Better Together: Why Marketing and Product Need Each Other

Your marketing team and your product team shouldn't be separate.

They're both the story of what you make and who you are.

Sales is simply marketing with a closing mindset, but that's for another time.

The sooner you get these two groups working closely inside your company, the better your business will be and the larger your success will be.

An Example From The Past

When I was 21 or 22, I was sent to a marketing seminar in San Francisco.

I cannot remember the name of the guy we were there to learn from, only that he made a big deal of telling us he flew to SF in his helicopter.

Social proof, I suppose.

While I don't remember who it was, this guy told a story of marketing and product that I will never forget.

The story was about Dr. Scholls, the company that makes insoles.

It turns out William Scholl, the founder of Dr. Scholls, was a marketing and product genius.

Google: The Rent Paying Machine for another killer example of the savviness of Mr. Scholl.

His entire story is impressive, but what we learned at the seminar is the perfect, simple example of product and marketing working hand in hand.

The original insole was brown. It was padding ( and relief ) for the modern working man.

One product, one audience, one message.

Remember, this was a time when manufacturing and production were infinitely less sophisticated than today.

But then he took that product, and he cut it in half...literally. Just took them off the assembly line and halved them.

Thus were born Scholl Arch Supports and Scholl Heel Supports.

Same product. Different applications. New price points. New marketing stories to tell.

But he didn't stop there.

He created a pink version of the insole and suddenly had Dr. Scholls's Insole for everyday women.

He put two insoles together and made an extra padded version for the sporting man.

And he shrunk down the insole and made a kid's version.

All done to tell new stories, address new markets, and make more money.

Brilliant.

Build a product that solves a problem, that you can tell amazing stories about, and work hand-in-hand between teams to identify and build for the opportunity.

The Takeaway

Dr. Scholl's story isn't just a history lesson—it's a blueprint for modern business success.

By blurring the lines between marketing and product development, companies can create targeted solutions, tell compelling stories, and ultimately achieve greater success.

So, whether you're a startup or an established corporation, ask yourself: Are your marketing and product teams genuinely working as one?

If not, it might be time to take a page from Dr. Scholl's book and start seeing your product through the lens of marketing—and your marketing through the lens of product.

In doing so, you might just step into a whole new level of success.