Marketing is not the same as advertising. Advertising is a tiny slice of what marketing is today, and in fact, it's pretty clear that the marketing has to come before the product, not after. As Jon points out, the Prius was developed after the marketing thinking was done. Jones Soda, too. In fact, just about every successful product or service is the result of smart marketing thinking first, followed by a great product that makes the marketing story come true.

If someone comes to you with a 'great' product that just needs some marketing, the game is probably already over.

In an age where permission is achieved with increasing levels of engagement, you've got to go for more than momentary attention. When you go after the Gooey Center, every content resource you send into the ether needs to build a consistent story that increases your credibility. And a valuable reason to follow the threads.

The most important reason to take Saeed's question seriously is the high cost of making bad product decisions. Buyers were already becoming more discriminating; now, with the economic downturn, technology companies can afford even less to have Development working in its walled garden, only emerging occasionally to deliver some basket full of things that people on the outside may or may not want.

But one I rarely hear discussed is that of Engineering reporting into Product Management.

Requirements aren’t gathered, they are DISCOVERED through our analysis of market evidence. Then, they are written with the right context to improve communication to our teams, helping our teams build outstanding solutions that resonate in the market