Your customer success team sends generic check-in emails. They lack compelling content to share with customers. They can't articulate ROI or competitive differentiation. They don't know which customers to target for upsells.
Meanwhile, your product marketing team creates fantastic positioning, battle cards, and content—all focused on acquisition. Customer success gets ignored.
This is the CS-Marketing alignment gap: product marketing invests heavily in winning new customers but provides minimal support to the teams responsible for keeping and expanding them.
The result: CS teams improvise their own materials, deliver inconsistent messaging, and miss expansion opportunities because they lack the positioning and content to execute effectively.
After building CS-marketing alignment at multiple B2B companies, I've learned: product marketers who actively support customer success drive 20-30% higher net revenue retention than those who focus only on acquisition.
Here's how PMM should support customer success teams.
Why CS Needs Product Marketing Support
What CS teams need that PMM creates:
Positioning and messaging: How to talk about product value to existing customers (different from acquisition messaging)
Competitive intelligence: How to defend against competitive displacement in install base
Content and resources: Educational materials, success stories, best practices to share with customers
Expansion frameworks: Which features/tiers to position to which customer segments
Business value articulation: ROI calculators, value realization frameworks, executive messaging
Product launches: How to introduce new features to existing customers
What happens without PMM support:
- CS creates their own materials (inconsistent, lower quality)
- Messaging diverges from company positioning
- Competitive threats addressed inconsistently
- Expansion opportunities missed due to weak positioning
- Customer education happens ad-hoc
The CS-Marketing Partnership Model
Partnership Principle 1: CS Owns Relationships, PMM Enables Them
CS team role:
- Customer relationships and strategy
- Account planning and health monitoring
- Expansion opportunity identification
- Value delivery and renewal execution
PMM role:
- Messaging and positioning frameworks
- Content and enablement materials
- Competitive positioning support
- Product launch communication
Partnership Principle 2: Shared Metrics
Metrics CS and PMM both own:
- Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
- Customer lifetime value (LTV)
- Product adoption rates
- Expansion conversion rates
When both teams have skin in the same game, collaboration happens naturally.
The PMM-to-CS Enablement Framework
Enablement 1: Customer-Specific Positioning
Acquisition positioning vs. Retention positioning:
For acquisition: "Our product helps companies achieve [outcome] faster than alternatives"
For retention: "You're already achieving [outcome]. Here's how to unlock even more value: [specific next steps]"
PMM deliverables:
- Retention messaging framework
- Expansion value props by tier
- Feature adoption positioning
- Success milestone messaging
Enablement 2: Competitive Defense Materials
The displacement threat: Competitors target your install base with aggressive competitive campaigns.
PMM deliverables for CS:
- Competitive battle cards (customer retention version)
- "Why customers stay with us" positioning
- Competitive feature comparisons
- Win-back messaging for churned customers
- Proof points from similar customers
Enablement 3: Executive-Level Content
CS needs executive-ready materials:
Executive Business Review (EBR) templates:
- Business value delivered
- ROI quantification
- Usage analytics and trends
- Strategic recommendations
- Roadmap alignment
Executive messaging:
- C-level value propositions
- Board-level metrics and outcomes
- Strategic partnership positioning
- Industry trends and benchmarks
PMM deliverables:
- EBR slide templates
- Executive one-pagers
- Industry benchmark data
- ROI calculator tools
Enablement 4: Product Adoption Content
CS drives feature adoption but needs content:
Feature adoption playbooks:
- Use case examples by industry/role
- Step-by-step implementation guides
- Best practices from successful customers
- Video tutorials and walkthroughs
- Template libraries
PMM deliverables:
- Feature benefit messaging
- Adoption campaign templates
- Educational video scripts
- Customer success stories by feature
Enablement 5: Expansion Sales Materials
CS identifies expansion opportunities but needs positioning:
Upsell positioning by scenario:
- Usage-based tier upgrades
- Feature set expansions
- Multi-product cross-sells
- Team-to-enterprise transitions
PMM deliverables:
- Tier comparison materials
- Expansion ROI calculators
- Cross-sell positioning decks
- Bundle pricing narratives
The Collaborative Content Calendar
Q1 Focus: Renewal Preparation
PMM creates:
- Annual value review templates
- Renewal positioning materials
- Success story library refresh
- Competitive renewal defense
CS uses to:
- Prepare renewal conversations
- Document value delivered
- Address competitive threats
- Position multi-year deals
Q2 Focus: Feature Adoption
PMM creates:
- New feature adoption campaigns
