In order to find common ground first you need to understand the end goal of the products.The R&D can generally troubleshoot to meet the criteria. Trying to impose too many parameters you end up making something that is too expensive or too specific and reduces the interest in the product overall. Get a list of must haves and a list of wants and have honest constructive feedback during development.

Marketing and R&D objectives must be : - Meeting and exceeding the customers expectations as well as offering higher quality, lower cost and more reliable products and services. - Marketing and R&D efforts must complements each other. - Marketing sets the priorities and R&D provides the technical solutions for fulfillment of the customer’s requirements. - Marketing and R&D goal must be to make their company the preferred source of the customers required products. - Marketing and R&D goal needs to be making their business a leader of innovation, rather than a follower.

Balancing R&D and marketing in product positioning requires aligning on customer needs, fostering collaboration, and clear communication. At Syneur Technologies, we prioritize customer-centric alignment by using data to address real market demands, ensuring technical feasibility meets marketability. Interdisciplinary collaboration bridges gaps by involving marketing early in R&D and vice versa. Transparent communication with shared KPIs like usability and satisfaction keeps both teams focused on mutual goals. Regular workshops and cross-functional discussions help mitigate conflicts, ensuring innovative solutions that resonate with users while maintaining market fit. These strategies enable us to balance innovation with business impact.

Open ground for r&d and marketing for any product positioning will be a monthly meeting between these 2 department people on market updates, new product development, application development. This is typical but I have been doing this in my till date roles at different organisations. There must be some common pain points of targeting markets/customers/application on which R&D team can work on followed by its positioning. There is always a first step for any innovative product/idea which can get into commercialisation if it gets exact market values and positioning.

To balance R&D and marketing conflicts in product positioning: 1. Align Goals - Focus on customer needs and shared objectives. 2. Facilitate Collaboration - Hold joint meetings, create cross-functional teams, and involve both sides early. 3. Use Data - Leverage market insights and feasibility analyses to guide decisions. 4. Compromise Smartly - Prioritise features and consider phased launches. 5. Appoint a Mediator - Use a neutral leader to align strategies. 6. Measure Joint Success - Establish shared KPIs and review outcomes together…

We can't see every product in commercial point of view. R&D is mandatory for every product irrespective of commercialization. However, Commercial manufacturers should take extensive survey on market about their product prior to initiation. R&D should be divided into two categories 1. Proof of concept & 2. translation R&D. Translational R&D team should focus more on bringing Collaborations with appropriate academic institutes which makes a huge positive impact on their marketing strategies.

Cohesion between RnD and marketing is key to the success of any product. Open communication and meetings between both are required. RnD needs to tell marketing about product features, customer voice/view point addressed, field issues resolved and also cost or RMC ie Value addition Vs cost analysis. On the other hand marketing can explain RnD about the market need, application or segment they are looking for and where the market is expected to grow in the coming times. Is it a new niche market or new application or segment where competition is strong to enable RnD to take care while designing. In the nut shell end goals of both are same ie to increase ROI, value for money offering and increased market share with upgraded technology to lead.

Only the R&D function can enlighten the company about tomorrow's winning technologies, the competitors' patent strategies and R&D investments, the technological maturity of a solution, or the state of the art of design and production costs.R&D project reviews, strategic plan, presentation of market trends. Agree on systematic consultation to prepare decision-making milestones. marketing identify trends, market segments, decrypt the strategic game of competitors, and go out into the market to collect information to support key decisions: maximum acceptable price, market size, priority customers and geographies, business models to be selected.

I think a real-time example of bridging the gap between R&D and marketing strategy is seen in Apple's product launches. Apple’s R&D team develops cutting-edge technologies, such as the A-series chips and advanced camera systems, while the marketing team ensures these innovations are effectively communicated to consumers. For example, during the iPhone 12 launch, the marketing team emphasized 5G connectivity—a major R&D achievement—by showcasing its real-life benefits, like faster downloads and smoother streaming. This collaboration ensured the product's technical advancements aligned with customer needs and market demand.