Struggling with R&D and marketing team collaboration?

You need to understand things from both sides. In today's world, only knowing techniques will not be enough for a R&D developer. You need to know what happens in market and understand marketing language, which will help your communication with your marketers.

If R&D and Product Marketing (PM) are not collaborating, look at the system first. Are they being managed as silos, with R&D accountable to work a plan and PM to “own the customer”? Is scope or feature content the top priority for your releases? It’s likely that R&D is overloaded, so timeline and quality suffer when deadlines are imposed. Thus PM doesn’t get timely market feedback, and doesn’t know when the next drop will be. That uncertainty leads them to ask for everything they can think of. Overloaded R&D works to plan rather than adapting to change. Customer issues and opportunities go begging. Credibility with sales and customers suffers. Death spiral. Put quality and time first, and collaboration is the natural result.

I disagree. It's always important to engage with Sales & Marketing — the Commercial team. In fact, I put it a priority to communicate with the Commercial team on a frequent basis. This will certainly lead to fastened MVP and product improvisation, better new product development and eventually convincing science communication to the targeted clients. Industrial science beneficiaries are the clients and it's a must to address the needs. I find engaging with the Commercial team as very complementing to R&D works. Although we speak different languages, that's the beauty and we need to keep it that way. Only by engaging effectively with the Commercial team — the clients, the science & innovation will bring the right products and services.

The age of the insular R&DA organization is over. To serve as a company’s innovative engine, R&D strategy needs to be equipped for today’s fast-moving world with not only fabulous scientist willing to discover, apply and convert to business their activities. But also, a clear link between R&DA and marketing to leverage worldwide information not only available on the web but got over customers visits to facilitate alignment between R&DA workforce & planning and real challenges identified by customers. This link needs to be not only formal but create a community of practice between Marketing and R&DA.

Goal alignment amongst different functions is essential for developing a mutual understanding so this would possibly lead to collaboration between R&D and marketing. A common mindset would build up once the goals are aligned and help bring the teams on same page. Both the teams would engage well and implement strategies for achieving the set milestones.

One of the best approaches I have seen is aligning through a unified product vision centred on customer needs. This integrates technical feasibility with the product's viability, supported by regular cross-functional engagements to synchronize development, marketing strategies, and, most importantly, customer feedback.

In order to increase better collaborative environments, the objectives of the marketing and R&D teams must be in aligned very well. Very first step should be to create a common vision for the product that satisfies the needs of both marketing team and R&D's team which will have market appeal. Together, both teams can make sure they are working toward the same goals and that regular joint meetings take place.

Aligning goals between R&D and marketing teams is essential for successful collaboration. Start by establishing a shared vision that incorporates both innovation and customer needs. Organize joint meetings to discuss project objectives, ensuring that both teams understand each other's priorities and constraints. Develop a unified roadmap with clear milestones that reflect the contributions of both teams. Implement shared KPIs that measure the success of collaborative efforts. Encourage cross-functional team participation to foster understanding and trust. Regularly review progress and adjust plans as needed to ensure alignment and achieve common goals.

????????????????????? ???? ?????????? ??????????????????????: Establecer objetivos comunes que ambos equipos puedan trabajar juntos para alcanzar, como el lanzamiento exitoso de un producto. ???????? ?? ????????????????? ??????????????????????: Utilizar indicadores clave de desempe?o (KPIs) que reflejen tanto las prioridades de I+D como de marketing, asegurando que ambos equipos estén trabajando hacia los mismos resultados. ?????????????????? ?????????????????? ???? ???????????????????????????: Realizar reuniones regulares de planificación conjunta para alinear las estrategias y acciones de ambos equipos.

As a researcher, effective collaboration with the marketing team is crucial to translating our technical innovations into successful products. However, the language and priorities often differ between the two teams. We focus on scientific rigor and technological feasibility, while marketing prioritizes consumer needs and market trends. By engaging in regular cross-functional meetings and cross-training sessions, we can better understand each other's perspectives. This mutual understanding allows us to align our research with market demands, ensuring that our innovations not only push the boundaries of science but also resonate with and meet the needs of the end-users.

Usually the market requirements do not reach directly to the R&D engineering. This creates a gap. Usually the requirements come to the upper management and then flow down in the top bottom approaches. This sometimes leads in missing the important input.There should be a direct communication between the market team and the R&D team without any filter to understand the requirements, pain points of the customer, and raw inputs. This will increase the clear understanding and productivity will increase.

In an organisation which requires R and D to develop products that will be marketed. it is crucial that R and D are not just scientifically literate, but have a good understanding of the Marketing function, its requirements and how marketeers can best launch a product. It is also crucial that Marketing spend time with the R and D team, to get a better understanding of what obstacles and difficulties R and D are dealing with. Having joint project leaders, one from Marketing and one from R and D also creates a joint ownership of the project and its successful launch. After the product has been launched, having a joint post project review to critically assess how the project went, relationships etc is a good learning for the organisation.

Whether in R&D or marketing, continuous learning across the entire team is crucial to the organization's success. Understanding each other's perspectives is essential for achieving a cohesive flow of accurate deliverables. The key is fostering a daily willingness to learn among all stakeholders, which naturally breaks down barriers. The core principle is "Learn & Grow together"

One thing I have found useful, documented communication between R&D and Marketing. Documented communication can indeed help ensure that everyone is on the same page, reducing misunderstandings and streamlining collaboration between teams.