- Feature benefit guides
- Video tutorial series
- Customer webinars
CS uses to:
- Drive activation of underutilized features
- Increase product stickiness
- Demonstrate ongoing innovation
- Build expansion pipeline
Q3 Focus: Expansion
PMM creates:
- Upsell campaign materials
- Cross-sell positioning
- Bundle/suite messaging
- Expansion case studies
CS uses to:
- Identify expansion opportunities
- Position tier upgrades
- Sell additional products
- Drive net revenue retention
Q4 Focus: Advocacy Activation
PMM creates:
- Reference customer programs
- Case study recruitment campaigns
- Review generation materials
- Testimonial collection frameworks
CS uses to:
- Recruit advocates and references
- Create customer success stories
- Generate social proof
- Build advocacy pipeline
The CS-PMM Operating Rhythm
Weekly: Quick sync on urgent needs
- Upcoming customer calls needing materials
- Competitive threats requiring positioning
- Product updates CS needs to communicate
Monthly: Tactical planning
- Review content performance with customers
- Plan next month's enablement priorities
- Share customer insights informing PMM strategy
Quarterly: Strategic planning
- Review retention and expansion metrics
- Plan quarterly content calendar
- Align on product launch support needs
- Discuss customer segment strategies
Annual: Program planning
- Set shared goals (NRR, LTV targets)
- Build annual enablement roadmap
- Review what worked/didn't work
- Resource planning and budgeting
The CS Feedback → PMM Action Loop
CS teams hear customer feedback daily. PMM should systematize capturing it:
Feedback Category 1: Feature Requests
CS captures: "10 customers asked for [specific feature] this month"
PMM action:
- Share with product team
- Include in roadmap communications
- Create interim positioning if feature doesn't exist
- Develop workarounds or alternative solutions messaging
Feedback Category 2: Competitive Pressures
CS captures: "5 customers evaluated [Competitor X] this quarter"
PMM action:
- Update competitive positioning
- Create competitive battle cards
- Develop defense messaging
- Share with sales and CS teams
Feedback Category 3: Messaging Gaps
CS captures: "I don't know how to position [use case] for [industry]"
PMM action:
- Develop industry-specific positioning
- Create use case guides
- Build case study from that segment
- Conduct enablement session
Feedback Category 4: Content Gaps
CS captures: "I need content about [topic] for executive buyers"
PMM action:
- Create requested content
- Add to content roadmap
- Share similar existing content
- Train CS on available resources
The CS Enablement Toolkit
What PMM should provide to CS teams:
1. Customer Messaging Playbook
- Retention and renewal positioning
- Expansion value propositions
- Competitive defense positioning
- Industry-specific messaging
2. Content Library
- Case studies (searchable by industry, use case, outcome)
- Video testimonials and demos
- ROI calculators and tools
- Best practice guides
3. Presentation Templates
- Executive Business Reviews (EBR)
- Quarterly Business Reviews (QBR)
- Renewal discussions
- Expansion proposals
4. Battle Cards
- Competitive positioning (customer retention focus)
- Feature comparison matrices
- Win/loss insights
- Objection handling scripts
5. Product Adoption Resources
- Feature benefit guides
- Implementation checklists
- Training materials
- Video tutorials
6. Data and Benchmarks
- Industry benchmarks
- ROI benchmarks by vertical
- Usage statistics
- Success metrics
Common CS-PMM Misalignments
Misalignment 1: PMM focuses only on acquisition
Fix: Set shared retention metrics. Make NRR a PMM goal.
Misalignment 2: CS creates their own materials
Fix: Regular content audits. Retire CS-created materials and replace with PMM-owned versions.
Misalignment 3: No feedback loop
Fix: Monthly CS-PMM syncs to capture customer insights and prioritize content needs.
Misalignment 4: PMM doesn't understand customer journey
Fix: PMM shadows CS calls. Attends QBRs. Participates in customer events.
Misalignment 5: Content exists but CS can't find it
Fix: Organized content library. Regular training on available resources. Search functionality.
The Success Metrics
How to measure CS-PMM alignment:
Content utilization:
- % of CS team using PMM-created materials monthly
- Top 10 most-used assets
- Content requests fulfillment rate
Business impact:
- NRR improvement correlation with enablement
- Expansion conversion rates
- Customer satisfaction scores
- Advocacy program growth
Collaboration health:
- CS satisfaction with PMM support (internal NPS)
- Feedback loop completeness
- Time from content request to delivery
- CS participation in PMM planning
The Reality
Customer success teams are your front line for retention and expansion. They need positioning, content, and tools just as much as sales teams need them for acquisition.
Product marketers who treat CS as an afterthought leave money on the table. Those who actively enable CS drive measurably better retention, expansion, and customer lifetime value.
Build the partnership. Create the content. Close the feedback loop. Measure the impact.
That's how PMM-CS alignment becomes a competitive advantage.