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Your research and development team has been working on a new product for months and putting valuable resources into its design and manufacturing. They’ve carefully researched the market and the problem they intend to solve.
They’ve brainstormed and planned out the best possible product, and then meticulously crafted it before testing its functionality to make sure that it does indeed do what it was meant to do.
You are convinced that this is the best addition to the world since chocolate.
With an amazing product ready to go to market, there’s only one question left in your mind. How are you going to announce your product and get it in front of potential customers, i.e. the people who will actually buy it?

For this step of the process (and ideally since the very beginning of research and development), you’ve got a product marketing manager ready to take the next step with your new creation. Without marketing, your product (no matter how amazing it is), will never be found by the customers whose problem it would solve. This could lead to lackluster sales, a financial failure, and potential customers who are still suffering from their original problem.
From that perspective, you can see how valuable good product marketing managers are. Let’s learn more about this pertinent role.
What is a product marketing manager?
You may be wondering, what is a product marketing manager (PMM) and how essential are they to my product launch? A product marketing manager is an individual who takes ownership of the positioning, messaging, and branding of a product.
To get an even better idea of this role, let’s take a look at this sample product marketing job description.
Product Manager Job Description
A product marketing manager will be responsible for overseeing the creation and distribution of promotional campaigns for key products. This individual will have a keen understanding of the product’s target audience, and in-depth knowledge of relevant product features.
Product Marketing Manager Skills and Qualifications:

Foundational marketing and campaign management experience
Project management skills
Strong organizational and communication skills
The ability to analyze relevant information and make informed decisions
The ability to prioritize tasks and responsibilities across projects

For this role, employers look for a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree, ideally in business administration, marketing, or a related field of study. Some employers may seek candidates who hold advanced degrees and have more extensive experience in marketing, sales, or advertising.
While not required, there are certifications available (such as the Certified Product Marketing Manager distinction) that can help better prepare Product Marketing Managers for the responsibilities they are about to take on.
According to PayScale, the base salary for Product Marketing Managers in the U.S. is $92,628 per year though this can vary depending on the company and level of experience.
What does a product marketing manager do?
These individuals are responsible for crafting a story about the product that will entice potential customers to purchase the product, and collecting customer feedback after launch.
When the product is being prepared for launch, the product marketing manager (or team) will be brought into the process to educate the public about the value and benefits of the offering so they can convert potential customers into raving fans.
To do this, the PMM will focus on three levels of the sales funnel:

Acquisition: Bringing awareness to your product through content such as social media, copywriting, and blogs. This requires the product marketing manager to determine what type of campaign needs to be done, create a budget for the marketing endeavors, craft a project plan to map out when this content will be released, and oversee a team who will create the desired content.

Engagement: Building trust and creating conversation with potential customers through events, campaigns, and specific calls to action.

Conversion and Retention: Converting potential customers into paying customers for one-time purchases and keeping existing customers loyal through subscription models or add-on purchases (when appropriate).

It’s worth noting that from one company (or campaign) to the next, the responsibilities and expectations placed on a product marketing manager may differ.
How does a product marketing manager differ from a product manager?
With similar titles, it can sometimes be difficult to understand the different roles available within a company. Many often confuse product marketing managers with product managers, and while there are similarities, the roles carry very different responsibilities.
Both a product marketing manager and a product manager provide a voice for the product. However, the difference is who they are speaking to. A product manager is vocal during the production stage of a product. They speak internally on behalf of the product, communicating with engineers and developers regarding the features and functionality of a product. A product manager is focused on answering the question, “Does this product solve the problem we intend it to solve?”
A product marketing manager, on the other hand, is responsible for speaking to the outside world. They are focused on the question, “How will people know that this product solves their problem?” They will create a launch plan and work with the social media team, the PR team, the marketing team, and the sales team to ensure a successful product launch and to spread the word regarding this new or improved product.
While these individuals will fulfill very different roles, they will find themselves working together at times. Both the product manager and the product marketing manager must have a solid understanding of the buyer persona and will share the research they’ve done to assist the other.
The role of a marketing manager can be confused with a product marketing manager as well. Again, there are similarities and overlap, however, a marketing manager often works on general marketing activities to grow awareness across a company’s user base. They will typically spend less time doing research and developing buyer personas.
Creating a product is only half the battle. In order to succeed with your product launch, make your product wildly profitable, and ensure that it gets into the hands of the individuals you intended to help, you need someone at the marketing helm. When you choose the right product marketing manager, they will lead the right customers to your product.

