One of the most common mistakes companies make, especially those without a dedicated product marketing resource, is to build a product, launch it, and skip the positioning work entirely. The result is a product that may be excellent but lands in the market without a clear story about why it matters to the people it's meant to serve.

I know what you’re thinking: “Thanks Captain Obvious, of course we build our roadmap based on what the market needs.”  And every product team thinks that’s what they’re doing, but in practice, this is one of the harder disciplines to get right. In my experience, most roadmaps are shaped far more by the loudest voices than by genuine market listening.

One of the most common patterns I've seen working with companies over the last decade is marketing, sales, and business development each operating from their own plan and in their own silo. Nobody is doing anything wrong, exactly. But everyone is working at less than full effectiveness, because their efforts aren't connected.

Many of the companies I've worked with were treating their value proposition as a marketing exercise, something for marketing to drive and worry about. If you only see your value prop as a marketing tool, you're missing a vital way strategy can drive and unify the whole organization.

I've worked alongside founders, CEOs, and leadership teams navigating real strategic challenges, Every engagement has added to a body of knowledge about what works, and what doesn't. I'm looking back at ten insights that have shaped how I think about B2B growth strategy.

Over the past decade, I've had the privilege of working with B2B companies navigating real strategic challenges: entering new markets, launching new products, aligning commercial teams, and building the kind of marketing function that actually drives growth.