Ideally the company has established a new product development process covering all relevant functions with swim lanes describing the tasks and deliverables

It must be made mandatory for the marketing team members to have research experience of the field they are dealing with. Also, it must be made compulsory for all members of the marketing team to spend at least 3 months every year on the real time research work with the research team. Any claim made by the marketing team must be jointly approved by the research and marketing team members. Such claims must also be invariably supported by the reasoning and, calculations if required, based on the fundamental principles of science and engineering. This is necessary because, normally, the marketing team has a habit of making unrealistic claims. Finally, the marketing team must have no powers to influence the rating of the research team members.

In my experience, managing expectations is key to effective collaboration between R&D and marketing. Usually, developing new product takes time while marketing needs the product sooner than R&D can deliver. This is one of the main areas of misalignment between the two functions.

Effective collaboration between R&D and marketing teams, production, stock management, technical etc, is essential for successful product launches in the food industry. In my experience, aligning teams and individuals early in the process—by sharing real-time data and centralising communication, can greatly improve efficiency and remove siloed data. By ensuring all stakeholders have access to the same project data, decision-making becomes more seamless, and the time to market can be reduced significantly. This is the main reason I created my Digi Food NPD platform, to help food product development teams and the wider business collaborate more effectively on food innovation and R&D projects, from brief to final product spec.

Desarrollar procesos integrados que permitan una colaboración más fluida, desde la concepción del producto hasta su lanzamiento en el mercado. Aqui algunos puntos clave: ?????????? ???? ????????????????: Mapear los procesos actuales de ambos equipos y buscar oportunidades para integrarlos y sincronizarlos. ????????????????????????????? ?? ????????????????????????: Utilizar herramientas de automatización y gestión de proyectos que faciliten la colaboración y la integración de procesos. ?????????? ?? ??????????????????????????????????: Definir claramente los roles y responsabilidades de cada equipo en los procesos integrados para evitar confusiones y duplicaciones de esfuerzos.

Same as in other aspects: it's often a matter of differences in language. What is meant, when talking about "data"? What is the interpretation of "meaningful" and "reliable"? How to draw conclusions, based on data? And those conclusions: are they really targeting customers' needs - or are they targeting technical feasibility & challenge?...

Utilizar datos y análisis para informar decisiones estratégicas y tácticas, asegurando que las iniciativas de marketing estén respaldadas por la investigación y los desarrollos más recientes. Aqui algunos puntos clave: ????????????????????????? ?? ????????????????? ???? ??????????: Establecer sistemas para la recopilación y análisis de datos que sean accesibles tanto para I+D como para marketing. ???????????????? ?? ????????????????????: Crear informes y dashboards que proporcionen una visión clara y compartida del rendimiento, permitiendo a ambos equipos tomar decisiones informadas. ?????? ???? ????????????????: Utilizar los insights obtenidos de los datos para mejorar productos, campa?as de marketing y estrategias de negocio.

Data-driven decision-making can align R&D and marketing teams by providing concrete evidence to guide strategies and actions. Marketing teams can provide valuable customer and market data that R&D can use to refine and focus their efforts on creating products that meet real market needs. Conversely, R&D can share data on product capabilities and limitations, helping marketing to craft accurate and compelling messaging. Tools like customer relationship management (CRM) systems, market analysis software, and analytics platforms can facilitate this data exchange, ensuring both teams are working with the most relevant and up-to-date information.

Pertinent data that is matched to the nature of R&D (basic science, applied R&D) is a primary metric to prove the initial goals to bring a new product to market. Often, the markets needs are not as well defined and the solution is too long in the process. An 80% solution is 6 months is better than the perfect solution that never makes it to market.

In Marketing, it is important to have data about the market situation and trends, but also data and information available from other departments to avoid problems. Can you affort a production (quantity increase)? --> Accounting Is the quantity/quality of a raw material available? How long would it take to get it to your place? --> Aquisition How long does it take to produce a certain quantity of a certain product? --> Production How reliable is the quality of raw materials and final product? --> Analytics / QA Can you store the raw materials and final product at your place? --> Warehouse How long does it take to develop a product of that type? --> R&D How difficult is it to get into a new market? --> Regulatory department

Continuous learning is essential for the evolving collaboration between R&D and marketing. As technology and consumer behavior constantly change, both teams must adapt and grow together. Promoting ongoing education allows R&D to understand market trends while marketing stays informed about technological advancements. This mutual learning nurtures respect and deepens the appreciation of each team's contributions to the company's success.

One thing I observed is that continuous learning is the most important thing in the R&D field. If you are well versed with current updates you can easily bring up new innovations. That's how R&D works. As much as you learn the new things you will be the market leader. You have to build the culture inside the organisation so that people should be enthusiastic and passionate about their work.

With all of the leadership courses and coaches out there, it's easy to forget the importance of mentoring that comes from you, who knows your employees' strengths and weaknesses. Some young researchers in my lab were truly special at the bench, but got nervous when I asked them to participate in sales and market research for the company. Without letting them stew too long about it, we'd identify conferences, register and book travel. The biz dev group and I would then coach them on how to approach and speak to potential customers, as well as provide them a list of deliverables for market research. Their growth was immediately apparent: a boost of confidence, a wider view of the industry, and a more nuanced approach to product development.

Fomentar una cultura de aprendizaje y mejora continua, donde ambos equipos puedan compartir conocimientos y experiencias para seguir innovando y mejorando. Puntos clave: ????????????????????????? ?? ????????????????????: Ofrecer oportunidades de capacitación continua para ambos equipos en áreas relevantes, como nuevas tecnologías y tendencias de mercado. ?????????????????? ??????????????????????????: Fomentar una cultura de intercambio de conocimientos donde los equipos puedan aprender unos de otros y mejorar sus habilidades colectivas. ????????????????????? ?? ???????????? ????????????????: Implementar ciclos de evaluación y retroalimentación que permitan a ambos equipos reflexionar sobre su desempe?o y encontrar áreas de mejora.