Did you know that 90% of the impact I’ve made as a product marketer comes from repositioning existing features, not launching new ones? Surprisingly, many companies push their product marketers to spend 90% of their time on launching new features. Here’s why that’s a mistake:

1) New Features Don’t Always Achieve Product-Market Fit

It’s often challenging to see this, especially if you’re not charging extra for new features. For most early-stage startups, the reality is that customers are usually willing to pay for only 3 or 4 key features, which are often the “old” ones. You typically get a better ROI by focusing on message-market fit for these existing features that already have product-market fit.

2) Perfecting Messaging Takes Time

Even if a new feature is amazing and drives sales or higher prices, getting the messaging right on the first try is tough. Over 6, 12, or 18 months, you’ll learn a lot by observing how customers use and talk about the feature. These insights are crucial for creating better messaging that educates more prospects more quickly. However, you can only leverage these insights if you dedicate time to refining your messaging.

If you move on too quickly to the next new thing, you’ll miss out on the powerful insights that can significantly improve your marketing effectiveness. While launching new features can make you look busy, if you want to optimize for impact, don’t overlook the importance of “relaunching” and repositioning existing features.

Unlock the true potential of your product marketing by focusing on what already works.