Whether they have an issue they want to be resolved or ideas they think would improve the company or better serve clients, employees just want to be heard.
When you don’t create an open line of communication with your team, they may feel discouraged, leading to poor morale and ultimately lower production. Not to mention that employees who feel undervalued are likely to take their time and talents elsewhere.

But an open-door policy can help employees bring fresh ideas to the table and make you aware of small issues before they become major problems that affect everyone. Here’s what an open-door policy entails, how you can create one yourself, and some examples of open-door policies in action.
This workplace standard should foster communication and trust throughout the company, and employees should not have to fear retaliation should they raise issues with the company or their work with any managers. Instead, they should feel heard and supported through an open door policy.
Benefits of an Open Door Policy
There are several benefits to maintaining an open-door policy in the workplace. First, it fosters better communication across the company. It also helps employees speak their minds about workplace issues as soon as possible, which minimizes conflicts.
An open-door policy can help employees feel more supported and valued by management, which boosts morale and ultimately productivity. It may even lower turnover rates.
In one study on employee voice, researchers found that at a national restaurant chain with over 7,500 employees and 335 general managers, turnover decreased by 32% and saved the company $1.6 million per year by allowing employees to voice their concerns.
Why You Need an Open-Door Policy
Without an open-door policy, your team may experience an increase in workplace conflicts if people don’t feel comfortable raising issues sooner rather than later.
Some employees may begin to isolate themselves if they feel they can’t speak to managers about ideas or concerns. Ultimately, these employees may even leave the company in hopes of finding a workplace culture that is more transparent and communicative.
Plus, without an environment that feels open and supportive, you could be missing out on great ideas that improve the company if employees don’t feel that they can share their ideas with you.
When you’re ready to start implementing an open-door policy in your office, follow these five steps to setting up the standard and following it through.
1. Add It to the Handbook
To make your open-door policy official, you want to add it to the company handbook, so employees are able to review the policy at any time. This also adds more accountability for supervisors to follow the policy.
2. Communicate Expectations
If an open-door policy is new to your employees, you should explain what it is, how it works, and what it will look like for your team.
For example, some companies have a pretty literal open-door policy, meaning when a manager’s door is open, employees can pop in to talk. Discuss how the open door policy works, so employees feel comfortable if they need to use it.
3. Set Boundaries
Creating open and direct lines of communication with management is good, but without boundaries, this can also lead to a loss in productivity. Set boundaries that work for you and your team.
Can employees drop by to discuss issues anytime, or should they email you to set up a meeting? Alternatively, you can share times of the day or week that are the best for employees to stop by your office, rather than leaving yourself open all the time, which can prevent you from doing your work.
Also, consider boundaries on discussion topics. Employees should feel comfortable speaking to management if there’s a conflict with another employee, but this shouldn’t become a way for teammates to gossip about one another or undermine co-workers.
4. Actively Listen to Employees
If an employee comes to you with a problem or idea, make sure you are actively listening to the employee. Otherwise, it can come off as if you don’t care. That means stop typing and sending off emails when they are trying to speak to you. Instead, maintain eye contact, ask thoughtful questions, and end the conversation with a recap of what you discussed.
5. Address Concerns In a Timely Fashion
Some workplaces say they have an open-door policy, but when employees voice their concerns, nothing is actually done. Follow through on your open-door policy by addressing issues as soon as possible after an employee comes to you.
Open-Door Policy Examples
Many companies across different sectors have open-door policies for their teams. Here are some top examples of various companies that use open-door policies to boost transparency, communication, and productivity.
1. IBM
IBM, a massive technology company operating in over 170 countries, has had an open-door policy for several years. It allows employees to access higher management to discuss concerns. As an added level of security, IBM also allows employees to speak confidentially and send reports by phone, email, or even snail mail.
In a study on an IBM subsidiary in France, researchers found that the more the open door policy is communicated to employees, the more confident employees feel in the policy, an example that any workplace should consider as they set up their own open-door policy.
2. HP
HP, another major technology company, has a policy that invites employees to raise concerns quickly and opens communication across all levels of the company. As part of its expectations, HP notes that open communication should be part of day-to-day business practices for all employees.
As far as boundaries go, employees should first bring up their concerns within their own chain of command before taking it to the Ethics and Compliance office. Finally, employees should feel comfortable giving or asking for feedback without any fear of retaliation from management or co-workers.
3. Keka
Keka is an HR payroll software company that prides itself on making employees feel safe, inspired, and fulfilled by their job. So it’s no surprise that the organization has its own open-door policy.
For its own policy, Keka uses open doors literally and figuratively, allowing teams to communicate frequently whether in-person or virtually. This company’s policy applies across various levels and departments of the company, so anyone can raise their concerns to any relevant party.
The policy clearly outlines the expectations and boundaries for the policy, including what types of topics, are considered relevant for discussion and how to have the most effective discussion to resolve issues promptly.
4. Saint Louis University
Open door policies are encouraged at higher education institutions, too. At Saint Louis University, the open-door policy is meant to create a more informal conflict-resolution process that is an add-on to other procedures for employee reviews and staff grievances.
The policy notes that employees can bring up questions, suggestions, or concerns, typically to their immediate supervisor, for assistance. If employees do not receive assistance, the policy directs employees to follow the more formal Staff Grievance Policy.
5. Health Information Alliance, Inc.
The Health Information Alliance, Inc. implements an open-door policy designed to foster a positive work environment. In this open-door policy, there are specific issues outlined that are “open-door issues,” including, “disciplinary action, work assignments, interpretation or application of policies and procedures, transfer and nonsupervisory promotions, or other employment issues.”
Other issues, like evaluations or personal conflicts, are notably not included.
This is more of a hybrid open-door policy that also follows a traditional chain of command, where the employee is encouraged to first speak with their direct supervisor. If their complaint is about their supervisor, then they can go up the chain of command to their supervisor’s manager.
Although considered a more informal route of resolving issues, this policy makes an important note that open-door issues should be thoroughly documented in order to best resolve each concern.
Improve Employee Morale and Trust With an Open-Door Policy
The key to any successful relationship is communication, and that certainly applies to workplace employees. If you want your employees to feel supported, supervisors and executives should consider implementing an open-door policy.
With this workplace standard, employees can raise concerns over company procedures, other employees’ conduct, their pay, or any other work-related issues. It also opens the door for employees to share their ideas, which can benefit the entire company by making things run more efficiently or improving productivity.

