A sales rep asks on Slack: "What's our positioning against Competitor X for healthcare customers?"
You know you documented this somewhere. Was it in that positioning doc from Q3? The battle card? The sales training deck from last quarter? That Notion page someone created?
You spend 15 minutes hunting through folders, Slack history, and Google Drive. The rep moves on and wings the answer.
This happens daily in most PMM organizations. Critical knowledge exists but isn't findable. Teams recreate work that's already been done. New hires take months to get up to speed.
The problem isn't lack of documentation. It's lack of a centralized, searchable, maintained knowledge base.
Here's how to build one that actually works.
What Belongs in the PMM Knowledge Base
Core positioning and messaging:
- Company positioning and value props
- Product-level positioning
- Feature messaging
- Persona-specific messaging
- Industry-specific variations
Competitive intelligence:
- Battle cards for each major competitor
- Competitive landscape maps
- Win/loss analysis summaries
- Pricing comparisons
- Feature comparison matrices
Customer insights:
- Buyer personas
- Customer research summaries
- Jobs-to-be-done frameworks
- Common objections and responses
- Use cases and scenarios
Sales enablement:
- Demo scripts
- Discovery question guides
- Objection handling playbooks
- ROI calculators and value frameworks
- Pitch decks and one-pagers
Launch history:
- Launch retrospectives
- What worked / didn't work
- Adoption metrics
- Positioning evolution
Process documentation:
- Launch playbooks
- Research templates
- Approval workflows
- Vendor contacts
This is your team's institutional memory. Without it, knowledge walks out the door when people leave.
The Information Architecture
Most knowledge bases fail because of poor organization. People can't find what they need.
Use a three-tier hierarchy:
Tier 1: Audience-based top level
- For Sales (battle cards, objection handling, pitch decks)
- For Product (customer insights, competitive analysis, market research)
- For Marketing (messaging, positioning, campaign briefs)
- For PMM Team (processes, templates, retrospectives)
Tier 2: Topic-based second level
Under "For Sales":
- Competitive Intelligence
- Product Positioning
- Sales Plays
- Demo Resources
Tier 3: Specific content
Under "Competitive Intelligence":
- Battle Card: Competitor A
- Battle Card: Competitor B
- Competitive Landscape Map
- Win/Loss Summary Q4 2024
This structure mirrors how people think: "I'm a sales rep looking for competitive info about Competitor X."
Choosing Your Platform
Notion
Best for: Flexible organization, rich content, internal teams
Pros:
- Great search
- Easy linking between pages
- Beautiful formatting
- Templates and databases
Cons:
- Can get messy without governance
- Performance issues with very large workspaces
Confluence
Best for: Large enterprises already using Atlassian
Pros:
- Strong permissions and governance
- Good integration with Jira
- Enterprise-grade security
Cons:
- Less intuitive UX
- Slower to create/update content
Google Drive/Docs
Best for: Small teams, simple needs
Pros:
- Familiar interface
- Easy collaboration
- Free
Cons:
- Poor search across documents
- Difficult to maintain structure
- Version control challenges
Guru
Best for: Sales-focused knowledge management
Pros:
- Browser extension for easy access
- Verification workflows ensure freshness
- Good Slack/Salesforce integration
Cons:
- Less flexible for non-sales content
- Card-based format doesn't fit all content types
Pick one and commit. A mediocre knowledge base that everyone uses beats a perfect one that's too complex to maintain.
Content Creation Standards
Create templates for common content types:
Battle Card Template:
# Competitor Name
Last Updated: [Date] | Owner: [PMM Name]
## One-Line Positioning
[How we position against them in one sentence]
## When We Win / When They Win
**We win when:** [3 bullets]
**They win when:** [3 bullets]
## Trap Questions
[5 questions that expose their weaknesses]
## Objection Responses
[5 common objections with scripted responses]
## Proof Points
[3 customer stories]
Positioning Document Template:
# Product/Feature Name Positioning
Last Updated: [Date] | Owner: [PMM Name]
## Target Audience
[Primary and secondary personas]
## Problem Statement
[What pain are we solving?]
## Our Solution
[How do we solve it uniquely?]
## Value Propositions
[3-5 value props by persona]
## Key Differentiators
[What makes us different/better?]
## Proof Points
[Customer examples, data points]
## Messaging Hierarchy
- Headline
- Supporting points
- Proof
## FAQ
[Common questions and answers]
Standardized templates make content:
- Faster to create
- Easier to find
- Simpler to maintain
- More useful to consumers
The Maintenance System
Knowledge bases decay fast. Last year's competitive intel is worse than no intel.
