May 21, 2025
by Alexandria Snow / May 21, 2025
Every brand has a story to tell.
To quote my partners in sales, “We all have skin in the game.” So we take time, craft positioning documents, research our competitors, and work with the tools available to tell our compelling story. The problem? We all tend to sound the same.
We follow the same prompts and templates, and as AI-generated content floods every channel, all of our brilliant messaging becomes eerily interchangeable.
That said, in this brave new world, you can’t afford to ignore AI tools; you might just need to embrace them. But not all applications are created equal. While some tech innovations promise to revolutionize how we connect with buyers, they also make an overwhelming sea of white noise that drowns out your differentiation.
The result? I’ll say it again: we all sound the same.
So, how do product marketers stand out in 2025? The key isn’t just telling a better story or using a new AI tool — it’s building a connection with your audience. In this blog, we’ll explore how product marketing is evolving to keep pace with the times and what it takes to break through the clutter in an era of endless digital noise.
I could tell you that product marketing is an art, but it’s not. It’s not a science, either. It falls somewhere between. You can’t just list your features and walk away; you have to tell a story — something that resonates with your audience while differentiating your product and brand. It can’t be too flowery or too dry, and you can’t just trust an AI tool to do it for you.
Storytelling can transform a product from a set of functionalities into a meaningful solution that solves real problems. Buyers don’t just purchase software because of its technical specs; they buy into the promise of making their jobs easier, their businesses more successful, or their frustrations disappear. Emotion plays a significant role in purchase decisions, and a well-crafted narrative helps potential customers see themselves in the story, whether it’s overcoming a challenge, achieving a goal, or outpacing the competition.
The language you use is key. It should be simple and easy to understand. Your brand’s tone of voice should be clearly defined and evident to your audience. Are you approachable and fun? Professional? Empathetic? Joyful? How you speak to your buyers will trigger an emotional response. Ask yourself what emotion you want them to walk away feeling.
Once you have a clear picture of what you want your audience to feel every time they run across your brand, you then need to consider the story you’re telling.
Okay, so I am approachable but credible, with a fun sense of humor that captures their attention — what next? Ask yourself what action you’re driving. What do I want your audience to do?
“Buy,” you say, but I say dig deeper! What is the next step in their journey? Rarely does a buyer see one ad and say, “Yes! I am buying that!” You have to build a relationship with credibility over time. Sure, sometimes it is as simple as getting them to sign up for a webinar, but more likely, the action you want them to take is to simply think of you the next time they have a problem.
Once you have your emotions and goal laid out, it is time to craft your narrative. There are hundreds of methods you can use to tell your story. Pick your favorite and run at it, follow the hero's journey, or write a story spine. Once you have a draft, test it out, iterate, and try again. Congratulations! Now you are getting somewhere.
However, great storytelling alone isn’t enough. You have to sell a product, and if your product sounds just like every other option in the market, you have missed the mark. A compelling narrative needs to be paired with clear competitive differentiation.
If your story doesn’t also highlight what makes your solution the best choice, it risks blending into the background. The key is to balance emotional storytelling with strong positioning, ensuring your message is not just engaging but also distinctly your own. Positioning frameworks and messaging houses lay a critical foundation for your narrative. Ask yourself, “What problems am I solving? What are the real differences between me and the other guy? Why take action instead of sticking with the status quo?”
Do you see the cycle now? This goes back to building credibility and having your buyer think of you the next time they are faced with a problem. You don’t want them thinking of your tech category, you want them thinking about you!
This requires continuously testing and refining your messaging based on customer feedback, market shifts, and competitive dynamics. The best product marketers don’t just tell great stories; they tell the right story, to the right audience, in a way that makes their product the obvious choice.
In many industries, “feature sameness” is a major challenge. Competing products often offer similar capabilities, making it difficult for buyers to distinguish between them. When every solution promises better efficiency, deeper insights, or seamless integration, differentiation is lost.
Without clear positioning, even the most innovative products risk blending into the noise. If prospects can’t quickly understand why your solution is different — and better — they’ll either choose a competitor or make no decision at all. Also, strong positioning isn’t just about grabbing attention; it’s about making it easier for buyers to see your product as the obvious choice.
The foundation of strong positioning comes down to three key principles: clarity, relevance, and uniqueness.
Clarity means messaging is simple, direct, and free of jargon, so prospects immediately grasp what you are trying to say and the value you deliver. Relevance means tying your positioning to real customer pain points. Messaging that doesn’t align with what buyers actually care about will fall flat. Finally, uniqueness is what sets your solution apart from the competition; without it, you risk becoming just another option in an already saturated market.
Many companies fall into common positioning traps that dilute their impact. One mistake is being too broad. Trying to appeal to everyone often results in vague, forgettable messaging. Another misstep is focusing too much on internal language rather than speaking the customer’s language; what makes sense inside your company may not resonate with buyers. A third pitfall is failing to reinforce differentiation. If your messaging sounds just like your competitors, you’ll struggle to stand out.
Messaging and positioning templates do shoulder some of this blame. When everyone follows the same playbook, there is a risk of sameness.
The key to avoiding these mistakes is ongoing refinement: testing messaging with real customers, monitoring competitors' positioning, and continuously evolving your narrative to stay relevant and distinct in the market.
Great, so you nailed it. You have a differentiated message. You are all done, right?
Not so fast. Have you considered how you are going to measure success?
Many of us in product marketing struggle with attribution. Why?
Product marketing sits at the intersection of multiple teams — sales, demand generation, customer success, product — yet it rarely “owns” a single revenue-driving motion outright. This makes attribution one of the biggest challenges we face. Unlike demand generation, which can point to lead volume and pipeline sourced, or sales, which can track closed deals, product marketing’s impact is often indirect.
