The concept of love language has helped many interpersonal relationships. In a professional setting, let's remove the "love" and get down to the basics of understanding why this concept works. In developing a healthy company, one functional department should try to grasp the respective motivations, issues, and work preferences of other departments. Simply put, mutual understanding brings perspective that makes communication more clear, more productive, and less contentious.
If you are working with a technical company, whether product or service based, the mutual understanding between engineering and marketing is crucial. Marketers without respect for the issues engineers face will find themselves without vital information necessary to craft the best marketing messages.
As a marketer, take the time to get to know your engineers. Showing genuine interest in their subject matter expertise can reveal opportunities for improved sales messages, media relations and overarching strategy. An engineer within your organization likely understands the customer better than you might've guessed.
However, do your homework in advance of leaning on engineering. Questions that can easily be answered elsewhere should be. An engineer should understand that you're using her or his time respectfully to gain perspectives and information unique to her or his particular knowledge and skill set.
On the flip-side, make sure your engineering team understands your general drivers in marketing. When they get that your goal is to bring their hard work to market most effectively, they will likely begin to keep you in the know with relevant developments, as well as make themselves more available for those key opportunities.