Imagine it’s 2005, and a small drinkware business opens up in the center of town. Although they have a simple website to provide store information and field online inquiries, their collection of customized mugs, shot glasses, and more continuously grow in popularity due to loyal customers and word of mouth.
Now imagine it is 2015. The small team has done well for itself; however, its online presence is suffering. Underestimating the shift to online shopping, the company cannot handle the influx of questions, feedback, and requests to create an eCommerce platform.

Once they’ve identified this problem, how do they implement changes to field this issue and stop it from happening again?
Successful businesses require systems and processes. If situation A happens, what are the steps in response? Organizational development (OD) enables companies with a systematic approach to identifying issues, implementing changes, and evaluating the success of the process.
What is organizational development?
Organizational development is a systematic process aimed at initiating and implementing changes in the values or operations of an organization to promote long-term growth and efficiency. It equips organizations with the tools to assess themselves and advance their core strategies, processes, and structures in response to internal and external changes.
OD serves to increase communication and productivity, improve products and services, create a workplace culture that embraces advancement and increase profit margins.
Organizational Development and Human Resources
Organizational development and human resource management are both processes centered on people. The two are often confused due to overlap; however, the former is a more holistic approach to organizational change while the latter prioritizes the individual.
Career planning, diversity orientations, and employee assistance programs are all examples of human resource management. While the outcome of HRM affects the overall organizational development of a company, it focuses on managing one individual.
Meanwhile, OD works at all levels within an organization. One person lies at the center of some OD processes, for example, individual interventions and job enrichment, but organizational development functions on individual, group, and organizational levels.
Understanding and explaining the similarities and differences between OD and HRM can be challenging. It helps to understand the following: Human resource management enhances the employee experience and ultimately benefits the organization. Organizational development focuses on aligning employees with the company’s values.
Organizational Development Interventions
OD interventions allow organizations to make successful changes. Interventions are actions taken to improve a situation. Ultimately, these structured processes help enact the changes to advance the values or operations of an organization.
The four organizational development interventions are:

