What is the best thing about being a product marketer and what is the biggest challenge? How do you overcome this challenge?

The best thing about being a product marketer is the strategic role it offers and the opportunity to have a seat at the table when shaping the direction of not just a product or service, but the business as well. I also love that we serve as the voice of the customer, delving into their needs, challenges, and mindset to ensure our offerings/messaging/strategy truly resonate. On the other hand, the biggest challenge can be the ambiguity surrounding the role. Product marketing can mean very different things to different people. There's a hilarious meme about product marketers getting asked to make a one-pager pretty. As you know, our role is far more strategic and comprehensive.

The best part of the role is the high of a big launch. Bringing something new to market is an amazing feeling especially when you can do it wrapped into a larger launch event. There is also a great strategic element to the role that you do not find in all marketing roles that ties elements of comapny strategy, market intelligence, and GTM that is very unique to product marketing. 

Biggest challenge of the role is the cross-functional nature of product marketing. You own a lot but you don't have direct ownership. You have to operate off of strong relationships across the board and getting everyone aligned can be hard. When in these situations, I try to step back and realize that there must be reason I'm not getting alignment. I then step back and look at our team goals - are they aligned with the greater organization? It's usually here where I can find a way out of this struggle.