“Generative AI promised to relieve humans of the tedious, mechanical work — freeing them to be more strategic, more creative, more human.
“The reality? We’ve wrapped our rationalizations around this new concept called “humans in the loop.”
“This often means marketers are demoted to glorified spellcheckers and fact-checkers for machine output. Not creators. Not strategists. Just custodians of content they never had a hand in shaping.
Perhaps Rose’s thoughts are wishful thinking on the part of carbon-based marketers.
But if the “humans in the loop” thought persists…isn’t everyone using the same undifferentiated loop? When everyone yells “we use AI,” no one is differentiated. And no, it makes no difference with AI flavor of the week you’re using, since they all train on data. Human data.
And if the humans at all the companies are imprisoned by their identical loops…who has the competitive advantage? No one.
Except for those that use humans…especially humans who have been around for a while and remember this. If you don’t have a full five minutes, skip right to the three-minute mark.
On Wednesday, in the process of explaining how B2B product marketers must address multiple “hungry people” (target audiences), I described the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
But buffets are not confined to Las Vegas.
I have not visited Spartanburg, South Carolina in decades. When my family was making regular drives from Virginia to Alabama, it was years before I learned how to spell “AFIS.” Yet I know that it has at least one good buffet serving multiple types of hungry people.
Not hungry for food.
Hungry for biometric software.
And no, I’m not talking about DataWorks Plus. They’re in Greenville.
But if you head east to Spartanburg, you’ll arrive at the headquarters of Integrated Biometrics, the company that just launched the IB360° software for partners and integrators.
But if you look at the IB360 web page, you’ll see that the various partners and integrators have different needs for software solutions. For example, here’s Integrated Biometrics’ messaging for hardware integrators:
“If you build with devices like fingerprint scanners or facial recognition cameras, IB360° helps you showcase your hardware’s full potential. Integrate quickly with modular licensing, create recurring revenue, and reduce reliance on external suppliers. Address multiple use cases with automated syncing and tight integration with Integrated Biometrics’ sensors.”
But software integerators and systems integrators have different needs than hardware integrators. You can view these on the web page.
Or you can download the appropriate brochure for your needs from the “Documents & Downloads” section at the bottom of the page.
Las Vegas is a destination visited by over 40 million people per year from all over the world. And the casino hotels know that they’re hungry for food, and they hope the hungry people will stay on property.
So do they serve Caesars Burgers?
Um, no. 40 million people don’t eat the same thing.
This becomes very clear if you visit the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace, with over 250 items prepared in 10 kitchens.
“From Roman-style pizza to Carne Asada Tacos inspired by the food trucks of L. A., there’s something for everyone. Find a world of flavor at our nine live-action cooking stations. Indulge in originals like slow-cooked prime rib, smoked beef brisket, crab, and wood-fired pizza. Or try something different, like whole Ahi Tuna Poke, roasted duck, or Singaporean Blue Crab and seasonal agua frescas.”
(Imagen 4)
There is literally something for everyone. And the hungry person salivating for Ahi Tuna Poke doesn’t care about the beef brisket.
Which brings us to local police automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) proposals.
Variety for hungry people
If you had asked me in September 1994 (before I started at Printrak in October) the target audience for local police AFIS, I would have replied, “fingerprint people.”
That answer would be incorrect.
Tenprint and latent people
Because, even if you limit things to the criminal AFIS world, there are (at least) two types of fingerprint people: tenprint examiners, and latent examiners. I asked my buddy Bredebot to summarize the stereotypical differences between the two. Here is some of what he said:
“‘Assembly line‘ comparisons: Because tenprint comparisons use high-quality, known impressions taken under controlled conditions, their work can be automated and is often perceived as a high-volume, less complex task. This is in contrast to the specialized analysis required for latent prints.
“Artistic and subjective: Because latent prints are often smudged, distorted, and incomplete, examiners must make subjective judgments about their suitability for comparison. This has led to the criticism that the process is more of an art than a science.”
Bredebot has never attended an International Association for Identification conference, but I have. Many many years ago I attended a session on tenprint examiner certification. Latent examiners had this way cool certification and some people thought that more tenprint examiners should participate in their way cool certification program. As I recall, this meeting way heavily attended…by latent folks. Even today, the number of Certified Latent Print Examiners (CLPEs) is far greater than the number of Certified Tenprint Examiners (CTPEs).
Other people
But you can’t procure an AFIS by talking to tenprint and latent people alone.
As I noted years ago, other people get involved in a local police AFIS procurement, using Ontario, California as an example:
(Imagen 4)
The field investigators who run across biometric evidence at the scene of a crime, such as a knife with a fingerprint on it or a video feed showing someone breaking into a liquor store.
The information technologies (IT) people who are responsible for ensuring that Ontario, California’s biometric data is sent to San Bernardino County, the state of California, perhaps other systems such as the Western Identification Network, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The purchasing agent who has to make sure that all of Ontario’s purchases comply with purchasing laws and regulations.
The privacy advocate who needs to ensure that the biometric data complies with state and national privacy laws.
The mayor (still Paul Leon as I write this), who has to deal with angry citizens asking why their catalytic converters are being stolen from their vehicles, and demanding to know what the mayor is doing about it.
