Aligning Strategy for 2025: The Critical Partnership Between CMOs and CPOs in the Age of AI

Aligning Strategy for 2025: The Critical Partnership Between CMOs and CPOs in the Age of AI.

This month’s Technology Marketing Alliance (TMA) virtual event explored the critical relationship between product and marketing teams, especially in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape.

TMA board member and Virtru CMO, Matt Howard, and Mike Morper, Vice President of Product Marketing at Virtru, joined the session to detail their perspectives on how these two functions can work together to drive alignment, innovation, and business success. Hosted by TMA Chair and REQ President, Elizabeth Shea, the conversation provided the audience of senior-level communications professionals with valuable takeaways for marketing and product leaders alike.

Defining the Product-Marketing Relationship

The session underscored that the relationship between product and marketing teams is not a fixed formula but rather a continuously evolving collaboration. Matt described the dynamic as “a journey, not a destination,” explaining that the alignment between product marketing and engineering can shift based on company needs, market demands, and internal restructuring.

Providing background on their partnership, Matt and Mike shared how they initially met through TMA over a decade ago, stayed in touch, and later reconnected to work together at Virtru. Mike recalled attending a TMA event nearly 10 years earlier where Matt was presenting on SaaS metrics, sharing how the duo’s initial conversation left a lasting impression, and years later, when Matt joined Virtru and needed a product leader, he reached out to Mike. Within weeks, Mike was onboarded, proving how professional networks can lead to unexpected but rewarding opportunities.

Mike went on to explain how, for Virtru, product marketing serves as the “connective tissue” between marketing, sales, and engineering. Mike emphasized that his role is to translate market needs and customer feedback into actionable insights for the product team while working with Matt to ensure that marketing strategies align with product development. This bidirectional flow of information helps maintain a balance between meeting immediate customer demands and driving long-term product innovation.

Bridging the Gap Between Product and Customer Insights

A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the evolving role of product managers in SaaS companies. Traditionally, product managers were deeply engaged in customer conversations. However, in many organizations today, they are more closely aligned with engineering teams and may have limited direct customer interactions.

As a result, product marketing has taken on a more significant role in gathering customer insights and relaying them to the product team. Matt and Mike both agreed that product marketing should “own the voice of the customer” to ensure that customer needs are accurately reflected in product decisions.

Using Technology to Strengthen Customer Alignment

Today, emerging technologies offer new ways to automatically collect and synthesize customer insights to drive efficiency. One of the most game-changing tools that Virtru has implemented is Gong, an AI-powered conversation analytics platform that captures and analyzes sales calls. By leveraging Gong, product and marketing teams can gain real-time insights into customer pain points, objections, and preferences without needing to be in every meeting.

Instead of relying on occasional customer interviews, Mike shared how product managers at Virtru can now set up Gong alerts for specific keywords, such as “compliance challenges” or “integration issues.” This immediate access to customer conversations allows for a more informed and data-driven approach to product development. As Matt put it, “It eliminates debates based on opinion and instead brings empirical data into the decision-making process.”

Beyond Gong, the team also utilizes Jira Product Discovery to streamline idea management and prioritize product features. By systematically tracking market feedback and product requests, the company ensures that resources are allocated efficiently.

Leveraging AI for Increased Efficiency

The discussion also touched on the growing impact of AI tools in marketing and product management. Matt shared that Virtru is an early adopter of AI, using it to enhance content creation, competitive analysis, and internal workflows. He noted that AI allows teams to generate quality content at scale, significantly reducing turnaround time.

However, both speakers cautioned that while AI can boost efficiency, it should not replace human oversight. AI-generated content still requires review and refinement to ensure accuracy and brand alignment. The key takeaway? AI should be used as an enhancer, not a replacement for human expertise.

Key Takeaways for Marketers and Product Leaders

The discussion concluded with actionable insights for professionals looking to improve collaboration between product and marketing teams:

1. Establish Clear Roles: Define responsibilities for product marketing and product management to prevent misalignment.
2. Prioritize Customer Insights: Product marketing should play a key role in translating market needs into product strategies.
3. Invest in Technology: Tools like Gong and Jira Product Discovery can streamline communication and ensure alignment between teams.
4. Embrace AI Thoughtfully: Use AI to enhance efficiency but maintain human oversight for quality assurance.
5. Build Strong Professional Networks: Relationships forged in industry groups like TMA can lead to future business opportunities.

This quarter’s TMA event highlighted the critical role of collaboration between marketing and product teams in driving business success. By leveraging technology, fostering cross-functional communication, and staying connected to customer needs, organizations can create a more agile and effective go-to-market strategy.

As the conversation wrapped up, attendees were encouraged to continue the discussion, share experiences, and stay engaged with the TMA community. If you missed this session, you can catch additional insights here. Stay tuned for future TMA events that bring together industry leaders to share insights and best practices.