Product marketing is supposed to drive strategy, shape positioning, and influence go-to-market execution. But too often, it plays too nice—acting as a service function instead of a strategic driver.
PMMs sit in meetings, take requests, tweak messaging, and create yet another deck because someone in sales or product “needs it ASAP.” They become reactive instead of proactive. And the result? PMM turns into a glorified content team rather than the strategic force it should be.
Here’s the truth: If product marketing wants to be taken seriously, it needs to stop being nice and start owning the room.
Where PMMs Go Wrong
1. Taking Orders Instead of Setting Direction
PMM should be the voice of the market inside the company, not just the team that makes things sound better. But too often, product marketers let sales dictate messaging, let product drive positioning, and let leadership define strategy without their input.
The problem? Sales is focused on this quarter. Product is focused on features. Leadership is focused on whatever the board cares about this month. None of them are thinking about the long-term positioning of the company the way PMM should be.
This is how companies end up with positioning that changes every six months, messaging that feels disconnected from reality, and sales teams that struggle to differentiate in the market.
If product marketing just nods along and executes what others ask for, it’s failing. PMMs need to lead conversations, not just contribute to them.
So what should PMM do instead?
- Own the positioning strategy. Don’t wait for leadership to dictate it—bring a clear, market-backed perspective.
- Be the bridge between product and revenue. PMM should challenge sales and product to think beyond their immediate priorities and align on the bigger picture.
- Set the messaging guardrails. If every sales rep is saying something different, PMM hasn’t done its job.
2. Smoothing Over Problems Instead of Fixing Them
PMMs love to refine, wordsmith, and make things palatable. But sometimes, the best move is to call out what’s broken—a weak differentiation strategy, a confused sales motion, a product roadmap that doesn’t align with market needs.
Too often, PMM sees these problems but hesitates to challenge them. Why? Because it’s easier to tweak the messaging than to tell leadership, “This isn’t going to work.”
This is how we get…
- Product launches that flop. Because PMM was brought in at the last minute to “fix the messaging” instead of shaping the go-to-market strategy from the start.
- Sales teams that struggle to close. Because the value proposition was built around internal assumptions instead of real customer pain points.
- Competitive positioning that feels off. Because PMM wasn’t empowered to challenge how the company differentiates.
PMMs need to stop being afraid of difficult conversations. Instead of smoothing things over, they should be saying:
- “This feature isn’t ready for launch.” (If it won’t drive adoption, launching now does more harm than good.)
- “This messaging isn’t differentiated.” (If a competitor could swap in their name and it still works, it’s not positioning—it’s filler.)
- “Sales isn’t set up to win with this strategy.” (If the frontline team can’t tell a compelling story, the GTM motion is broken.)
3. Defining Success by Deliverables Instead of Impact
A great PMM team isn’t measured by how many one-pagers, sales decks, or battlecards they produce. But somehow, that’s what a lot of PMM teams get judged on.
Instead of celebrating content output, PMMs should be asking:
- Did we shift the perception of our product in the market?
- Did we help sales close more high-value deals?
- Did we influence the roadmap in a way that drives real adoption?
If all you’re doing is delivering things instead of driving results, you’re making yourself replaceable.
The best PMMs actively change how their company competes. They push back when product is building something that doesn’t align with market needs. They set the foundation for sales to sell effectively—not just by giving them content, but by shaping the entire narrative that supports their conversations.
How PMM Can Take Back Control
The best PMM teams act like strategic operators, not order takers. That means:
- Owning positioning—not just messaging. If PMM doesn’t define the company’s differentiation, someone else (with less market insight) will.
- Pushing back when something doesn’t make sense. You don’t need to be combative, but you do need to be clear: “This won’t land in the market the way we want it to.”
- Making leadership see PMM as a business driver, not a content function. The strongest PMMs tie their work to revenue, pipeline influence, and competitive wins—not just collateral.
PMMs who take this approach don’t get stuck in execution mode. They set the direction for why things get done, not just how they get executed.
The Bottom Line
PMM is at its best when it’s proactive, strategic, and bold. But too often, it gets stuck playing nice—smoothing things over, taking orders, and measuring itself by content output instead of business impact.
The solution? Stop waiting for permission. Start leading the conversation. Because the PMMs who own their seat at the table don’t get stuck making decks. They get invited to shape the strategy.