Use this detailed checklist to navigate your critical first 90 days as a product marketing leader at a tech startup. Check off each item as you complete it to ensure you’re building a strong foundation for long-term success.

Pre-Start Preparation

Company Research

• Study the company website, blog, and social media profiles.
• Review available product documentation and marketing materials.
• Analyze recent press releases and news coverage.
• Research the company’s market position and competitors.
• Explore customer reviews and testimonials on third-party sites.
• Review the company’s financial information if publicly available.

Industry Knowledge

• Identify key industry trends and market dynamics.
• Research major competitors and their positioning.
• Review relevant analyst reports and market studies.
• Join industry groups and forums related to your space.
• Subscribe to relevant industry newsletters and publications.

Personal Preparation

• Clarify start date, onboarding logistics, and first-day expectations.
• Request early access to relevant systems and documentation when possible.
• Prepare questions for initial meetings with key stakeholders.
• Develop a draft 30-60-90 day plan template to refine after starting.
• Identify your personal learning objectives for the first three months.

Week 1: Orientation and Initial Connections

Administrative Setup

• Complete HR onboarding and system access setup.
• Set up your workspace and essential tools.
• Configure communication tools and calendar.
• Join relevant email lists and communication channels.
• Request access to critical shared drives and resources.

Key Stakeholder Meetings

• Meet with your direct manager to discuss expectations and priorities.
• Schedule initial meetings with key executives.
• Connect with product team leaders.
• Meet with sales leadership.
• Introduce yourself to marketing team members.
• Identify and schedule meetings with other critical stakeholders.

Initial Information Gathering

• Request current product marketing materials and assets.
• Access product roadmap and strategic planning documents.
• Gather recent go-to-market plans and launch materials.
• Obtain sales enablement resources and training materials.
• Collect customer personas and segmentation information.
• Review current messaging and positioning documentation.
• Assess existing competitive intelligence resources.
• Examine available market research and customer insights.

Observation and Learning

• Attend team meetings across departments to understand dynamics.
• Review the current product demo process.
• Listen in on sales calls if possible.
• Observe customer support interactions.
• Review recent customer success stories or case studies.
• Understand current marketing campaign strategy and execution.

Weeks 2-3: Deep Discovery and Assessment

Stakeholder Interviews

• Conduct structured interviews with product managers.
• Interview sales representatives and sales engineers.
• Meet with customer success managers.
• Speak with engineering leaders.
• Interview marketing specialists (content, digital, field, etc.).
• Connect with finance team regarding metrics and business model.
• When possible, speak with customers or prospects.

Asset and Process Audit

• Inventory all existing product marketing assets.
• Evaluate the quality and effectiveness of current materials.
• Document existing product marketing processes.
• Identify gaps in materials, processes, and capabilities.
• Assess the current tech stack and tools for product marketing.
• Review sales enablement effectiveness with frontline teams.
• Analyze product launch history and effectiveness.

Competitive and Market Analysis

• Conduct a thorough competitive landscape analysis.
• Evaluate current market positioning against competitors.
• Review win/loss analysis data and identify patterns.
• Assess market trends and their impact on your product.
• Identify potential market opportunities and threats.
• Evaluate pricing model and competitive positioning.
• Analyze the customer acquisition process end-to-end.

Initial Findings Synthesis

• Document key themes from stakeholder interviews.
• Create an inventory of assets and their status.
• Develop a SWOT analysis for the product marketing function.
• Identify immediate pain points and potential quick wins.
• Outline preliminary resource needs and gaps.
• Draft initial observations about organizational dynamics.
• Prepare a summary of findings for key stakeholders.

Weeks 4-5: Strategic Planning and Quick Wins

Strategic Framework Development

• Define the mission and vision for product marketing.
• Establish core objectives aligned with company goals.
• Develop key performance indicators for product marketing.
• Create a resource plan (team structure, budget, tools).
• Draft a high-level roadmap for the next 6-12 months.
• Identify critical dependencies and potential roadblocks.
• Establish stakeholder communication and alignment plan.

Quick Win Implementation

• Select 2-3 high-impact, low-effort initiatives to address immediately.
• Create or refresh a critical sales enablement asset.
• Improve a problematic process causing immediate friction.
• Address an obvious gap in competitive or market intelligence.
• Establish a regular communication rhythm with key stakeholders.
• Implement a simple tool or template that delivers immediate value.
• Document the impact of these quick wins for future reference.

Stakeholder Alignment

• Present initial findings and observations to your manager.
• Share strategic framework with key stakeholders for feedback.
• Align with product team on roadmap and launch expectations.
• Establish working agreements with sales leadership.
• Create alignment with broader marketing team on roles and responsibilities.
• Set clear expectations with executive team on priorities and resources.
• Develop feedback mechanisms for ongoing stakeholder input.

Process Foundations

• Draft a product launch process framework.
• Develop a template for messaging and positioning.
• Create a competitive intelligence gathering process.
• Establish a basic sales enablement framework.
• Design a simple customer feedback collection mechanism.
• Outline a go-to-market planning template.
• Define roles and responsibilities for key processes.

Weeks 6-8: Building Core Capabilities

Messaging and Positioning Framework

• Evaluate current messaging effectiveness with stakeholders.
• Conduct messaging workshop with key stakeholders.
• Develop unified value proposition and messaging pillars.
• Create messaging hierarchy and architecture.
• Test messaging with sales team and refine based on feedback.
• Document messaging framework for cross-functional use.
• Create training for consistent messaging usage.

