Sales think marketers are lost in abstractions and don’t understand what real customers actually want. Marketers think that sales only care about their commissions, and just want leads that convert as easily as possible. A familiar situation? Or an out-of-date cliche?
Research suggests it’s increasingly the latter. In recent years, companies with good sales and marketing alignment have reported significantly higher revenue growth (an average of 32% higher, according to one report). So C-suites have focused on creating and sustaining that alignment. According to Gartner, 90% of the businesses surveyed recently agreed that their sales and marketing teams’ priorities are aligned.
Job done then? Well, not quite.
Relationships between sales and marketing have certainly improved in many businesses. However, progress is very dependent on sector. A report on the subject from Cranfield School of Management in the UK uses the software sector as an example.
“Whilst many non-software companies are evolving their sales and marketing strategies in similar ways, the SaaS and software sector has been at the forefront of adopting many of the new technologies and processes,” it says.
These processes include setting overall KPIs for sales and marketing. These then ladder down to individual department and team targets. They also involve regular alignment meetings between the two departments. These aim to build trust and understanding by discussing what each is doing, and what help each needs from the other. The ultimate aim is to create a feedback loop so that marketing can learn from the sales team’s experiences. They can then use that information to better tailor the communications it produces.
That’s why a strong relationship between sales and marketing is so important for content marketers. Gartner has estimated that by this year, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur in digital channels. Customers in both B2C and B2B are using these channels to step outside the old sales cycle model. Now they can research their next purchase online and collect almost all the information they need. And they can buy from your competitor before you even know they’re in-market.
So not only do sales and marketing require a much more cooperative relationship, they also have new roles to play.
Marketers now have to encourage customers – existing and potential – to raise their hands much earlier in their journey. That means more more precisely timed and tailored content. It means content that addresses the customer’s needs and problems, and establishes their company as the experts who can help. And a key element in understanding what those needs and problems are is feedback from the sales team. They’re the ones who are talking to customers. They have the most up-to-date information about what’s bothering them.
Meanwhile, the sales role is moving from persuasion to consultation. Once the customer has made contact, (i.e. become a lead), the salesperson’s job is to become their trusted guide through the purchase process. Their ultimate goal is to create an advocate for their product or service within the client company. That means supplying their contact with all the information they need to convince their colleagues to buy from your business.
In turn, that means sales needs much more content from marketing. They need to be able to answer questions from all areas of the client business. And that’s on top of all the content required to get clients to raise their hands in the first place.
In other words, antagonism between sales and marketing has become a luxury no business can afford. More than ever, each team needs the other in order to succeed. So if you’re not investing in the technology and processes required to build this new relationship, our advice is to start as soon as possible.
Heb je weinig of zwakke leads, weinig bezoekers, weinig clicks? We sommen in deze whitepaper 14 redenen op waardoor het fout kan lopen en geven tips hoe je dit kan vermijden.