Human Process
Technostructural
Strategic Change
Human Resource Management

Human Process
Human process interventions aim to improve interpersonal relations at the individual, group, and organizational levels. These take place in response to changes that happen within an organization.
Individual interventions provide employees with coaching on interpersonal skills — conflict management, team building, and body language — in the event of new hires or internal transitions.
Similarly, group interventions affect the structure or process of a group that might be necessary for department changes. Large-scale changes, however, like the introduction of new company goals and vision, are examples of organizational interventions.
Technostructural
Technostructural interventions are programmed changes to revitalize a company’s structure and processes. The initiation of this OD intervention should match the fast pace of the tech and job industries. These types of interventions follow an approach based on improving an organization’s technology and structure through job design, system changes, workplace hierarchy, and more.
Strategic Change
Strategic interventions help increase competitive advantage and how an organization can implement changes to its structure, processes, or policies to make it happen. They are especially effective when companies undergo changes to their function, for example, replacing core products or services with something new, or when they experience trans-organizational changes in the form of mergers or acquisitions.
Human Resource Management
Human resource management (HRM) interventions focus on integrating, developing, and supporting individuals within a company. An example of this is the implementation of diversity programs to ensure employees feel represented and included in the workforce regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, and race.
Organizations implement the four OD intervention methods in numerous ways ranging from individual or organizational levels. Let’s take a look at a few examples.
Organizational Development Examples
Most organizational development initiatives can fit within one of the four intervention categories mentioned above. Examples of OD include:
Individual Interventions
Individual interventions are an example of human process interventions. They are aimed at behavior modification. This action usually happens in response to issues in the workplace. A well-known example of interventions that we see in pop culture is for alcohol and drug use.
Typically when the use of these addictive substances becomes excessive, the concerned family and friends of the individual confront them with the negative impact of their substance abuse. These interventions often end with a plea to seek treatment. Alternatively, individual interventions in the workplace usually occur in response to situations like lack of communication or workplace errors.
Job Enrichment
Job enrichment enables the management of employees in a way that creates growth opportunities. This techno structural intervention technique involves creating and redesigning jobs that account for the interest and skills of the individual. Its goal at an organizational level is to create a motivating job for employees.
A job enrichment program might include interventions as simple as increasing an employee’s autonomy by allowing them to decide when to take their break. Depending on the industry, another example of job enrichment is job rotation — moving employees from department to department to increase their skill set.
Transformational Change

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Transformational change is literally a transformation of the organization at its core. For example, if IHOP decided to focus on burgers instead of the popular breakfast food pancakes, this would be a transformational change for the company. These changes often occur to keep up with changing consumers.
Performance Management
Performance management is a well-known example of HRM. It is a continuous process between an employee and their supervisor that includes setting expectations and goals, providing feedback, and evaluating performance.
Hence, performance reviews fall under this initiative. Both job enrichment and performance management focus on the individual, but the latter supports the individual more than the organization.
Organizational Development Models
After an organization has identified a problem, it is time to address it. Organizational development models provide step-by-step processes to initiate and guide the changes needed to reach the desired outcome. The European Centre for Research Training and Development UK lists the four organizational development models as:

Lewin’s Three-Stage Model
Action Research Model
Appreciative Inquiry Model
General Model of Planned Change