Go-to-Market Playbook

• Document end-to-end go-to-market process.
• Define stage gates and key milestones for launches.
• Create templates for launch planning and execution.
• Establish roles and responsibilities across departments.
• Develop launch readiness assessment criteria.
• Create communication plan templates for different launch types.
• Design measurement framework for launch effectiveness.

Sales Enablement System

• Conduct needs assessment with sales organization.
• Define core sales enablement asset types and purposes.
• Create templates for key sales materials.
• Establish content development and review process.
• Implement a system for organizing and distributing materials.
• Develop training approach for new messaging and materials.
• Create feedback mechanism for sales enablement effectiveness.

Competitive Intelligence Program

• Define competitive intelligence objectives and scope.
• Identify primary and secondary sources for intelligence.
• Establish regular information gathering cadence.
• Create battlecard templates and competitive comparison frameworks.
• Develop a system for sharing competitive insights.
• Implement competitive alert process for rapid response.
• Design tracking mechanism for competitive wins and losses.

Weeks 9-12: Scaling, Measuring, and Planning Ahead

Measurement System Implementation

• Finalize key performance indicators for product marketing.
• Implement tracking mechanisms for each KPI.
• Create dashboards for different stakeholder audiences.
• Establish regular reporting cadence and format.
• Develop analysis framework for interpreting results.
• Create action planning process based on performance data.
• Implement feedback loops for continuous improvement.

Team Development

• Assess skills and capability gaps in current team (if applicable).
• Develop role descriptions and responsibilities.
• Create development plans for team members.
• Establish team operating norms and communication patterns.
• Implement knowledge sharing and documentation practices.
• Design onboarding plan for future team members.
• Create cross-training opportunities with other departments.

Process Refinement and Documentation

• Review and refine initial processes based on early implementation.
• Create comprehensive documentation for all core processes.
• Develop training materials for cross-functional stakeholders.
• Implement feedback mechanisms for process improvement.
• Establish process ownership and governance model.
• Create change management approach for process updates.
• Design scalability into processes for company growth.

90-Day Review and Future Planning

• Conduct self-assessment of progress against initial objectives.
• Gather feedback from key stakeholders on progress and impact.
• Document key accomplishments and remaining gaps.
• Identify lessons learned and adjustment opportunities.
• Develop detailed plan for the next 90 days.
• Create longer-term roadmap for product marketing evolution.
• Present accomplishments and future plans to leadership.

Critical Relationship Building (Ongoing Throughout 90 Days)

Product Team Alignment

• Establish regular coordination meetings with product leaders.
• Define handoff points between product and product marketing.
• Create shared understanding of roadmap translation process.
• Develop joint planning approach for feature prioritization.
• Establish feedback loops for market insights to product team.
• Build personal relationships with key product managers.
• Create shared success metrics between teams.

Sales Team Collaboration

• Implement regular touchpoints with sales leadership.
• Establish cadence for sales team enablement and training.
• Create feedback mechanisms for sales team input.
• Participate in sales meetings and calls when possible.
• Develop joint planning process for territory and account strategies.
• Build trusted advisor status with top sales performers.
• Create recognition system for sales-marketing collaboration.

Executive Stakeholder Management

• Establish regular update mechanism for executive team.
• Develop executive-level metrics and reporting format.
• Create alignment on product marketing’s strategic priorities.
• Build personal credibility through consistent delivery.
• Prepare for and participate effectively in executive meetings.
• Understand executive priorities and connect your work accordingly.
• Develop executive communication strategy for major initiatives.

Cross-Functional Relationship Development

• Build connections with engineering team members.
• Establish working relationships with customer success leaders.
• Connect with marketing specialists in demand gen, content, etc.
• Develop understanding of finance and operations constraints.
• Create alignment with human resources on hiring plans.
• Build relationships with customer support team members.
• Establish connections with external partners and agencies.

Post-90-Day Planning

Strategic Evolution

• Conduct comprehensive review of initial 90-day performance.
• Refine product marketing strategy based on learnings.
• Develop longer-term vision and roadmap (12-18 months).
• Create scaling plan for resources and capabilities.
• Establish ongoing strategic planning process.
• Align long-term objectives with company evolution.
• Identify potential strategic pivots and contingency plans.

Capability Development

• Assess product marketing maturity across key dimensions.
• Identify capability gaps and development priorities.
• Create capability building roadmap and milestones.
• Design specialized programs for critical capability areas.
• Develop advanced measurement and optimization frameworks.
• Plan for specialized expertise development or acquisition.
• Create knowledge management and institutional memory systems.

Resource Planning

• Develop comprehensive resource plan (people, budget, tools).
• Create business cases for additional investments.
• Design optimal team structure for scaling.
• Establish vendor and partner strategy for capability extension.
• Develop technology roadmap for product marketing stack.
• Create resource allocation framework across products/segments.
• Establish budget planning and management processes.

Personal Development

• Assess your own performance and effectiveness.
• Identify personal skill development opportunities.
• Create networking strategy within the organization.
• Develop external professional network in product marketing.
• Establish mentorship relationships (as mentor and mentee).
• Create personal brand and thought leadership plan.
• Design work-life balance strategy for sustainable performance.