A product marketing manager (PMM) influences messaging, positioning, enablement, and go-to-market (GTM) strategy, but tying those efforts to concrete business outcomes isn’t always straightforward. When impact isn’t easily measurable, product marketing management (PMM) risks being seen as a nice-to-have rather than a core growth driver.
If you are unable to prove ROI clearly, you put yourself in a vulnerable position, especially as budgets tighten. Leadership needs justification for every dollar spent, and teams that can’t demonstrate their impact are often the first to face cuts. If product marketing is perceived as a reactive, support function rather than a strategic driver of revenue, it loses influence over business decisions. This is why measuring impact isn’t just a challenge — it’s a necessity.
Let’s talk about some of the most frustrating (and wrong) takes about attribution that product marketers face.
This misconception assumes that only quota-carrying teams or those with direct pipeline ownership contribute to revenue. In reality, product marketing fuels the entire sales and marketing engine. The right positioning can shorten sales cycles, increase conversion rates, and even drive expansion revenue. PMMs may not close deals themselves, but their influence is undeniable.
This is an outdated mindset. Just because product marketing management doesn’t own pipeline or bookings doesn’t mean its impact can’t be measured. Instead of looking for a single vanity metric, PMMs should track their influence across the funnel — win rates for well-positioned products, competitive takeaways based on messaging shifts, pipeline velocity improvements after a strong sales enablement push, or expansion revenue from targeted adoption campaigns.
This is one I am guilty of. While content downloads and asset usage provide insight into product marketing management’s reach, they don’t tell the full story. It’s a mistake to reduce product marketing’s impact to engagement metrics alone. A whitepaper download means nothing if it doesn’t contribute to pipeline acceleration. PMMs should go beyond surface metrics and look at how their work moves the needle, whether it’s influencing closed-won deals, improving win rates in competitive deals, or driving product adoption and retention.
To show true business impact, PMMs need to align their efforts with measurable outcomes across the customer journey:
Product marketing management can’t prove its value in a silo. To get credit, PMMs must actively work with sales, demand generation, and customer success to connect their efforts to measurable results. Sometimes, this may be manually watching specific opportunities as they go through the funnel. Other times, it can be through standard campaign tracking.
In any case, you should work to build relationships across functions that have the perception of owning a piece of the revenue pie.
Make your competitive insights and positioning a core part of the sales strategy, and ensure messaging is integrated into demand generation campaigns. If PMMs wait for leadership to recognize their impact without proactively proving it, they’ll always struggle for visibility.
At the end of the day, PMMs are growth drivers — not just content creators or sales support. The more you take ownership of your influence on revenue, the easier it becomes to secure resources, expand influence, and solidify your role as a strategic powerhouse.
Alright, you made it this far and learned about the elements and impact of product marketing. I bet that now you're expecting me to drop some secret formula that will revolutionize your product marketing management strategy. Well, I hate to break it to you, but there’s no magic trick — just a lot of intentional, strategic work.
What I can do is walk you through my process, step by step, so you can refine your own approach.
Before writing a single word of messaging, I start by understanding my buyers and customers. What are their biggest challenges? What keeps them up at night? Most importantly, how does my product actually help? I gather insights from customer calls, win or loss interviews, sales feedback, and online forums. If I can’t articulate my audience’s pain points in their own words, I’m not ready to move forward.
Once I have a grip on my audience, I zoom out to see what my competitors are saying. Are they targeting the same pain points? Are they missing something my product uniquely solves? I note their strengths and weaknesses so I can craft messaging that doesn’t blend in but stands out. If I have an edge, I make sure it’s crystal clear.
Now that I know what my messaging needs to do, I align it with what my cross-functional partners need to be successful. Am I creating a sales battlecard? A messaging framework? A pitch deck? Each deliverable should be easy to consume and directly useful. No one wants a beautifully written doc that collects dust — adoption is everything.
With the core messaging built, I shift to enablement and validation. I work closely with sales to ensure they’re using the messaging effectively. I test positioning in the market through campaigns, A/B tests, and direct customer conversations. If something isn’t landing, I tweak and refine.
If I’ve done my job well, my competitors will notice and they will copy. That’s when I know it’s time to evolve. Market dynamics shift, new pain points emerge, and differentiation is an ongoing process. The best messaging isn’t static; it’s a living, breathing strategy that keeps your product ahead of the curve.
So, no secret sauce — just a repeatable, structured process that ensures my messaging is customer-driven, competitive, and continuously optimized. Try it, tweak it, and make it your own.
Product marketing has never been more critical to organizational success. It has also never been more challenging. With AI-generated content flooding every channel and competitors sounding increasingly alike, the only way to stand out is through clear differentiation and intentional storytelling.
It’s not just about having a great product or a well-crafted message; it’s about making sure your brand is the first thing customers think of when they face a problem.
You can’t rely on AI to do the thinking for you, nor can you afford to follow the same templates as everyone else. The best product marketers in 2025 will be those who combine creativity with strategy, continuously refine their approach, and prove their impact across the entire buyer journey.
Check out more G2 Voices articles highlighting our internal experts!
Alexandria Snow is a seasoned product marketer and sales and marketing technology consultant with over a decade of SaaS experience. As the Solution Marketing Director at G2, she leads strategic positioning, go-to-market execution, and competitive intelligence to help businesses navigate the complex world of B2B software buying. Whether launching new products, refining positioning, or driving revenue through buyer insights, she is passionate about making product marketing a growth engine, not just a support function.
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