Product Marketing: A Century of Rinse and Repeat? Or A Future in Crisis?
Product marketing…it’s a phrase we can’t seem to escape. Everyone’s talking about it like it’s a brand-new innovation. Yet, we’ve been marketing products and services for, what? A century, at least. So why all the fuss about “product marketing” today? Is it just a shiny buzzword we’ve slapped onto old-school practices, or is there really something new under the sun? And more importantly, where is this all going?
TL;DR
Let’s Be Real:
Product marketing has been stuck in a cycle, repeating the same tactics for decades. But with shifting consumer expectations, it’s make-or-break time for real innovation.
The Lowdown:
Consumers are tired of one-size-fits-all approaches. If product marketing doesn’t evolve, it risks losing relevance, and audience trust, in an era demanding authenticity and adaptability.
What’s In It for You:
67% of consumers feel that most product marketing feels generic and lacks relevance (Edelman, 2024).
Brands focusing on personalized marketing see 2x the engagement and customer retention (McKinsey, 2024).
Product marketers who embrace data and AI-driven insights are 3x more successful in adapting to changing trends (Gartner, 2024).
Products vs. Services: Aren’t We Just Splitting Hairs?
Let’s start with the basics. For decades, we’ve been selling two things: products or services. Simple, right? Either you're buying something tangible (a product) or intangible (a service). But in this tech-driven world, the lines have blurred so much that calling it “product marketing” feels like a half-truth. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), for example, isn’t just a product or a service, it’s both. So why is product marketing treated like it’s suddenly the next big frontier, when we’ve been in this game for decades?
Here’s the rub: the distinction between products and services is becoming irrelevant. And yet, the obsession with product marketing keeps growing. Are we just rebranding old concepts to feel modern, or are we actually innovating?
Today’s Product Marketing: Evolution or Repetition?
Look, I get it. Product marketing today is different from your grandparent's version. We’re not just slapping a label on a box and calling it a day. Product marketers are now responsible for so much more: customer insights, product positioning, messaging, even influencing the development roadmap. It's not just about selling what the product is; it's about shaping how customers feel about it. It's the entire customer journey that product marketers are tasked with.
But let’s pause and ask: How much of this is really new?
For decades, we’ve understood that customers buy solutions, not just products. Different frameworks, methodologies and approaches tell us that people "hire" products to solve specific problems. We’ve known this for years—yet somehow, today’s product marketers act like they’ve stumbled onto the Holy Grail. Have we really evolved, or are we just finding more sophisticated ways to say the same thing?
The Blurring of Boundaries: The Future or a Full Circle?
Here’s where things get interesting, or circular, depending on your viewpoint. The more product marketing evolves, the more it seems we’re just merging it back with general marketing. We started with simple distinctions: product vs. service. Then came product marketing, more focused, more nuanced. But now, we’re blurring the lines again, combining product strategy, go-to-market, brand strategy, and customer experience into one nebulous job description.
So where does this end? Are we on the verge of product marketing absorbing all marketing disciplines, becoming this super-discipline of all things strategic? Or will we end up back where we started, just calling it plain ol’ “marketing”?
Devil’s Advocate: Is Product Marketing Reaching Its Expiry Date?
Let’s be real: in a world where the lines between product and service are so thin they’re practically invisible, do we even need to separate product marketing as a function anymore? Maybe the future isn’t about "product marketing" as a distinct discipline, but about a return to the fundamentals of marketing; knowing your audience, solving problems, and creating value.
And here's the kicker: what if the future of product marketing is actually in its demise? As businesses shift to experience-driven ecosystems, will “products” become secondary to the overall experience? When every product comes with a service, and every service with a product, does it make sense to keep separating them? Maybe, just maybe, product marketing as we know it is racing toward obsolescence.
Where Do We Go from Here?
There’s no denying the importance of product marketing today, it’s a strategic powerhouse. But let’s not kid ourselves. The more sophisticated it gets, the more it begins to look like old-school, foundational marketing, dressed up in digital-era jargon. The difference is the tools we use, the data we have access to, and the level of customer understanding we now need to compete in a noisy market.
The future of product marketing isn’t about making it bigger or more complicated, it’s about going back to what marketing was always meant to be: customer-centric, data-driven, and insightful. Maybe the future is one where “product marketing” fades into the background, leaving us with just one word: marketing.
Sources:
Edelman. (2024). Consumer Trust Barometer.
Reveals that 67% of consumers feel product marketing lacks relevance, highlighting the need for more targeted strategies.
McKinsey & Company. (2024). The Power of Personalization in Product Marketing.
Demonstrates how brands using personalized marketing achieve twice the engagement and retention compared to generic approaches.Gartner. (2024). AI-Driven Insights and Trends in Marketing.
Highlights that AI-powered product marketers are three times more likely to adapt to shifting consumer trends effectively.