If you ask a marketing professional about their product counterpart (and vice versa) you might be met with a grimace, or even an eyeroll.
It’s no secret that product and marketing teams often squabble, despite the fact that these two teams are usually chasing a common goal.
So, why – instead of being united – do these departments regularly face friction and conflict? More importantly, how can you change communication from tumultuous to harmonious?
Bridging the gap
Product management is a relative newcomer when you compare it to the well-established world of marketing. As a result, some companies have yet to create dedicated product departments, leaving many individuals with no prior experience collaborating with product managers.
This knowledge gap often leads to confusion surrounding communication and delineation of roles within organisations, as the functions and responsibilities of product managers remain more ambiguous and less integrated than their counterparts in marketing.
While the product function may be less widely understood by all facets of the corporate world, the importance of establishing a strong product team shouldn’t be minimised. Product teams are paramount for keeping companies fit for the future in terms of digital transformation and ongoing corporate evolution.
Fostering cooperation
This isn’t just a product / marketing problem, the same struggles may be felt within any cross-functional teams. Ultimately, whether it’s product and marketing or operations and business development; the lack of familiarity around who does what can seriously hinder effective communication between departments.
United front
It’s important for heads of department to present a united front to their respective teams. You’re not going head-to-head. Marketing needs product and product needs marketing.
Meet regularly
Schedule regular meetings between the product and marketing teams. These can be weekly, bi-weekly, or as needed, depending on the project’s complexity and timeline.
Use these meetings to discuss progress, challenges, and always refer to each team’s contribution towards KPIs or OKRs. This will ensure you involve each other early and clearly communicate roadmaps, strategies and campaigns.
Collaborative tools
It’s true that sharing is caring. It’s also essential for ensuring that teams aren’t working in silo, duplicating efforts or chasing the wrong things.
To ensure everyone is aligned on the expectations and deliverables for each team, outline clear communication tools and when they should be used.
For example, do you expect the content team to provide input on wireframes on Figma, should back and forth iterations be communicated via Slack and important announcements via email?
Laying these expectations on the table means that your team has transparency on how you expect them to communicate and how they will be communicated to.
Businesses continue to recognise the significance of delivering high-quality digital products and services to meet customer needs and stay competitive. With product-led growth taking precedence, it’s no surprise that according to the Product School Future of Product Management report, 43 per cent of companies are hiring more Product Managers.
So, while product departments may still be in their infancy in relation to other traditional departments, they’ve proved their salt and they’re here to stay.
It’s now up to other areas of the business to understand where product fits in, how to leverage these skills and establish clear lines of communication to support the product team’s influence over company growth.
By: Stephanie McKee, Group Head of Marketing,TheDataFlow Group
