You’ve cleared the interview, negotiated the pay, and got your desired role. It’s day one at your new job, there’s so much to learn and do. But where do you start? How do you manage expectations? Are you set up for success? How do you ensure that? 

‍

“Joining a new company is akin to an organ transplant—and you’re the new organ. If you’re not thoughtful in adapting to the new situation, you could end up being attacked by the organizational immune system and rejected.”

― Michael D. Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

‍

Starting a new role can be both exciting and daunting, especially if the opportunity comes with a lot of ambiguity. The first 90 days are critical for establishing yourself, understanding the company’s needs, and driving impactful results. It’s essential to use this time wisely to learn and set a strong foundation for your work, enabling you to flourish in the months ahead.

‍

Product marketing as a function has various nuances. No two companies have the same goals or expectations for a product marketing team.

‍

Some teams adopt a content-heavy approach, where most of the time is spent writing product articles, creating sales enablement decks, and developing collaterals to support customer success teams.

‍

Other teams are more data-oriented, focusing on analyzing numbers, gathering user feedback, and improving product positioning. These teams tend to be more strategic and calculative.

‍

If you join an early-stage team at a startup, you might be expected to do both—approach challenges with a strategic mindset, build a team, define metrics, and deliver impact—a little bit of everything.

‍

However, regardless of the type of team you join, the fundamentals remain the same. In this guide, we’ll take a step back and walk you through these fundamentals. We’ve gathered tips and suggestions from across the internet to help you maximize your impact during the first 30, 60, and 90 days in your new PMM role.
‍

[Also read: How is Product Marketing Changing in 2025 - Key Trends to Observe]
‍

First 30 Days: Building a Solid Foundation

The first 30 days are crucial for setting the right tone for yourself. There will be plenty of things you may want to fix and numerous ideas you’ll be eager to execute. In such a situation, prioritization and your approach to executing these ideas will be key to setting yourself up for success.

‍

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you navigate this journey:

‍

1. Become a sponge 

‍

While researching for this article, one piece of advice stood out clearly: learn, learn, and learn. It’s natural to want to jump into solutions right away, but it’s important to use this time to get to know not just the product but also the team, the customers, and the goals you’ll be pursuing.

‍

Here’s a checklist to help you understand everything well enough to set the right foundation:

‍

Understand the scope and define your role

‍

One of your first actions should be to identify the scope of your function and the intended outcomes. Writing a charter that defines the value you aim to deliver as a PMM is essential. This document should outline your responsibilities, how your work aligns with company objectives, and the impact you plan to drive.

‍

Share this charter with the executive team for feedback and approval. This step ensures alignment from the top and helps you avoid being relegated to an overly operational, reactive role that delivers low strategic value. Here’s an example of how you can define this - 

‍

Conduct a listening tour

‍

Schedule 1:1 meetings with stakeholders across the business, including leaders in product, sales, marketing, and customer success. During these sessions, aim to:
‍

• Understand their priorities and pain points
  ‍
• Learn about their performance metrics and how they are incentivized
  ‍
• Identify gaps where your function could drive value

‍

This listening tour will help you build rapport and uncover key challenges that can shape your tailored plan.

‍

Understand the product and market

‍

Invest time in understanding your product, market, and customers deeply. Key activities include:
‍

• Product training: Attend internal training sessions to grasp the product’s features, benefits, and differentiators
  ‍
• Shadow sales calls: Observe how sales reps pitch the product and handle objections
  ‍
• Introductory customer interviews: Speak with customers to understand their pain points, why they chose your product, and how it fits into their workflows
  ‍
• Research competitors: Study your competitors’ offerings, messaging, and positioning. Create baseline battle cards to document key insights
  ‍
• Review product documentation: Dive into existing materials to understand the product’s technical details and roadmap
  ‍

2. Tailor your plan and seek feedback

‍

Based on your listening tour and research, draft a plan that aligns your goals with the organization’s priorities. Create a slide deck to share this plan with stakeholders, highlighting how PMM efforts will address key challenges. This transparent communication ensures alignment and sets the stage for collaboration.

‍

Based on your listening tour and research, draft a plan that aligns your goals with the organization’s priorities. Create a slide deck to share this plan with stakeholders, highlighting how PMM efforts will address key challenges. Transparent communication ensures alignment and sets the stage for collaboration.

