Are sales & marketing out of synch?
Sales and marketing will always see the world differently. Salespeople are driven by numbers, while marketing tends toward the long-term picture and how it can build brand awareness and shape industry positioning.
Compounding the problem is lack of process. More than half of sales, marketing and channel management pro's report that their companies do not yet have any formal programs, systems or processes for unifying sales and marketing, and only 12 percent of sales and marketing pro's say they have access to a well-integrated real-time view of customer interactions. [1]
It may be costing you dearly.
Businesses in which marketers report a successful alignment with sales (enabling them to jointly analyze win-loss drivers, measure ROI on marketing efforts, and provide lead tracking and track analysis) are almost three times more likely to outgrow their competitors. [2]
A CMO Council and AMA [1] study helps benchmark the realities of this relationship:
Salespeople spend approximately 40 percent of their time
preparing
customer-facing deliverables while leveraging less than 50 percent
of the materials created by marketing.
Only 10-20 percent of salespeople are creating deliverables that are both compelling to their customers and consistent with their corporate messaging.
Almost 85 percent of a company's brand image is determined by the direct interaction between the sales force and its customers.
Beware, senior management has noticed. [1]
43.6 percent say they're dissatisfied with the way their company
generates new business. While 53 percent said sales and marketing
functions had close and collaborative relationships, only seven
percent said the groups worked together effectively to harvest
business.
When sales and marketing believe each other to be out of synch, the
impact to morale and the bottom line can be devastating. CRM tools
are underutilized, valuable leads are squandered and customer
retention and profitability suffer.
Both "sides" can readily articulate ways to build a more
rewarding
partnership. Consider these "relationship requests" when looking
for ways each team can contribute toward improving
Customer Lifetime Value and
profitability.[1]
Footnotes:
[1] CMO Council "Closing the Gap: The Sales &
Marketing Alignment Imperative" 2008
[2] Marketing Profs "B-to-B Lead Generation; Marketing ROI &
Performance Study" 2008
