do you stay objective and open to critical feedback, especially when emotionally attached to a product?

Being a PMM requires humility. Our job is to be the voice of the customer, even when it challenges our own perspectives. While product managers are deeply connected to building the product, PMMs maintain an external, market-driven focus.

To stay objective, I view criticism as a gift—it’s an opportunity to refine the product and its positioning. I remind myself that success isn’t about what I want but about delivering value to customers. Staying tuned into market trends, competitor movements, and the sales teams also helps me ground decisions in facts and data rather than emotions, ensuring that the product remains relevant and meets the needs of the market.

How do you leverage data and analytics to measure the impact of product marketing initiatives on revenue and customer satisfaction?

Measurement is the cornerstone of impactful product marketing, enabling us to refine strategies and drive results. The goal is to measure and analyze everything. I use a combination of metrics to assess performance across multiple dimensions:

• Revenue Impact: By tracking pipeline contribution, deal velocity, win rates, and average contract value, I evaluate how effectively GTM initiatives are influencing business outcomes. These metrics highlight which campaigns and strategies are directly driving revenue growth.
• Customer Satisfaction: Monitoring NPS, customer retention, churn rates, and qualitative feedback helps gauge whether messaging resonates and the product delivers value. This data also informs adjustments to our positioning and feature prioritization.
• Marketing Campaign Data: Analyzing campaign performance metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and cost per lead (CPL) provides a granular understanding of how well our messaging engages target audiences. It also helps identify which channels and formats yield the highest ROI.

To ensure actionable insights, I rely on tools like CRM dashboards, analytics platforms, and marketing automation software. Regular retrospectives—both quantitative and qualitative—help connect the dots between these data points.

The ultimate goal is to create a feedback loop that not only measures success but also identifies areas for improvement. This enables us to optimize GTM strategies, improve messaging, and align initiatives with both business objectives and customer needs. Data is not just a measurement tool; it’s a guide to continuously elevate impact.

How do you ensure that your team members are completely aligned with broader product go-to-market goals?

Alignment starts with clarity. Every initiative should have a well-documented plan that ties back to the company’s strategic goals. I prioritize open communication and tailor it to individual preferences—some team members thrive on detailed documentation, while others prefer verbal updates or quick check-ins. I also make sure everyone understands their role in achieving our objectives, fostering ownership and accountability. I also ensure we celebrate wins together and reflect on areas for improvement. Building a culture of trust and collaboration helps everyone feel invested in achieving our shared goals. This approach creates a unified, motivated team focused on delivering results.

What approaches do you take to ensure alignment in sales enablement efforts across various organizational levels?

Sales teams are our internal customers. Just as we adapt to external customer preferences, we must adapt to how sales prefer to consume information. I provide a variety of enablement formats, including:

• Written Collateral: Playbooks, Slack channel, competitive battle cards, and email templates.
• Interactive Sessions: Workshops, webinars, and live Q&A sessions.
• Creative Approaches: Video series, podcasts, or bite-sized learning modules tailored to their needs.

The key is not just delivering content but ensuring ongoing engagement. I seek regular feedback from sales teams to continuously improve our approach. When sales feel equipped and empowered, they’re more effective in the field, and the results speak for themselves.