I know what you’re thinking. It’s a controversial statement and I know a few of my esteemed marketing colleagues will raise an eyebrow, but this is one of the more contentious debates between sales and marketing departments worldwide. So why do I take this viewpoint? Here’s why.
What comes first; sales or marketing?
It’s like the ‘chicken and egg’ question. Every salesman who ever visited his customer must have shown a product, described a service or proposed a solution. In a nutshell, he did a bit of marketing before closing the deal. Marketing came first…correct?
If the same salesman went to visit that customer armed with brochures, a slick presentation and some carefully packaged product samples, then we could say with full confidence that the marketing was first. Still correct?
Now consider that the salesman knew somehow where to go to meet this customer. He knew what sort of product would suit and what kind of material he will need to convince the customer to make the purchase or commit to a service. In this case, the sales legwork took precedence over the marketing activity which inevitably followed. Or did the customer found the product himself, in which case we’re back to marketing. See where the confusion lies?
The crucial difference here is that some sales would happen even if the marketing discipline did not exist. I’m not sure, however, if there would be any need for marketing if sales did not exist.
So why marketing?
Take an example of lead generation. There is a significant difference between the qualified and unqualified lead. Marketing can generate hundreds of leads using various channels like advertising, website or social media, but is marketing really able to qualify these leads? Are they useful to the sales team?
According to MarketingSherpa, 61% of B2B marketers send all of their leads to sales, but only 27% of those are actually qualified. Sales teams recognised this trend reasonably quickly and research conducted by the TAS Group says that sales reps ignore 50% of their marketing leads. So we have two teams allocating time, resource and investment generating outcome which is ignored or irrelevant in its majority.
The answer to the ‘why marketing?’ question is simple. Sales can be much more effective when supported by good marketing. If the lead generation process is supported by a marketing team which understands its own activity and objectives, it will help to deliver a better result for the sales team. If the sales team is equipped with good quality marketing material, it will be able to sell more effectively.
But for this to work effectively, it needs marketing and sales to be truly aligned:
- The marketing strategy needs to reflect the sales strategy (and the overall direction of the business)
- The two departments (in many cases the same department) need to work together and discuss strategy to plan cohesively
- They need to appreciate each other’s challenges and understand each other’s objectives – and they roles they each play in meeting those objectives
The customer profile
We can’t forget about our customer in all of this. Today the customer is smart and armed with information about which products and services are available, what the benefits of each supplier are and sometimes at what price. My responsibility as a marketer is to enable that; to equip the customer with information about your business, how your solutions can overcome their challenges and why they should choose you over another supplier. Create awareness and the interest; for that you need marketing.
If all of that is successful, the potential customer will be aware of your brand; he will be informed, engaged and ready to speak to your sales team. Would all that happen without marketing? In some cases yes, but having the marketing strategy ready will certainly aid the process.
Now imagine if there was no marketing. How would that same customer find you? Would he know your company, how to contact you, what solutions you offer and why they stand out in the market? Some may say word of mouth, but that in itself is a form of marketing.
If your sales team is contacted by a potential customer who saw your website and analysed your product range, it is a far shorter journey towards completing the deal. The marketing job was done upfront and now it’s over to sales. Can you see now how the marketing function supports sales?
Developing a marketing strategy
The point I’m making here for any business asking ‘why marketing?’ is that any marketing strategy will add more value when aligned with sales activity.
This is not an easy task. Quite often these departments (even if made out of one person each) would compete with each other rather than listen and support to reach the common goal. In fact, getting a sales team to update the old presentation they’ve ‘always used’ can be tricky, I know that from my own experience.
Looking at the potential rewards, however, it’s a shift that should be encouraged. Making sales and marketing understand that one cannot exist without the other – and to embrace each other’s ideas – is vital. Especially in today’s changing world.
Continue the conversation
If you’re asking yourself ‘why marketing?’ speak to me about the benefits of a flexible, result-driven outsourced marketing service. Get in touch.