Your problem is almost always a product problem.
But wait, isn't product the software we're shipping? What about sales and marketing? This is what most product managers think and sell, but the reality is that product is every way the customer interacts with your company. This includes every post they see on socials, every interaction they have with customer support, and every sales call they have with your BDRs. It's all the product, and oftentimes these are the part of the product that are the worst because no one thinks of them that way.
Your sales team isn't separate from your product - it's a critical part of it. When a prospect talks to sales, they're experiencing your product. If your sales team oversells or misrepresents capabilities, that's not a sales problem - it's a product problem.
The same goes for customer success. When customers struggle to get value, we often blame CS for poor onboarding or training. But if your product requires extensive hand-holding to deliver value, that's a product problem.
Marketing isn't separate either. Those social posts, emails, and ads are all part of your product experience. They set expectations that your actual software needs to meet. Misalignment there is a product problem.
Support tickets aren't just a nuisance to handle - they're signals of product problems. High volume in certain areas points to product gaps, not just support inefficiency.
Even your pricing is part of the product. If customers feel they're not getting sufficient value for what they pay, that's a product problem.
The best companies understand this holistic view. They don't silo responsibilities. Instead, they recognize that everything a customer experiences is the product, and everyone is responsible for it.
This means product teams need to collaborate closely with sales, marketing, CS, and support. It means breaking down the artificial walls between departments and focusing on the entire customer journey.
When you start thinking this way, solutions become clearer. Instead of blaming teams, you examine touchpoints. Instead of adding features, you might improve documentation. Instead of hiring more support staff, you might fix confusing workflows.
This isn't about assigning blame to product managers. It's about recognizing that customer experience is holistic. The software is just one piece of a larger product puzzle.
So next time you face challenges with growth, retention, or satisfaction, don't just look at your code. Look at every way customers interact with your company. Because your problem is almost always a product problem - it's just that "product" encompasses much more than most people realize.