Product Marketing Managers (PMMs) are often masters of external communication—crafting messages that resonate with customers, creating campaigns that drive adoption, and enabling sales with persuasive narratives. Yet, ironically, one of their toughest challenges lies inside the organization: educating other functions about what product marketing is and why it matters.

Misunderstanding the PMM role can lead to underutilization, duplicated efforts, and friction across departments. Let’s explore why this challenge exists, what happens when it goes unresolved, and strategies for teaching other teams the value of product marketing.

Why Educating Other Functions Is Hard

1. Role Variability

Unlike sales or engineering, product marketing doesn’t look the same at every company.

• At some organizations, PMMs focus on go-to-market (GTM) strategy.

• At others, they emphasize sales enablement or customer research.

• In early-stage startups, one PMM may wear 10 different hats.

This inconsistency makes it hard to set universal expectations.

2. Indirect Impact

PMMs rarely “own” outcomes like revenue or churn directly. Instead, they influence these through positioning, enablement, and messaging. Other teams may struggle to see the direct link between PMM activities and results.

3. Overlap With Adjacent Functions

PMMs operate in the overlap between product, marketing, and sales. Without clear boundaries, colleagues may assume PMMs are just brand marketers or junior product managers.

4. Strategic vs. Tactical Focus

While other teams often measure success in execution (features shipped, deals closed, leads generated), PMMs spend time on strategy, frameworks, and insights. The value of this work isn’t always obvious day to day.

Consequences of Misunderstanding PMM

1. Underutilization – Teams may not involve PMMs early enough in product or campaign planning, reducing their ability to add value.

2. Misalignment – If sales, product, and marketing don’t understand PMM’s role, GTM efforts may lack cohesion.

3. Duplicated Efforts – Marketing may create campaigns without PMM input, or sales may craft their own messaging that conflicts with positioning.

4. Reduced Morale – PMMs may feel undervalued or constantly justifying their existence.

Why Education Is Part of the PMM Role

PMMs can’t just wait for recognition—they must proactively educate others. By clarifying responsibilities and demonstrating value, PMMs:

• Build trust with cross-functional partners.

• Establish authority as subject-matter experts.

• Ensure smoother collaboration and alignment.

• Strengthen organizational impact.

Education isn’t extra work—it’s essential to PMM success.

Strategies for Educating Other Functions

1. Create Clear Documentation

• Draft an internal guide: “What Product Marketing Does at [Company].”

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

• Include concrete examples of deliverables: battlecards, personas, messaging frameworks.

Benefit: Provides a reference point to reduce confusion.

2. Run Cross-Functional Workshops

Hold interactive sessions with sales, product, and marketing teams:

• For sales: “How PMMs help you close deals faster.”

• For product: “How customer insights inform the roadmap.”

• For marketing: “How positioning improves campaign ROI.”

Benefit: Makes PMM value tangible to each function.

3. Share Wins Transparently

Educating isn’t just explaining—it’s proving impact. Regularly highlight how PMM work connects to outcomes:

• “Our revised messaging improved landing page conversions by 15%.”

• “The new sales deck helped reduce time-to-close by 10 days.”

• “Competitive battlecards increased win rates against X competitor.”

Benefit: Reinforces PMM contributions with measurable results.

4. Embed PMMs in Cross-Functional Processes

Instead of positioning PMMs as outsiders, integrate them into team rituals:

• Join product roadmap meetings to represent the voice of the customer.

• Sit in on sales pipeline reviews to capture objections.

• Partner with demand gen on campaign strategy sessions.

Benefit: Education happens organically through collaboration.

5. Develop “PMM Advocates” in Each Department

Identify champions in sales, product, and marketing who understand PMM value.

• Share insights with them first.

• Equip them to communicate PMM contributions to their peers.

• Use advocates to scale education across the org.

Overcoming Common Objections

• “We already have marketing, why do we need product marketing?”
  → Explain the difference: brand marketing builds awareness, while product marketing drives adoption and sales alignment.

• “PMMs don’t bring in direct revenue.”
  → Demonstrate how enablement, messaging, and positioning directly influence pipeline and win rates.

• “We don’t have time for PMM processes.”
  → Show how frameworks reduce rework, accelerate launches, and prevent misaligned campaigns.

Case Study: Atlassian

At Atlassian, PMMs faced skepticism from engineers and sales leaders early on. They solved it by:

• Running regular “voice of the customer” briefings for product teams.

• Sharing data that linked PMM-led messaging updates to higher conversion rates.

• Building launch playbooks that standardized GTM processes.

Over time, PMMs became trusted partners, not just another layer of marketing.

Conclusion

Educating internal teams about product marketing isn’t optional—it’s an ongoing responsibility. Without it, PMMs risk being misunderstood or sidelined. With it, they earn trust, drive alignment, and unlock their full potential as strategic connectors between product, sales, and marketing.

The key is to combine clear definitions, transparent wins, active collaboration, and ongoing communication. When other functions understand and respect product marketing, the entire organization benefits—from better launches to stronger revenue performance.