Introduction

Product marketing: it’s a discipline that sits right at the intersection of product management, marketing, sales, and customer success. While the term may not have existed in its modern form a decade ago, it has rapidly evolved into a core function within many tech organizations. Product marketers listen to customers, shape the product’s story, and arm sales teams with the insights they need to win deals.

‍

We recently spoke with a seasoned product marketer, Paul, who shared his perspective on the role, why it’s crucial to a company’s success, and how tactics like video content can enhance your go-to-market efforts. From understanding what product marketing even is to learning why it often involves balancing the needs of multiple teams, Paul’s insights shine a spotlight on what makes product marketing both challenging and rewarding.

Defining Product Marketing: The Voice of the Market and the Produc

At its simplest, product marketing is all about understanding customer pain points and translating them into a value-driven product narrative. Paul puts it this way: “We’re the voice of the market to the product team, and also the voice of the product to the market.” It’s a two-way street:

Voice of the Market to Product: Product marketers talk to customers, study their requests, and decode their language. They help product managers understand real-world needs and ensure that future features address genuine user challenges.

Voice of the Product to Market: Once a feature or product is ready, product marketers craft messaging that conveys its benefits clearly. Their job is to say, “Here’s what we built, here’s why it matters, and here’s how it solves your pain.”

How Product Marketers Gain Customer Insights

Understanding your customers requires a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. While social media listening, support tickets, and online chatter offer valuable clues, product marketers also lean heavily on direct conversations. Tools like call recording software (e.g., Gong or Chorus) and user interview platforms can capture the voice of the customer. Paul explains that product marketers frequently join sales calls, conduct direct interviews, and analyze recorded sessions to refine messaging and identify trends.

From Legal Tech to Modern SaaS: Falling into Product Marketing

Not many product marketers enter the field knowing exactly what it is. Like Paul, many stumble into it after discovering a passion for bridging product capabilities with user needs. Exposure to multiple teams—sales, product management, support, and more—gradually reveals that the product marketer’s sweet spot lies in synthesizing all these perspectives into a cohesive message. Over time, they become the linchpins who keep product direction and market needs tightly aligned.

Advice for Those Starting Out:

Seek Broad Exposure: Early in your career, meet with as many departments as possible. Learn what sales reps do all day, understand what product managers prioritize, and see how support teams interact with customers. This holistic view will strengthen your product marketing instincts.

Focus on the Customer’s Pain Points: Always ask yourself: “What problem are we solving?” Product marketing starts and ends with understanding the customer’s world.

The Strategic Value of Product Marketing

One key misconception? Some executives or stakeholders may not grasp why product marketing matters. The truth is, product marketing ensures that what you build matches what the market actually wants. Without it, you risk launching features no one asked for—or worse, failing to communicate why those features matter.

Paul notes that product marketers often serve as early strategic hires because they guide product-market fit. They understand competitors, recognize what differentiates your product, and create campaigns that highlight those distinctions. This strategic lens is especially critical in fast-growing companies where go-to-market plans need constant refinement.

The Marriage of Product Marketing and Video Content

In a world saturated with content, video stands out. Paul emphasizes video’s role in storytelling: “Video is a no-brainer to capture attention. It allows you to show, not just tell.” High-level brand videos can set the tone during a product launch, while quick, lo-fi demos (like a short Loom recording) can help users understand new features in context.

Types of Product Marketing Videos:

High-Production Launch Videos:

For major feature rollouts, polished videos add credibility and help your product stand out.

Short In-Product Clips:

Lo-fi tutorials can demonstrate workflows in real time, making release notes more intuitive and increasing adoption.

Platform-Specific Clips:

On networks like TikTok or Instagram, user-generated-style videos blend into a user’s feed, making marketing feel less intrusive and more authentic.

Overcoming Internal Tensions: Sales vs. Product Marketing

A common friction point is the relationship between sales and product marketing. Sales teams often request one-off materials—custom decks, specialized one-pagers—to win specific deals. Product marketers, however, must think long-term and scalable. To strike the right balance:

Set Boundaries and Priorities:

Clarify what product marketing does and doesn’t do.

Intake and Evaluate Requests:

Use forms or a backlog to assess if a request addresses a widespread pain point or just a single deal.

Collaborate for Impact:

Show sales why certain projects deserve priority. For instance, a new battle card or competitive analysis can benefit the entire sales org, not just one rep.

Measuring Success: KPIs and Beyond

What does success look like for product marketing? There’s no single answer, but common metrics include:

Lead Generation & Conversion:

Do product marketing campaigns yield qualified leads and demos for sales?

Adoption & Engagement:

Are customers using new features? Are monthly active users increasing?

Internal Enablement:

Are sales, success, and support teams better equipped to speak about the product confidently?

While direct attribution can be tricky—especially for something like a launch video—setting benchmarks and comparing outcomes over time helps justify investments and optimize strategies.

Embracing Creativity and Fun

It’s easy to forget that product marketing can be a fun, creative role. Beyond data and deadlines, product marketing invites storytelling, experimentation, and out-of-the-box thinking. As Paul advises: “There’s a creative side to product marketing. We got into this field to shape narratives, find clever ways to engage customers, and share what makes our product special.”

Looking Ahead

As the field evolves, product marketers face a world of new possibilities—like leveraging AI to speed content creation or refining personalization strategies. Still, the essence remains the same: understand your customer’s world and tell a compelling story about how your product fits into it.

‍

Key Takeaways:

Be the Bridge: Product marketing links market insights to product development and vice versa.

Customer-Centric: Focus on real-world pains to shape your messaging and product roadmap.

Video Matters: High-quality video can boost engagement, while platform-specific, low-fi content can reach audiences on their own terms.

Build Internal Alignment: Clear communication and prioritization help balance requests from sales and other teams.

Never Lose the Fun Factor: Creativity and narrative storytelling set great product marketers apart.