‍

Use this plan to set the right expectations for your role. Define metrics for success and seek feedback to refine the plan further. 

‍

‍

Next 30 Days (Days 31-60): Establish Strategic Initiatives

‍

With enough context in hand, it’s time to implement the right strategies. Based on your role and goals, here are a few initiatives you can plan to execute during this phase:
‍

1. Align with stakeholders - Do regular check-ins to clarify expectations. Ensure that your plans are in sync with the organization’s priorities
‍

2. Define quick wins - Identify low-hanging fruit where you can make an immediate impact to build credibility and momentum
‍

3. Establish strategic priorities - Set the stage for long-term success by defining the high-impact areas you will focus on.

‍

Here are a few things you can spend this time focusing on - 

‍

1. Build a product messaging framework

‍

Create a comprehensive product messaging framework that serves as the foundation for all marketing and sales collateral. This framework should include:
‍

• Value propositions: Highlight what makes your product unique and valuable
  ‍
• Core messaging pillars: Define the primary themes your messaging should convey
  ‍
• Customer personas: Outline who your ideal customers are and their key needs
  ‍
• Use cases: Describe how your product solves specific customer problems

2. Develop a Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy

‍

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to build a GTM package for your product. This package should include:
‍

• Product overview and positioning
  ‍
• Sales enablement materials, such as pitch decks and objection-handling guides
  ‍
• Launch plans, including timelines and responsibilities
  ‍
• Campaign ideas to generate awareness and drive adoption

‍

Use insights from customer interviews, competitive research, and internal feedback to make these materials robust and actionable.

‍

3. Deepen cross-functional relationships
‍

Continue engaging with stakeholders regularly to ensure alignment and foster collaboration. Specifically:
‍

• Partner with the product team to influence the roadmap and prioritize features that align with customer needs
  ‍
• Work with sales leaders to identify gaps in the sales process where PMM support can drive conversion
  ‍
• Collaborate with the marketing team to ensure campaigns are on-brand and resonate with target audiences

‍

Final 30 Days (Days 61-90): Drive Execution and Measure Impact

You are all set! Now it's time to get the ball rolling. Here's a video that gives a great perspective on the first 90 days -

1. Launch and iterate
‍

If there’s a product launch or campaign planned within your first 90 days, lead its execution. Focus on:
‍

• Delivering materials from your GTM plan
  ‍
• Ensuring all teams are aligned and equipped for the launch
  ‍
• Monitoring performance metrics, such as campaign engagement, pipeline generation, and sales velocity
  ‍

2. Refine positioning and messaging

‍

Leverage the feedback and data gathered from your initial efforts to refine your messaging framework and battle cards. This iterative approach ensures that your positioning evolves with market dynamics and internal learnings.

‍

3. Establish ongoing processes

‍

To set your team up for long-term success, create repeatable processes for key activities such as:

• Competitive analysis updates
  ‍
• Messaging framework reviews
  ‍
• GTM planning for future launches
  ‍

4. Measure and communicate impact
‍

Quantify the impact of your work by tracking key metrics. For example:

• Marketing Metrics: Campaign reach, lead quality, and conversion rates
  ‍
• Sales Metrics: Pipeline influence, deal velocity, and win rates
  ‍
• Customer Metrics: Retention rates and NPS scores
  ‍

Present these results to stakeholders to demonstrate how your efforts contribute to organizational goals. Regularly sharing updates builds credibility and reinforces the value of the PMM function.
‍

Tips for Success

‍

• Prioritize Ruthlessly: Focus on high-impact initiatives that align with business goals.
  ‍
• Communicate Proactively: Share updates regularly to keep stakeholders informed and aligned.
  ‍
• Stay Customer-Centric: Ground all your efforts in a deep understanding of customer needs and behaviors.
  ‍
• Leverage Data: Use data to guide decisions and measure success
  

‍

Conclusion

‍

The first 90 days as a PMM are your opportunity to set the stage for long-term success. By defining your role, building strong cross-functional relationships, and delivering early wins, you’ll establish yourself as a strategic partner who drives meaningful impact. Following this roadmap ensures you’ll hit the ground running and create a foundation for sustained success.

‍