I focus on content and messaging, so to some extent I can control how a product sounds and the role it plays, but to get that right I need to understand how it'll be interpreted. I need to find out our customers think about the job the product is doing for them. And, as we're a business product, what do our customers' customers expect? What role does the product play for them?

We risk making mistakes if we don't investigate how those roles can change over time: they don't necessarily stay the same. New product elements can change the landscape and change the role we play.