Assign ownership:
Every major page has:
- Owner (responsible for keeping current)
- Last review date
- Next review due date
Review rhythms:
- Battle cards: Monthly for top 3 competitors, quarterly for others
- Positioning: After each launch or major market shift
- Customer insights: Quarterly
- Processes: After each retrospective
Use verification workflows:
Tools like Guru have built-in verification prompts. For other tools, create a simple tracking sheet:
| Document | Owner | Last Updated | Next Review | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Card: Competitor X | Sarah | Jan 15 | Feb 15 | Current |
| Enterprise Positioning | Mike | Dec 20 | Mar 20 | Needs Update |
Review this tracker weekly in team meetings.
Sunset old content:
Don't let outdated content linger. Options:
- Archive (visible but marked as outdated)
- Delete (if truly no longer relevant)
- Update (if still valuable but needs refresh)
Making Content Discoverable
Naming conventions:
Good: "Battle_Card_Competitor_X_2025" Bad: "New doc from Sarah"
Good: "Enterprise_Positioning_Product_A_v3" Bad: "Updated positioning FINAL v2 really final"
Include keywords people will search for.
Tagging and metadata:
Tag content with:
- Content type (battle card, positioning doc, research)
- Audience (sales, product, marketing)
- Product/feature
- Competitor (if applicable)
- Status (current, in review, archived)
Good platforms let you search by tags.
Cross-linking:
In battle cards, link to:
- Related product positioning
- Customer research
- Win/loss analysis
- Sales plays
This creates a knowledge graph where information connects naturally.
Search optimization:
Most teams underuse search. Improve it:
- Include keywords in first paragraph
- Use headers that match search terms
- Add FAQ sections with common questions
- Create index pages for major topics
Onboarding with the Knowledge Base
New PMMs should spend week one reading the knowledge base:
Day 1: Company and product positioning Day 2: Top 3 competitor battle cards Day 3: Customer personas and research Day 4: Launch playbooks and processes Day 5: Recent launch retrospectives
Create a "New PMM Onboarding" page linking to everything they should read in order.
New sales reps should have a similar path through sales-relevant content.
Integration with Tools
Slack Integration:
Set up slash commands:
/pmm positioning [product]returns positioning doc/pmm competitor [name]returns battle card/pmm persona [name]returns persona doc
Reduces friction in finding information.
CRM Integration:
Embed battle cards directly in CRM competitor records. Sales sees intel without leaving Salesforce.
Sales Enablement Platform Integration:
Sync key content to Highspot/Seismic so reps can access during deal cycles.
Don't silo knowledge. Meet people where they work.
Measuring Knowledge Base Effectiveness
Engagement metrics:
- Page views per week
- Search queries
- Most/least accessed pages
- Time on page
Low engagement signals:
- Content isn't relevant
- Organization is poor
- People don't know it exists
- Other sources are easier
Outcome metrics:
- Time for new hires to ramp (should decrease)
- Repeat questions on Slack (should decrease)
- Content reuse across launches (should increase)
- Sales confidence scores (should increase)
Track quarterly. If metrics aren't improving, the knowledge base isn't working.
Common Knowledge Base Mistakes
Too much process documentation, not enough practical content:
Don't fill the knowledge base with "how to submit a request" docs. Focus on content people need to do their jobs: positioning, competitive intel, customer insights.
No clear owner:
"Everyone maintains it" means no one maintains it. Assign a knowledge base manager who ensures content stays current.
Creating instead of curating:
If great content exists in Google Docs, link to it. Don't recreate everything in the knowledge base platform.
Too many access restrictions:
Yes, some content should be confidential. But if sales can't access competitor intel because of permissions, they won't use it. Default to open access within the company.
No communication strategy:
Build it and they won't come. You need to actively promote:
- Weekly "Featured Page" callouts
- Slack reminders with useful links
- Training on how to search effectively
- Recognition for people who maintain great pages
The Knowledge Base Champion Program
Recruit 2-3 people from each partner team (sales, product, marketing) as knowledge base champions:
Their role:
- Share new content with their teams
- Gather feedback on what's missing/broken
- Help maintain pages relevant to their team
- Model good knowledge base usage
Give them swag, recognition, and influence over the roadmap.
Starting Small, Scaling Smart
Month 1: Create top 10 most-requested pages:
- Top 3 battle cards
- Core positioning docs
- Key customer personas
- Launch playbook
Month 2: Add process docs and templates. Train team on usage.
Month 3: Integrate with Slack and CRM. Launch to broader company.
Month 4+: Add more content based on usage data. Optimize based on feedback.
Don't wait to build the perfect knowledge base. Start with the essentials and grow based on what people actually use.
A good knowledge base turns tribal knowledge into institutional memory. It makes your team more effective and resilient to turnover.
Build it. Maintain it. Use it.