The connection between marketing and sales is critical to success in any organization, especially in a business-to-business (B2B) environment.
Sales alignment ensures that everyone in the organization – from the front-line sales staff to the marketing team – is working together to achieve common goals. Marketers need to keep an eye on sales alignment for a few key reasons.
In this article, we will shed light on the relationship between the two and why it gives a better lens for spotting business opportunities and mitigating risks.
What is B2B Marketing?
Business-to-business marketing, or B2B marketing, is the process of marketing products or services to other businesses or organizations.
The focus of B2B marketing is to build relationships and create long-term customers, rather than simply making a one-time sale.
To do this, B2B marketers must focus on creating content that is not only interesting and relevant to their target audience but also provides value that can help the customer achieve their business goals.
What is Sales Alignment?
Sales alignment is a term used to describe the process of aligning the sales process and strategy with the overall business plan.
When sales alignment is achieved, the sales process becomes a key driver of business success and growth.
Achieving sales alignment requires careful planning and execution. It should be a key priority for any business looking to improve its sales performance.
How is B2B Marketing and Sales Alignment Related?
B2B marketing and sales alignment is a process by which companies ensure that their marketing and sales teams are working together efficiently to close deals and drive revenue. It achieves goal congruence in a lot of ways.
B2B Marketing and Sales Alignment Ensures Customer-Centeredness
Alignment can be simplified by tools, including a CRM system, which can help track customer interactions and sales pipeline progress.
CRM can help create a single view of the customer, which can be applied to inform marketing strategy and execution.
In addition, CRM can help automate and manage customer communications, making it easier to stay in touch with customers and track their interactions with the brand.
Moreover, it tracks customer behavior and preferences, allowing marketers to better understand their needs and how to meet them.
By leveraging the power of CRM, B2B marketers can achieve greater sales alignment and improve the overall effectiveness of their marketing efforts. Companies can ensure that they are maximizing their opportunities for success.
B2B Marketing and Sales Alignment Use Shared Technology
Shared technology can help B2B Marketers achieve sales alignment in a few different ways.
It can help create transparency between marketing and sales teams by providing a platform to view and access data. This transparency can help identify areas of improvement and foster collaboration between the two.
A shared technology also helps automate and streamline processes, making it easier for sales and marketing to work together seamlessly.
Moreover, shared technology can provide valuable insights and analytics that can help B2B Marketers further optimize their sales and marketing efforts.
B2B Marketing and Sales Alignment Reduce Wastage Cost
B2B marketing and sales alignment can reduce the overall cost of running a marketing campaign by ensuring that the sales and marketing teams are working efficiently.
By aligning the sales and marketing teams, businesses can avoid duplication of effort and ensure that the resources are used in the best possible way.
Also, businesses can create a more streamlined process reducing the overall cost of running a marketing campaign.
Bottlenecks in Aligning the Marketing and Sales Team
It is not uncommon to face bottlenecks when aligning the marketing and sales team. It is often because of the team’s different objectives and goals.
Marketing is typically focused on creating awareness and generating leads, while sales are centered on closing deals and generating revenue.
As a result, it can be challenging to align the two teams in a way that is favorable to the company.
Consider that possible bottlenecks can occur when aligning the marketing and sales teams.
Lack of Clarity on Objectives and KPIs
Misaligned marketing and sales teams’ objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) can lead to several problems.
For instance, marketing may create content non aligned with the sales team’s objectives, which can lead to confusion and frustration.
Likewise, if marketing is not clear on the KPIs that the sales team is trying to meet, they may not be able to provide the proper support or resources.
This leads to a lack of cooperation between the two teams and ultimately results in less effective marketing and sales efforts.
Lack of Understanding of Each Other’s Processes
There are some ways in which a lack of understanding of each other’s processes can prevent marketing and sales alignment. One of the most obvious is that if marketing and sales misunderstand each other’s process, they will not be able to communicate with each other.
It can lead to miscommunication and misconception, resulting in conflict.
Additionally, they may not be able to work together effectively to meet common goals.
Eventually, failure to understand each other’s processes can make it difficult for marketing and sales to have an understanding ofeach other’s perspectives, making it difficult to find common ground and work together effectively.
Lack of Communication and Coordination
There are many ways in which the absence of communication can prevent marketing and sales alignment. The commonest is when sales teams are not kept up-to-date on marketing initiatives.
It can lead to sales teams pursuing leads that are already invalid or not following up on leads that marketing has generated.
Apart from that, if sales teams are not given clear guidance on what marketing initiatives are underway, they may unable to successfully sell the products or services being marketed.
In short, communication is key to ensuring that marketing and sales are aligned.
Siloed Organization
To prevent marketing and sales alignment, siloing is necessary. By separating the two departments, each can focus on its own goals and objectives without interference.
As well as, siloing allows for more specialization within each department, leading to greater efficiency and productivity.
Yet, siloing can also help to prevent the spread of misinformation between departments, as each will have its distinct sources of information.
Lack of Trust
If there is a lack of trust between marketing and sales, it can negatively affect their alignment. Each is less likely to share information and work well together resulting in tension and conflict, making it compromising to reach agreements and goals.
Plus, mistrust can also make it challenging to build relationships, which are essential for effective communication and collaboration.
Sales and marketing alignment is essential to success in any business. By taking the time to ensure that your sales and marketing teams are working together, you can avoid many potential problems and ensure that your business is as successful as possible.
When sales and marketing work together, they can create a more powerful force than either team could on its own.
