Here’s one thing SaaS execs don’t get … PMMs aren’t marketers. They’re managers of complexity.
That’s the hidden role most execs never understand. Because as SaaS products evolve so does the complexity beneath them.
Suddenly … nothing fits neatly anymore.
And the first thing that complexity distorts? Messaging.
It stops making sense to the outside world. And slowly … to the inside, too.
So when a SaaS product fails to connect with audiences, most teams zoom in on the surface.
But those are just surface-level elements. The root problem isn’t ‘messaging’ per se.
It’s unmanaged complexity. And the only people trying to hold that complexity together? PMMs.
They don’t manage messaging. They manage the complexity behind it.
Capabilities & features don’t naturally fall into place.
PMMs group them. Frame them. Translate them.
They make sure people don’t get lost.
People don’t understand your product by default. PMMs build mental models that guide attention & reduce overwhelm. They shape the path from confusion to clarity.
The story is never fixed. New features. New markets. New ICPs. It all shifts. PMMs evolve the story without breaking its spine.
Everyone inside the SaaS company has their own version of reality. PMMs connect those fragmented product truths. So messaging reflects a shared understanding. Not internal chaos.
But here’s the problem …
Most execs & teams don’t recognize this. So they overload PMMs with surface tasks … Launch the page. Fix the pitch. Update the deck.
They ask PMMs to deliver clarity. But they don’t give them the power to manage complexity.
Instead of giving them systems, they give them deadlines.
Instead of giving them structural ownership, they give them tactical requests.
And slowly, the chaos compounds. Product messaging fragments.
Not because the product got worse. But because the product got more complex.
And nobody was responsible for making complexity manageable.
The way I see it, here’s what needs to change. Execs & teams should stop seeing PMMs as people who ‘package things.’ And start seeing them as managers of complexity.
— Involve them early before the story breaks.
— Give them authority to shape taxonomy, knowledge flow, narrative.
— Let them build systems that help messaging scale with the product.
Because if PMMs aren’t managing the complexity behind your messaging … No one is. And that’s when things fall apart.
