You're facing product functionality vs. marketing messaging conflicts. How do you bridge the gap effectively?

I've got loads of experience with this one! Having misaligned product offering and marketing message/positioning is the worst thing that can happen because: 1. Creates expectations from customers (you position the product to offer X, but in reality, your product lacks X) 2. Frustrates stakeholders and messes up with your strategy Honestly, the best is not to over/undersell your product, assess your market position, be clear about your value prop, and adjust the message accordingly (also remember, your product CAN'T serve everyone!).

To effectively bridge the gap between product functionality and marketing messaging conflicts, start with open communication between product and marketing teams. Ensure both sides clearly understand the product’s value proposition and how it benefits customers. Map the customer journey to identify where messaging can better align with functionality. By focusing on what’s most relevant to the customer—whether that’s a feature, experience, or solution—you can create messaging that resonates while staying true to the product’s core strengths. The goal is to find a balance that highlights the product’s real value while maintaining clarity and consistency in marketing.

To make sure what we say about a product matches what it can actually do, try these two things: 1. Introduce a feature freeze period before any major campaign or launch - Before we start telling people about our product, let's decide which features are ready to show off. This makes sure we only talk about what the product can really do, and we don't end up promising something we can't deliver. 2. Encourage close collaboration between marketing and product teams from the start. This aligns marketing's message with the product's actual capabilities and ensures both teams are on the same page, avoiding miscommunication and inconsistency in what we promise to our audience.

Take a step back and reflect on how the misalignment arose in the first place. Marketing should be involved throughout the product development process, thus have direct insight from customer discovery and the JTBD. In partnership, product should be part of the review process for marketing materials as well. Holding a retrospective can help to identify the points in the approach to revisit. For example identifying a marketing representative right from the start can ensure there is a 'go to person' for each product area. Another approach is to assign tasks in Jira, Asana, etc for marketing to share copy and receive product feedback.

*Product and marketing teams should collaborate to align on core features and user benefits to ensure mutual understanding. *Messaging should be refined to accurately emphasize the product's strengths focusing on the value it delivers without overpromising. *Establish feedback loops between teams for maintaining sync in messaging and product development, credibility and effective promotion.