Lewin’s Three-Stage Model
Proposed by social scientist Kurt Lewin in 1947, the core components of this model are unfreezing, moving, and refreezing. Unfreezing involves loosening the structures around the current system or going against the status quo in preparation for step two.
Moving is when the organization introduces and implements the decided changes. Communication with employees during this stage is especially crucial to facilitate a smooth transition.
During the last step — refreezing — the organization has already integrated the changes. Reinforcement is a significant part of this step. It ensures that the new policies have become the standard among all employees.
Action Research Model
The action research model also credits Kurt Lewin as its creator. According to the social scientist, this model has two purposes — solving problems and generating new knowledge.
The action research model follows a continuous eight-step process: problem identification, consultation with behavioral science experts, data gathering and preliminary diagnosis, feedback to key clients or groups, joint diagnosis of a problem, joint action planning, action, and data gathering. After data gathering, the process returns feedback to key clients or groups and repeats.
Appreciative Inquiry Model
First proposed in 1987, the appreciative inquiry model is also called the ‘positive model.’ Instead of focusing on the negative, it focuses on the successes of the organization. The goal is to equip members with the skills to identify when the organization is running well and optimize these conditions to get better results.
General Model of Planned Change
In 2009, organizational experts and professors Thomas Cummings and Christopher Worley proposed a general model for planned change. The four steps are: entering and contracting, diagnosis and feedback, planning and implementation, evaluation, and institutionalization.
Because organizational change is rarely linear and involves overlap and feedback, the process continues after the final step by returning to a previous one.
Organizational development is a long process.
Organizational development is not a process that happens overnight. It is a long, continuous cycle of initiating, implementing, and evaluating change in an organization.
Whether it is happening at the individual, group, or organizational levels, organizational development has one goal — to promote the long-term growth and productivity of a company.

Online payment solutions are essential for just about any type of business. Booking and making payments online is convenient for many consumers, so it’s important to make sure your business is keeping up.
Small businesses, startups, and even massive corporations can all benefit by offering online payments to consumers, but how can you securely accept different forms of payments? For global businesses, what if you need to accept multiple currencies?

