Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. (https://www.ama.org/the-definition-of-marketing-what-is-marketing/)

Marketing was once the 4 Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. Now, it's only promotion focused on generating demand. The parts that remain unaddressed are creating, delivering, and exchanging value.

Steve Johnson says, "We used to refer to this as 'big-M or little-m' marketing. Big-M Marketing is a department, usually focused on promotion. Little-m marketing is a function, focused on product strategy, planning, and growth." The marketing function includes product management.

Product management, a crucial part of marketing strategy, is pivotal in aligning products with market needs and enhancing customer value. It is both a function and a strategic imperative that empowers the company to make critical decisions.

In his 1931 memo, Neil McElroy, the founder of product management, defined the best product management model as one that puts decision-making as close as possible to the customer, making the product manager the voice of the customer to all other departments, including development, packaging, positioning, promotion, and distribution. This model contributed to Hewlett-Packard's 50-year record of consistent double-digit yearly growth between 1943 and 1993.

Alas, this is far from true now. I shed light on two creations of the modern tech industry that led to our current state.

1. Gaslighting of product management as a technical function

In tech, product management has become closely associated with software delivery. Deficient product management training and experience have diminished the role's purpose and value. CPO burnout and feature factories are two unfortunate consequences of this misinterpretation.

My network in big tech, consisting of senior product professionals, provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of product management, a significant shift from traditional product management practices. Many prominent tech product managers are now more focused on managing engineering backlogs, often to the detriment of customer engagement. Product teams function as feature factories, frequently working on ideas-first, gut-based planning and rarely interacting with customers. Product managers are commonly forbidden to contact customers directly.

For a product to succeed in the market, it is crucial to understand and position it effectively. It requires spending time in the field and directly engaging with customers.??

Unfortunately, many tech product leaders lack this direct customer experience, making it challenging to market their products confidently. As a result, they often rely on their communications colleagues to develop go-to-market strategies. This over-reliance may be a key reason why only 5% of new products successfully reach their market goals.

Today's marketing teams know projects, not products. Many have added a?product buyer management function to bring product expertise into the communications team.

2. Messy titles and job descriptions that expect product managers to be unicorns

Titles can be confusing in the tech world. For example, what one company calls a product manager, another might call a product owner. The title you hold should reflect the level of responsibility you have. As a product manager or owner, you are responsible for the product's success, growth, and profitability, not just software delivery.

A recent LinkedIn post by a well-known growth leader based in Silicon Valley discussed her professional journey. She listed her titles as growth marketing, growth product, and product marketing manager (product buyer manager). She voiced her dislike for the latter and now focuses on and promotes growth, which seems contradictory.

Growth is essentially the technical aspect of product buyer management, involving optimizing the buyer journey through experimentation. People who do not value product buyer management may not fully understand growth.

Product job descriptions often showcase extensive skills, creating an impression that may not always align with reality. Finding a single product manager who excels in development, promotion, sales, and strategy is unrealistic and sets them up for failure. Instead, employing three specialized roles to work together is more effective for product success.

Product Portfolio Manager: Focuses on product lifecycle management, such as strategy and roadmap.

Product User Manager: Concentrates on customer lifecycle management, specifically retention and the user journey.

Product Buyer Manager: Deals with customer lifecycle management, emphasizing acquisition and monetization in the buyer journey.

Also, unlike traditionally defined, these are director-level roles, as individuals in these positions direct other functions (not direct reports) to create value.

The popular Quartz Open Framework reveals the scope of product management and marketing strategy, from defining the product to delivering it to customers and exchanging value. At its core, product management is continual learning by staying closely connected to the market. There's much more to product management than just creating the software. (https://www.productgrowthleaders.com/quartz-open-framework)

Let's revisit the fundamentals and put an end to the gaslighting. Product management has always been a marketing role beyond just campaigns and demand generation; it involves the strategic aspect of marketing, which requires a deep understanding of customer needs, aligning the organization around a product vision, and ensuring the product meets market demands profitably. It is the bridge between customer insights and internal processes to drive business growth. Returning to these foundational principles cannot be overstated.