Developers and managers don’t always think like the end user. This is true whether they’re developing software, services, consumer goods, or B2B products. Without input from marketing, product developers might just make the kinds of products they think are interesting. They’ll work in ways that other product developers will understand intuitively but the average consumer might not. In small businesses without a dedicated product development team, where product development is led by the business owner, the approach might be even more intuitive and rooted in personal preference or a perceived need to follow trends.

Even if those responsible for product development happen to design a product with customers in mind, you might still end up with an unmarketable product because it was designed for some imaginary customer that is not your customer. For example, if your brand identity is all about simplicity and ease of use, developers left to their own devices might make something extremely powerful and versatile but with a steep learning curve, leaving your customers confused and frustrated.

It works both ways. Marketing needs input from product development as much as product development needs input from marketing. If the marketing team is cut off from the development process, they might market the product ineffectively, without an understanding of exactly how the product works or how it will resonate with its users.

Products that fill the immediate needs of customers practically sell themselves (well, not quite, but it can sometimes feel that way). Developing those kinds of products requires first identifying a problem that your customers have and then designing a product that solves that problem. Too often, the product development process is approached the other way around: by first designing a product and then figuring out how to sell it to customers.

Let Strategy Be Your Guide

The purpose of developing new products is, of course, generating more revenue. To make products that sell, you have to develop products that people want. Consider your goals and your capabilities and weigh what you can accomplish against what your customers need. That is, understand your unique selling point and identify the needs of your ideal customer before developing an offering strategy.

How Product Development and Marketing Teams Collaborate

Product development is responsible for design, costing, and sourcing decisions. The process includes developing prototypes, testing them, and refining the final product. It is the job of marketers, meanwhile, to understand their company’s customers and how to communicate with them. Developing great products requires both teams to work together throughout the process.

Working together, however, involves more than developers sending a product idea over to marketers, who then figure out how to sell it. The two teams must be intertwined through the entire development and release process, with marketing insights informing product development. Customer feedback as interpreted by marketing helps determine the kinds of products you develop and which features to include.

Insight from developers about how a product works helps marketers determine how it can and should be marketed. During development, it’s the job of marketing to solicit feedback on prototypes through surveys and beta testing. Throughout the process, marketing is also building anticipation for new releases. Close collaboration throughout the process helps keep the brand and its customers at the forefront of product development.

The Role of Technology in Collaboration

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software facilitates the kind of close collaboration needed to create innovative products. CRM makes it easy to collect data from various sources, whether quantitative or qualitative, and analyze it in one place. All of your communication and documentation are centralized and accessible to everyone who needs it, no matter which department they work in.

Better Teamwork, Better Products, and a Better Business

It takes close collaboration between departments to develop products that your customers will love. You’ll not only create better products but develop better employees with a clearer idea of their roles in the business and the business’s goals. Marketers will learn how to think like product developers when they market new products and features, and product developers will learn how to think like marketers as they develop new products. When teams work together and understand each other, they produce more innovative work, and they do it more efficiently. It’s all part of the process of becoming a customer-centric business.

Don’t get stuck with a problem in search of a solution. Bring your product development and marketing teams together to identify problems and then create a solution because ultimately, that’s what we’re all here to do: make our customers’ lives better.