A Product Journey #9 with Aurélie Fon Product Marketing Manager at Qonto

Welcome, Aurélie! Your journey in the SaaS industry is quite inspiring. Could you tell us what led you to join Qonto and what your experience has been like so far?

Six years ago, when I started to work in marketing, the “PMM” role was not a well-known field in Europe. My journey began at Worldline, fresh from completing my double master's in marketing, where I was heavily involved in market research and competitive analysis. I was a sort of 'strategic marketing' resource within the product teams, always involved at a specific stage of the product life cycle. I realized through LinkedIn posts from the Product Marketing Alliance that what I was doing was essentially product marketing. This led me to self-educate using online resources and even start a small internal group that quickly grew, attracting PMMs and curious PMs from other departments and countries.

As I grew in my role, I craved a position where I could directly impact product strategy and customer engagement. At Qonto, I found this opportunity. Here, I'm part of a team that has grown significantly, reflecting Qonto's commitment to product marketing. Every day presents new challenges and learning experiences, and being part of a team that is at the forefront of SaaS innovation in banking is incredibly fulfilling.

As a PMM at Qonto, how do you define your role and mission?

My role at Qonto extends far beyond traditional product marketing boundaries. It's about understanding the intricate dynamics between our product offerings and the market needs. I work closely with product managers and designers, embarking on deep market research and competitive analysis. This collaboration helps ensure our product strategies are not only innovative, but also aligned with what our customers truly need. It’s a balancing act of being a strategist, a researcher, and an executioner, all while keeping the customer's voice at the heart of everything we do.

However, as a PMM, one significant challenge in my role is also demonstrating our impact in a field that intersects various aspects of product development and marketing. The Product Marketing team’s influence across different teams, contributing to a wide range of projects, from usability testing with the design team to lead generation and content strategy. It's about making a tangible impact in every project we're involved in, whether it's enhancing product development, refining market strategy, or elevating customer engagement.

What challenges do you face in driving product adoption, and how do you address them?

Ironically, communicating with the client is our biggest challenge. We face channel saturation and information overload, leading to a 'disco ball effect' in the app and clients unsubscribing from emails. So, the challenge is to ensure our voice is heard without contributing to the overwhelming noise. We focus on contextual communication – understanding the 'when', with 'who' and 'how' to deliver our messages. Our approach is to avoid turning our platform into a 'Christmas tree' of information, which can be off-putting and ineffective. We strive to be inventive in our communication methods, prioritizing relevance and non-invasiveness. This includes exploring innovative channels and personalizing user journeys to suit individual needs and preferences. Understanding our customers' behavior and preferences is critical in this process, and we constantly adapt our strategies to ensure we engage our users effectively and meaningfully.

How do you measure the success of your communications?

Measuring the success of new features or updates is a multifaceted process, we rely on a combination of company-wide OKRs and specific product and growth OKRs. It's not just about whether the product functions as intended; we also assess how well it is received in the market. Our evaluation criteria include the efficacy of our Go-To-Market strategies, the accuracy of our positioning and messaging, and the degree to which we meet our set objectives, be it in terms of adoption, user satisfaction, or market penetration. This comprehensive approach allows us to gauge the true impact of our features and continuously refine our strategies for future launches.

Thank you Aurélie!