Long-term business success comes through holistic growth where all the moving parts of the business are interlinked, moving as one in the same direction. Sales and marketing teams have always been closely connected, but in a digitally transforming world, the boundary between them is becoming less meaningful. It’s now more important than ever for sales and marketing to be joined at the hip.
A world of new abilities
The shift towards a digital mindset often means a profound change from the old way of doing things. So much so that those accustomed to legacy systems (and their limitations) often struggle to get their heads around it. Essentially it means embracing a new world of functionality and immediacy while learning how to make the most of it. But that means it’s now more important than ever for sales and marketing to be on the same page.
Consider the fact that any digital ad, video or piece of marketing content can now contain an embedded, “clickable” call to action that leads to a point of sale. New abilities like these mean that structural changes and changes in corporate mentality are unavoidable.
Narrow the divide
Businesses should begin by considering how they can use digital to narrow the divide between tactical sales efforts and strategic marketing initiatives. In fact, businesses should be looking at ways to align a marketing mindset with other areas of the business such as IT and customer experience.
Data lives at the heart of digital marketing, and sales and marketing should be leveraging the same data to build a single customer view. Modern business integration software such as customer relationship management (CRM) tools are the key to helping respective divisions align their goals and strategies based on the same pool of data. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software then brings together the other business processes with purposeful integration on a singular IT system, essentially a communication backbone for the entire enterprise.
Collaboration and not competition
This can ensure that the various elements of the business work collaboratively and not competitively. Business leaders should aim to implement a structure that facilitates a single sales funnel, one in which each element in the process is given the same degree of focus. Seamless upscaling can be achieved once such a structure is in place. That’s when another powerful sales enablement tool comes into play: automation. Through automation, it’s possible to engage more people more often while reducing the costs associated with such communications.
Facing up to the challenge
It’s always easier to focus on the things that are working and are enjoyable while ignoring the pain points. This is why some businesses might have great advertising but terrible customer service. Ultimately, it’s of no concern to customers where marketing ends and sales begin, they really just want a seamless experience that delivers real value.
To learn more about this, see our Sales Enablement Webinar: The 8 Steps To Sales and Marketing Automation Success.
