Words Matter
Wendy Steinle
CMO | PLG & Enterprise B2B SaaS | Domo, Adobe, American Express | Advisor and Mentor
Since we’re renaming things, let’s talk about Product Marketing.?
I’m not exactly talking about turning "charisma" into "rizz"—but in a way, I am.?
Words evolve for two reasons: (1) New generations want to differentiate from those before them, or (2) changing experiences can make an established word or name burst at the seams of confinement, requiring a new one. (For example, before, we could only “have charisma,” and now we can “rizz up” a person.)?
One of today’s great marketing connectors and thinkers, Matt Heinz, has been talking recently about name shifts of foundational marketing concepts—for example, ABM to ABX, and now some are advocating for calling it List-Based or People-Based Marketing.? He's asking whether this trendy renaming is useful, annoying, inevitable—or all three.?
I’m not trying to be trendy or differentiate to create a stir, but I do think it’s time to reconsider the name “Product Marketing”—because it no longer fully captures the function’s role and can be misguiding.?
The Problem with “Product Marketing”?
The problem with “Product Marketing” is that it often leads to what I call Product-on-a-Platter thinking—an inward mindset that drives "us-focused" messaging and actions. Chest-thumping, feature-droning, comma-separated and adjective-stuffed wording that masquerades as customer-centric messaging but actually just broadcasts what we want to say, not what the customer needs to hear.?
And it limits our thinking.?
Now, you might ask: What comes first—words or thought??
I once debated this question with a good friend during a road trip from San Diego to Mammoth. As a Communications major, I argued that language acquisition was a necessary precursor to complex thought. (Side note: I even wrote a paper on this, which scored a solid 100%!)?
I believe the same applies to the Product Marketing moniker. The words we use shape how we think about the role—and right now, "Product Marketing" confines our thinking to the product, rather than inherently starting with the customer’s perspective.?
What’s the Solution??
In every marketing team I’ve been a part of or led, the Product Marketing function has been responsible for defining the ideal customer profile, key personas and needs, and how best to position offerings to them.?(I am not meaning to oversimplify the role—I grew up in marketing as a product marketer and have deep respect for the function—I just want to focus in for a moment.)?
The problem with the product lens here is that it leads many PMMs to frame their messaging around:?
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What’s missing? A direct connection to the customer’s reality—positioning in a way that resonates through the customer's lens. This can be the completion of "I need to..." or "So I can..."???
Instead of “Manage customer data...,” a stronger message would be:?
“Get a holistic view of your customer.”?
This simple shift—from what the product does to what the customer needs to accomplish—is the foundation of great go-to-market (GTM)?strategy. It's about what use cases we solve, around which we can anchor our campaigns and sales pursuits.?
Why a Name Change Matters?
GTM is how we need product marketers to think in order to scale growth in alignment with Sales and Customer Success. Yes, they still need to be deeply knowledgeable about their products—but also deeply intuitive about how to connect first through the customer’s lens?and earn more opportunity to sell their product.?
Many marketing leaders and practitioners already get this and are leading the way. But to reinforce this shift at scale, we need to rethink the name and expectations of Product Marketing.?
When your org or title is “Product Marketing,” it’s a cognitive hurdle to thinking through the customer lens. I’ve experimented with names like “Solution & Product Marketing” and “Marketing Strategy”—but the perfect term still eludes me.?
What do you think? How do you guide your teams to adopt a customer-first approach??
I deliver high-quality product marketing outcomes for CMOs, PMM leaders, and CEOs.
1 周Thought-provoking and timely, Wendy Steinle! The primary role of Product Marketing I think is to educate, influence, and ultimately persuade different buyer and influencer personas on why your product/solution is the right one for their needs. If that's true - would 'Value Marketing' more apt? But when put next to 'Revenue Marketing' and 'Growth Marketing' and other more dynamic-sounding functions, I'm not sure how motivational it would be for PMM teams who already feel strongly that their role is widely misunderstood and under-appreciated. 'Strategic marketing' I think fixes that issue, and more accurately captures what PMMs do everyday - but it strays far from the goal of renaming it to align with the customer lens. Not an easy one to solve! ??
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3 周Wendy Steinle - thought provoking for sure. While I don't love this as a new title, I believe it echoes your point -> "Marketing Manager - Customer Outcomes". As the old saying goes "people don't want to buy the drill, they want to buy the hole". Understand what they value and then put them in a place where they can see themselves there.
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3 周I agree wholeheartedly that words matter. Perhaps more in these current times than ever before. The term "product" emphasized too much lacking the customer perception may connote the customer as the product. And that connotation is a bridge directly to the term "marketing". To paraphrase the great Maya Angelou, "...people will never forget how you made them feel." So bring customer and your product's connections into the terminology somehow. Great article Wendy!!
Love this piece ! Words do matter because they associate any activities into functions and deliverables. It seems you’re advocating for creating a new category and I concur! Often PMM gets relegated as tactical product deliverables vs the strategic buyer-centric role it plays. I lean on “solution marketing” or “category marketing” but these terms feel a bit limiting too. Adding Mark Wojtasiak to this thread as he and I talked about this just recently!