This is more of a risky post. Risky because I’m sharing how I see things, without being a PMM myself.

A few weeks ago, I wrote that PMMs shouldn’t be responsible for messaging. That SaaS companies need a dedicated messaging expert.

Not because PMMs aren’t good enough. Not because they don’t care about messaging. But because what messaging really requires often goes unnamed.

It’s not just about packaging product into words. It’s structure. System thinking. Deep clarity.

And most PMMs weren’t trained for that. Because nobody told them that’s part of the role. But the role pulls them into it anyway.

Because someone has to …

• make sense of the product
• connect the dots across teams
• decide how the product is explained

So PMMs do it. Quietly. Structurally. Often without realizing it.

That’s why this post isn’t about what PMMs can’t do. It’s about helping them see what they already are.

And what they’re uniquely positioned to build … If given the right lens and support.

PMMs aren’t copywriters. They’re messaging engineers. But most don’t see themselves that way.

So teams only ask them to focus on outputs …

• product pages
• the one-pager
• launch content
• enablement docs

So PMMs never get to work on the system underneath those outputs.

But here’s what I see from the outside: PMMs are already shaping messaging structure. Even if they don’t call it that, they still …

• translate software complexity into clear, friendly messages
• group features in ways that make sense to people
• map product capabilities to user workflows
• build narratives other teams can plug into & reuse

That’s not copy. That’s structure. And when nobody names that responsibility?

The work still happens. Just unconsciously. And often, inconsistently.

PMMs are in a unique position most roles don’t have.

They’re the closest to the product. They connect customer-facing teams. They stay close to prospects and users.

That position is rare. And it gives PMMs the power to architect something better.

Messaging structure and frameworks that adapt. Not content that gets rewritten every quarter.

Frameworks that help …

• Marketing stay aligned with product reality
• Sales explain the product without guessing
• CS / CX reinforce the right story in retention

But frameworks alone aren’t enough. PMMs are also in the best position to set up messaging ops.

• Who owns what messaging?
• What gets documented, updated, shared?
• Which SOPs stop teams from contradicting each other?

This isn’t about control. It’s about creating systems for teams to adapt & update their messaging …

Without breaking it. PMMs don’t need to ‘own the words.’

They should own the system that makes words coherent at scale. It’s not on them to ‘write better messaging.’

They should be seen as messaging engineers. And given the tools to architect understanding at scale.