Stop Releasing & Start Launching

Somewhere in a meeting room, a product manager just hit send on an email: “We’re ready for launch. Can marketing take it from here?”

It’s a moment most product marketers know all too well. A feature is finalized. QA has approved it. The engineering team is ready. And just before the product hits the market, someone thinks to bring in the marketing team.

It sounds logical. But this approach sets up even the best features to fail. Because by bringing product marketing in at the very end, teams are not launching products. They’re simply releasing them.

And there’s a big difference between the two.

Why “Release-First” Thinking Fails

In many product organizations, there’s a familiar sequence:

• A feature or idea is prioritized
• Teams explore the problem space
• Engineers begin development
• QA tests the product
• Marketing is brought in right before the release

By that point, major product decisions have already been made. The user story is locked. The UI is final. And the positioning? Still unknown.

Marketing is now expected to wave a wand and come up with perfect messaging, sales enablement, and campaign strategy in days.

This pattern leads to three common problems:

1. Disconnected Messaging: Marketing tries to explain a feature they weren’t part of building. The result? Language that doesn’t resonate with the target audience or match how the product actually works.
2. Sales Misalignment: Sales teams are left scrambling, often finding out about a new feature via an internal Slack message or last-minute email. Without strong enablement, they can’t sell effectively.
3. Poor Adoption Rates: Users don’t get why the feature matters. Without compelling positioning, thoughtful onboarding, and clear communication, even a great product can go unnoticed.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Product Marketing Isn’t an Add-On. It’s a Co-Pilot.

Product marketers aren’t just storytellers. They’re strategists. Researchers. Translators. They bridge the gap between the product and the market, between internal teams and end users.

But to do this effectively, they need to be involved from the start.

When PMMs are brought in early, they add value at every stage:

1. Research and Discovery

Before a product is built, PMMs bring market insights, customer pain points, and competitor analysis into the fold. They help validate whether the problem is worth solving and how.

“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” — Albert Einstein

Good product marketing starts here. Deep in the problem space.

2. Strategic Positioning and Messaging

PMMs help define who the product is for, what makes it different, and why it matters. That positioning informs not just launch messaging but also product design and prioritization.

When done early, positioning becomes a product development tool, not just a marketing deliverable.

3. Pricing and Packaging

Is this a free feature? A paid add-on? Should it be bundled or stand alone? These decisions have a massive impact on adoption and revenue, and product marketers help answer them through customer research and market benchmarks.

4. Internal Enablement

Sales, support, customer success, and even internal leadership need to understand what’s being launched, how to talk about it, and why it matters. PMMs create battle cards, FAQs, pitch decks, and demo scripts that ensure internal alignment long before the launch.

5. Coordinated Launches

A release is a date. A launch is a campaign. PMMs ensure your launch is strategic, cross-functional, and aligned across marketing, product, and sales.

They write copy, create assets, plan webinars, pitch press, and coordinate with growth teams. And because they’ve been part of the product journey from the beginning, they can tell the story in a way that actually resonates.

6. Post-Launch Feedback and Iteration

PMMs track adoption, listen to the market, gather customer feedback, and bring insights back to the product team. They help shape V2 based on how V1 performed.

In this way, product marketing doesn’t stop at launch. It continues as long as the product exists.

What If You Don’t Have a PMM?

Early-stage teams often don’t have the luxury of a dedicated product marketing function. But that doesn’t mean the work can be skipped.

If you’re a founder, a PM, or part of a small product team, ask yourself:

• Who is this product for?
• What alternatives do they have today?
• What will they need to hear to adopt this?
• How will we measure success?

Thinking like a product marketer early on can prevent a lot of downstream problems.

“The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” — Tom Fishburne

That’s because great marketing starts by understanding the user. Just like great product work.

A Cultural Shift, Not Just a Process Change

Ultimately, this is about more than process. It’s about culture.

Organizations that launch successfully again and again don’t treat marketing as a finishing touch. They treat it as a strategic partner. From ideation to iteration.

They don’t just release things. They launch them with intention, clarity, and impact.

They don’t just tell stories. They build them together.

“Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” — David Packard

If you’re building something new, ask yourself: are we launching this, or are we just releasing it?

The answer might shape not just your next product cycle, but your entire go-to-market strategy.

So stop releasing. Start launching.

Because what you say, when you say it, and who says it — those things matter. And product marketing can help you get it right, from day one.