I was building out Season 1 of this podcast and realized I had a gap: I'd never actually talked about how to set launch goals. So I asked a bunch of PMMs how they approach it. Most of them said some version of the same thing: "I kind of guess." That's when Tamara—who I know through PMM Camp—dropped a post on this exact topic. She walked through the entire process: how to think about it, what questions to ask, where to get your numbers. And it wasn't vague theory. It was tactical, step-by-step stuff. So we recorded this episode. Tamara's the founder of PMM Camp and has set launch goals across companies like Unbounce and FreshBooks. She's seen what works and what doesn't. And she's been incredibly generous about breaking down the whole thing. Why do you need to set a launch goal? According to Tamara, most PMMs feel like they're picking a number out of a hat when they set launch goals. But it's actually much more logical than that. It's about understanding what company goal you're supporting with the launch—are you driving acquisition, retention, expansion, or entering a new market?—and then working backward from there. Once you know the underlying company goal, you can connect every assumption, every metric, and every success criteria back to it. Without that connection, you'll hit a number but miss alignment. And alignment is what gets you recognized. Here's how Tamara approaches setting launch goals: Step 1: Connect the launch back to the company goal — Start by asking: What is the company trying to achieve by building this? Are we acquiring new customers, retaining existing ones, expanding revenue, solving churn, or entering a new market? This conversation comes first—before anything else. It's the foundation everything else hangs on.Step 2: Ask "Why are we building this?" and align your product manager — Don't assume the product solves everything. Approach your PM with curiosity and frame it as a team effort: "How do we both position ourselves to get the highest impact outcome?" Get clear on the primary business driver. If your PM says "this feature will do everything," dig deeper. Most launches need a singular focus, even if the product has broader potential.Step 3: Size the market opportunity with real assumptions — Take the company goal and break it down into segments, customer counts, and realistic conversion rates. Tamara uses this example: If you have 2,000 customers and only 20% use Feature X, and you assume 50% of those might be interested in an upgrade, and you can convert X%, will that actually move the needle? Back out multiple scenarios to find the realistic path forward that's both reasonable and exciting for the business.Step 4: Pressure-test your assumptions with cross-functional teams — Bring in the people who know more than you. Work with your Product Manager to validate assumptions. Talk to Sales about close rates and pipeline breakdown for the segments you're targeting. Ask Finance if you have historical data on similar launches or if your percentage assumptions are right. You're not looking for permission—you're looking for the missing pieces of the puzzle.Step 5: Build a KPI tree and use it for every launch — This is Tamara's number one recommendation. Map out your business from top to bottom: Level 1 metrics (acquisition, conversion, engagement, retention, expansion), then drill down into how you actually drive each one, then go one level deeper. Most PMMs don't even know what the levers are in their business. Once you have the tree, you use it for every project to isolate where that particular launch can have impact—and connect that impact back up to the company goal. Resources from this Episode Subscribe to Tamara's Newsletter: a weekly insight into product marketing strategyConnect with Tamara: LinkedInLearn more about PMM Camp: pmmcamp.com And a special shout out to this season's sponsor, PMM Camp — the community for PMM leaders, and where this whole thing started.
