One of the biggest frustrations Product Marketing Managers (PMMs) face isn’t just juggling cross-functional priorities—it’s that many internal teams don’t fully understand what PMMs actually do. Unlike sales or engineering, where outputs are more visible, PMM contributions are often indirect, strategic, and harder to measure.

This lack of clarity can lead to underutilization, role confusion, or even skepticism about the value of product marketing. Let’s unpack why this happens, why it matters, and how PMMs can educate internal teams about their critical role.

Why Internal Teams Don’t Understand Product Marketing

1. The Role Varies Across Companies

Unlike sales or engineering, which are fairly standardized, the PMM role shifts based on organizational needs:

• At startups, PMMs might own everything from messaging to growth campaigns.

• At enterprises, PMMs may focus narrowly on GTM strategy or enablement.
  This variability creates confusion.

2. Invisible Impact

PMMs shape positioning, messaging, and enablement—work that influences outcomes but isn’t always immediately visible. A strong sales deck may close deals, but sales often gets the credit.

3. Overlap With Other Roles

PMMs touch product, sales, and marketing. Without clear boundaries, teams may assume PMMs are just “marketers” or “junior product managers.”

4. Focus on Strategy Over Execution

Because PMMs often work behind the scenes—building frameworks, guiding positioning, and synthesizing insights—their work may not look like direct output.

Why Visibility Matters

1. Influence and Trust – If teams don’t understand PMMs’ role, their insights may be overlooked.

2. Alignment – Misunderstandings lead to misaligned expectations and duplicated efforts.

3. Career Growth – Lack of visibility can stall recognition, promotions, or resource allocation.

4. Business Performance – Without clarity, product launches, messaging, and campaigns may suffer from poor execution.

In short: visibility isn’t about ego—it’s about enabling PMMs to deliver impact.

How to Educate Internal Teams About Product Marketing

1. Define the Role Clearly

• Share a simple statement: “Product Management builds the product. Product Marketing brings it to market.”

• Break down core responsibilities: positioning, GTM, enablement, customer insights.

• Distinguish PMM from adjacent functions to prevent overlap.

Tip: Create an internal “PMM one-pager” that outlines responsibilities and deliverables.

2. Share Wins Regularly

Visibility grows when PMMs tie their work to tangible outcomes:

• Show how updated messaging improved conversion rates.

• Highlight sales feedback on new enablement tools.

• Present adoption data linked to GTM efforts.

Example: A PMM could share that a revised pitch deck led to a 20% higher close rate.

3. Involve Teams Early

Bring sales, product, and marketing into PMM projects from the start:

• Share customer insights with product.

• Review messaging drafts with sales.

• Co-own GTM milestones with marketing.

Involvement builds understanding and ownership.

4. Run Internal Education Sessions

Hold workshops or lunch-and-learn sessions to explain:

• How PMMs craft messaging.

• What goes into a GTM launch.

• How insights are collected and shared.

Benefit: Helps teams see the strategic depth of PMM work.

5. Leverage Internal Communication Channels

• Use Slack or Teams to post “insight of the week.”

• Share win stories in company newsletters.

• Publish competitive updates in shared docs.

Micro-communications build ongoing awareness.

6. Align Around Shared Metrics

Instead of focusing only on PMM activities, align goals with other teams:

• Sales: pipeline influenced, win rates.

• Product: feature adoption, NPS.

• Marketing: conversion rates, campaign ROI.

Shared success reinforces PMM’s role as a collaborator, not a silo.

Overcoming Common Perceptions

• “PMMs are just marketers.”
  → Clarify the strategic difference between brand marketing and product marketing.

• “PMMs don’t own revenue, so how do they add value?”
  → Show how positioning and enablement directly influence revenue metrics.

• “PMMs slow us down with too much process.”
  → Demonstrate how frameworks save time and reduce rework.

Case Study: Canva

At Canva, PMMs faced role confusion during rapid growth. They solved it by:

• Creating clear documentation on what PMMs own.

• Running regular “voice of customer” updates to keep teams informed.

• Partnering with sales to measure the impact of new messaging.

This transparency helped Canva scale without losing alignment between product, marketing, and sales.

Conclusion

Product Marketing Managers are often the unsung heroes of product success. But when internal teams don’t understand their role, PMMs risk being sidelined or undervalued.

By defining responsibilities clearly, sharing wins, educating teams, and aligning around shared metrics, PMMs can raise visibility and earn trust. The result isn’t just more recognition—it’s stronger collaboration and better outcomes for the business as a whole.