Probably a dozen other stakeholders that I haven’t talked about yet, but who are influenced by the city’s purchasing decision.
Feeding the hungry people
So even a relatively simple B2B product has multiple target audiences.
Should product marketers apply the same one-dimensional messaging to all of them?
Um, no.
If you did that, purchasing agents would fall asleep at mentions of “level 3 detail,” while latent examiners would abandon their usual attention to detail when confronted by privacy references to the California Information Practices Act of 1977. (The CCPA, CPRA, and CPPA apply to private entities.)
So, whether you like it or not, you need separate messaging for each of your categories of hungry people.
(Imagen 4)
One time, as part of an account-based marketing effort, I had to construct a multi-variable messaging matrix…for a product that is arguably simpler than an AFIS.
And yes, I used Microsoft Excel.
And I can use my mad Excel skillz for you also, if your company needs content, proposal, or analysis assistance in your technology product marketing operations. Contact Bredemarket at https://bredemarket.com/mark/.
I just published a new edition of Bredemarket’s LinkedIn newsletter this afternoon. Here’s how I started it:
“For years I maintained a negative stance on generative AI-authored text. But I recently tried relaxing it. By doing this I learned what AI authors are capable of…and what they clearly CANNOT do.”
Much of the article rehashes material I’ve shared before, but I did provide a little detail on the temperamental writer’s emotional hurt when Zoominfo turned to the bots:
“My first reaction was akin to a river in Egypt. I remain a temperamental writer, you know.”
Psst…check the book title.
But at least I closed the thing with a call to action.
“But if you are a marketing leader at an identity, biometric, or technology company, and you want an experienced human to help you with your content, proposals, and analysis, why don’t you schedule a free meeting with me to talk about your needs. Visit https://bredemarket.com/mark/ to find out more.”
“I was asked to list the 10 essential elements of product marketing. Honestly, there probably isn’t a magic number…”
Never mind if there aren’t 10 essential elements. I told Bredebot to list 10, so it listed 10. Even though (as you will see) I think there are only four.
Product messaging and positioning
Buyer personas
Go-to-market strategy
Sales enablement
Product launches
Market and competitive intelligence
Customer feedback loop
Pricing and packaging
Content strategy
Performance metrics and analysis
Bredemarket’s four essential elements of product marketing
So what are the REAL essential elements?
I could ask 20 product marketers to boil this AI-generated 10-item list down to a select few, and I would get 21 different answers.
But I’ll take my shot anyway, warning you that my list may not contain the really cool product marketing buzzwords like “positioning” and “target audience.”
I’ve identified four essential elements:
Product marketing strategy.
Product marketing environment.
Product marketing content.
Product marketing performance.
Strategy
Strategy comes first, which not only refers to the two “strategy” elements in the list, but also to things I’ve talked about in the past, including why, how, what, and process.
Environment
Here’s where I put “Market and competitive intelligence” and “Customer feedback loop” from the list above. This also includes the internal environment in the company; if the CEO emphatically insists that a go-to-market effort should last three days, then a go-to-market effort will last three days, regardless of what anyone else says.
Content
I’ve previously discussed the non-difference between content marketers and product marketers, noting that product marketers have to product a lot of content about the product, both external and internal. Most of Bredebot’s 10 items fall into this category in one way or another: positioning, personas, go-to-market, sales enablement, launches, pricing, and packaging. You can also throw proposals into this list, and I just did.
Performance
The metrics stuff, including Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Because if you don’t know how you did, you don’t know how you did. Sleep-inducing but essential.
“By the end of Q4 2025 I will establish and obtain approval for a multi-tiered go-to-market process identifying the go-to-market tiers, the customer-facing and internal deliverables for each tier, as well as the responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed organizations for each deliverable.”
Yes, I talk like that. Sometimes.
What is your list?
So I’ve concluded that the four essential elements of product marketing are strategy, environment, content, and performance.
Prove me wrong.
Is there validity is the traditional lists, such as HubSpot’s list? With the recognizable buzzwords such as “target audience”?
Researching and monitoring your target audience.
Ensuring your product meets the needs of your target audience.
Determining your product’s positioning in the market.
Creating, managing, and carrying out your product marketing strategy.
Enabling sales to attract the right customers for your new product.
Influencing marketing strategy and product development.
Keeping your product relevant over time.
You tell me what the proper list should be.
Imagen 4.
And regardless of your list, if you need a technology product marketing expert to assist with any aspect of your product marketing, contact me.
A long list…but it could have been longer. Here are the products I removed from the list.
Series 2000.
Omnitrak.
MorphoWAVE.
The SIGMA Series.
Driver’s license and mobile driver’s license services.
Enrollment services.
Adobe consulting services.
Why did I remove them? As I said on Saturday:
“But my past isn’t as important as your present challenges.”
Speaking of your present challenges, if Bredemarket can help you as a consultant, book a free meeting to discuss your needs at https://bredemarket.com/mark/
I’ve written up a description of my technology product marketing expertise and repurposed it to four platforms: my consulting blog, LinkedIn, Substack, and Instagram. Actually more platforms than those four, but these are the biggies.
If you are on one of these platforms, and are so inclined, feel free to share this with any technology marketing leaders in your circles. I am open to both employment and consulting opportunities.
Bredemarket 