How Sales and Marketing Can Align to Deliver More Value

It would be easy to assume that this is just the result of a natural divergence between departments, a function or outcome of the different ways in which marketing and sales teams operate on a day-to-day basis, but that’s not actually the case. There’s compelling evidence that companies with an effective interrelation between sales and marketing can achieve significant improvements in a number of areas, such as:

• 6% more likely to exceed revenue goals
• An overall annual increase in growth of 20%
• An improved customer experience, according to 90% of sales and marketing professionals
• Critical business growth, according to 87% of sales and marketing leaders

Given those figures, you’d expect every business to be prioritizing a better relationship between their sales and marketing teams.

Recent years have seen an uptick in the amount of cohesive, interdepartmental collaboration within businesses, particularly in ecommerce and related tech-selling sectors. But establishing this relationship is easier said than done and much more difficult to achieve in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created significant pressure at even the most aligned organizations.

Buyers are naturally being more cautious, and sales teams can no longer engage their target accounts physically, due to the need to work-from-home. These added obstacles, combined with the ongoing pressure to close valuable deals, make it difficult for sales teams to focus on anything other than bringing in revenue.

In turn, sales teams are heaping pressure on their marketing counterparts to help engage prospects digitally. For any organization to thrive in these circumstances is difficult, but a dedicated alignment strategy can produce excellent results and increase morale and cohesion within the business.

Focus on common goals

B2B sales and marketing leaders need to look at bringing their teams and other stakeholders together around common objectives. This involves:

• Clearly defining everyone's role within the partnership, including directors and managers
• Setting clear expectations in terms of numbers and outsources
• Putting together rules of engagement for everyone to adhere to
• Establishing shared accountability metrics

Even if there remains a gap in approach, sales and marketing leaders can still increase alignment by ensuring their teams are invested in the common goal of delivering value for their customers. If everyone is working towards delivering positive outcomes for your prospects, the challenges of different departments working together can be alleviated.

Outline clear requirements for leads

Gartner also suggests addressing gaps in core lead management processes. Define what makes a good lead as it passes through the pipeline, and have both teams work together to agree the minimum criteria a lead/prospect must meet before sales engagement is required. A definitive collaborative focus will build trust between departments and optimize processes and outcomes.

The present disruption requires not only a redoubling of marketing efforts, but also a rethink. Content marketing is going to have to adapt to changing customer expectations and consumer habits. At a time of unprecedented disruption, organizations can accelerate their marketing efforts by leveraging digital technology to meet their prospects where they are.

There’s been a great digital migration since the pandemic began that accelerated an already ongoing trend. For marketers, that means using data to personalize offerings and enable rapid response adaptions to emerging threats or opportunities.

But there’s another way that marketing and sales teams can come together around content formats to deliver high quality leads, and one that delivers the interpersonal communication business leaders have traditionally valued and thrived on...

To learn more about how to better align your sales and marketing departments, listen to our interview with Greg Gifford on The Strategic Marketing Show:

Listen to the episode via your preferred pocast platform:

• Spotify
• Audible
• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Amazon Music

Hosting virtual events

Pretty much all in-person conferences have been cancelled and will remain a no go for the time being. By moving these events online and targeting them at senior level, enterprise buyers, B2B sales and marketing leaders can collaborate in the delivery of in-depth insight to a high potential audience of prequalified attendees. Using virtual roundtables and events can forge mature relationships with decision makers in your target base, accelerate the sales pipeline and bring both teams into closer alignment.

Virtual events reach a broader potential audience than physical ones, but the use of data analytics can also help to target the right audience on a granular level. There are several established virtual event providers that bring this expertise to the table, along with a ready-made audience of movers and shakers across the spectrum of industries, to help B2B enterprises cut through the noise and deliver explosive returns.

Deliver value to your customers

An effective reaction to COVID-19 doesn’t just have to be about survival. Getting your organization’s response right can help to generate revenue that surpasses prior expectations and develops long term loyalty among your prospects. By focusing on delivering value for your customers – whether that’s exchanging ideas, providing relevant solutions to contemporary challenges or delivering much-needed insight – your organization can thrive through and beyond the current crisis.

Online executive events provide an opportunity to do all of those things at once and will naturally bring sales and marketing teams into closer alignment. It’s vital to remain connected to those in our business community in times of difficulty and disruption, so the time is right to prioritize either hosting, sponsoring or attending a digital summit that can deliver results in both the long and short term.