The solution is to find a trusted, reliable online payment method platform that makes the customer experience seamless while giving you more control over and insight into your income.
For many online businesses, payments can be accepted from credit cards, debit cards, or a direct connection to one’s bank account.
Benefits of Online Payments
Taking payments online can help you reach a wider audience, and many online payment methods will also offer data analysis to give you a better idea of what your consumers are most interested in from your business. Online payments can also offer a layer of security for consumers and businesses alike.
Many online payment solutions will offer post-payment workflows, so your business will automatically send emails to follow-up with clients after their purchases. These methods will keep payments together in one spot, which is easier to manage than stacks and files of receipts in an office.
There are many online payment solutions for business owners these days, but you’ll want to work with ones that fit your business needs. Plus, you should consider options that can scale as your business grows and methods that offer security and great customer service.
1. DepositFix
DepositFix makes it easy to integrate other business resources, including HubSpot forms, Stripe, and PayPal. That means you can seamlessly accept payments through HubSpot forms, and the payment information will send directly to your business’ Stripe or PayPal accounts. This technology allows you to create workflows following customers’ payments, so they’ll automatically receive follow-up emails, receipts, upsells, or requests for product or service reviews after their purchases.
DepositFix works best for businesses that sell digital products or services. It also allows you to collect donations or send invoices. It offers top-notch security for peace of mind for you and your clients. If you need to get in touch, this platform offers a Help Library for self-service, or you can reach customer service via phone or email.
In one case study, The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation was able to move from offline, over-the-phone payments to a more secure, streamlined system online thanks to DepositFix. Online payments went from about 10% to over 53% and are still growing after the company implemented the online payment solutions from DepositFix.
2. Stripe
A great payment method for small businesses and large corporations alike, Stripe offers payment processing services for businesses. This comprehensive platform allows both online and in-person businesses to accept payments digitally, all while preventing fraud with its Radar protection. Stripe integrates with popular online shopping systems like WooCommerce and Shopify.
Stripe is popular globally, and it supports over 135 currencies and payment methods. It’s easy to start using, too; you can have it ready to go for your business in about 10 minutes. In addition to robust documentation, you can get 24/7 support from their customer service team.
Slack, a major communication platform for businesses, uses Stripe in 15 countries for payments. Even when it saw a surge in use during the pandemic, Stripe offered 100% uptime and boosted company earnings globally by optimizing online payments.
3. One Page Pay
One Page Pay works with several different CRMs, including HubSpot, as well as different payment platforms like Stripe, PayPal, Take Payments, and GoCardless. It creates a dedicated payment form page and sends sale details straight to email or your CRM. This platform offers bank-level security for your consumers’ data, and you can set up your first payment form in under five minutes.
Choose from a single or two-column form, or work with One Page Pay to create a custom payment form that suits your exact needs. You can generate reports based on the transactions, and because this service integrates with HubSpot, it will automatically follow up with consumers with things like surveys or digital product delivery after their purchases. 
4. Square
Square is a popular payment solution and one of the best online payment methods for small businesses. Whether you want to offer appointments, sell physical or digital products, or run a restaurant that takes orders online, Square has you covered. You can send invoices and/or collect payments all from this platform, and it even offers a free eCommerce service to help you get your business up and running.
Square offers everything from hardware for brick-and-mortar retailers to e-gift cards and a dashboard with analytics to track your success. With Square, you can also manage your payroll — from inputting time cards to automatically paying employees — and open a Square checking account without fees for your business. With its online payment solution, you can also easily add shopping cart buttons, purchase links, and QR codes to help direct clients to your products and services.
5. Checkout HQ
Imagine being able to create a searchable database of your products, create personalized payment and quote forms, and access attribution reports to see how your marketing efforts impact revenue. This is all the reality with Checkout HQ, which integrates with HubSpot to make online payments a breeze. 
The platform automatically works with your current HubSpot theme, so it’ll fit into your brand right out of the box. It also integrates with Stripe for payments, and you can customize the checkout experience to boost the customer experience.
6. Collect
Start accepting credit card payments online with Collect, which will work right on your HubSpot pages rather than sending clients to a different window. It’s easy to install, requiring no coding knowledge to set it up, and it makes the client experience seamless from the time they visit your site to when they make the purchase.
Take secure payments right on your website, plus add pricing tables, buy buttons, and payment forms. You can even allow customers to make one-time purchases or subscribe to your products or services.
Collect currently integrates with Stripe but also plans to work with other payment services in the future. There’s no per-transaction fee, so you simply pay for the Collect subscription without the added cost for every sale.
7. Authorize.net
Authorize.net has been in the online payments game since 1996, and it’s trusted by nearly 450,000 merchants. The service helps businesses handle over $149 billion in payments each year. 
This platform allows your business to collect money via credit card, contactless payment, and even electronic checks to better suit your customers’ needs. Authorize.net handles everything from authorizing, capturing, and settling payments securely.
8. PayPal
PayPal has rapidly become one of the top online payment methods, with the platform seeing an annual payment volume of over $930 billion in 2020. Consumers can pay you via their credit or debit cards, their PayPal balance, or their bank accounts. The platform allows customers to pay quickly with one click, and its innovative Store Cash feature helps convert users that have abandoned their carts into sales.
PayPal integrates with many major eCommerce platforms, so it can work with your existing systems. You can also add shopping cart, buy now, or donate buttons easily, or work with PayPal to create a more robust and custom online payment solution.
9. Intuit
Intuit offers a suite of tools for businesses, including flexible payment solutions for companies that want to accept online payments. You can offer credit cards, debit cards, eCheck, or ACH payments both online and in-person, making payments convenient for clients. 
The scheduling tool allows you to schedule automatic, recurring invoices, and the payments are integrated with your Quickbooks account for seamless bookkeeping, quick deposits, receipt capture and organization, bill pay, income, and expense tracking, and more.
10. Dwolla
Dwolla is an online payment solution that is scalable, so you can rely on it to accept payments as your business grows. You can tailor the payment platform to suit your business’ needs and match your branding, and it offers excellent security for sensitive data.
You can send or receive funds, perfect if you need to pay contractors or if you want to receive consumer payments. Payment methods for Dwolla include ACH, balance-to-balance between Dwolla users, real-time payments, push-to-debit, or wire transfers.
Boost Sales By Offering Online Payment Solutions
Offering online payments for consumers makes the shopping experience easier than ever. Plus, when your online payment solution offers extra benefits like automated follow-up emails or scheduled invoicing, you can further boost profits and customer satisfaction.
There are many online payment solutions out there, so find one with robust features that fit your needs, fees that work into your budget, and security and support to give you and your clients peace of mind.