Sales and marketing – what’s the difference? The answer is not much for the business world’s movers and shakers. Increasingly, the most innovative brands in the world are aligning these two departments to create a seamless, high-ROI experience that serves both staff and customers. This approach is known as “smarketing”, and while the portmanteau leaves something to be desired, the science behind it is solid. Here’s what to know.
Why Smarketing is the Next Big Thing
Traditionally, sales and marketing have operated in their own silos. This worked decently well in a previous lifetime, but in an era that demands responsiveness and adaptability, having sales and marketing separate and doing their own thing creates friction and inefficiency. When these two departments are siloed off, your marketing team will spend time and resources developing materials that won’t get used or don’t actually convert. Your sales team will also struggle to convert leads throughout the sales funnel. It’s an expensive lesson to learn.
Bringing sales and marketing together, on the other hand:
- Streamlines goals and processes
- Reduces “doubling up” on tasks or outreach
- Allows a fast response to market changes
- Boosts brand relevance and efficacy
- Provides a more consistent customer experience.
Smarketing works so well because these two departments are inherently complementary. Your sales team has deep customer insights, while your marketing team knows how to respond to those insights – and customer needs – with carefully crafted outreach. Combine those capabilities, and your organization is primed to meet your customers right where they are. The upshot? Improved brand awareness, higher revenues, better retention, and more wins.
How to “Smarket” Like a Pro
All of that sounds great, but how exactly do you manage it? Well, it’s all about proximity, collaboration, and shared goals. Instead of the traditional sales funnel, your organization should be working to build a marketing funnel. Start by getting your teams together and auditing your current sales and marketing strategies. Who are your customers? What do they need or want? What type of outreach do they best respond to?
From there, you’ll need to develop a single customer journey that both teams can agree on. Tap into your CRM and lead gen systems to create a holistic view of your customer and their journey. Then, design a customer persona so you know exactly who you’re targeting – and what they need or expect from your organization.
Next, your teams must work together to develop a marketing-first (vs. sales-first) approach. This entails targeting prospective leads with marketing outreach that solves a pain point – and then educates about your product or service. Instead of cold-calling, you’ll be nurturing leads instead, with your sales team stepping in when the customer is decision-ready. A powerful, consistent content marketing strategy is an absolute winner here.
The final step in a winning “smarketing” strategy is defining and tracking joint KPIs – and using customer feedback to finesse them as needed. Aligning your goals (and how they’re measured) will make it that much easier for your teams to work together to deliver great outcomes. Make sure your team has ample opportunity to connect so that they can analyze their performance and identify areas for improvement.
Get on the Smarketing Bandwagon with StellaPop
If your organization has hit a speed bump in terms of growth or conversions, the issue might be a disconnect between your sales and marketing teams. At StellaPop, we’re all about “smarketing,” and we’re here to help you break down those traditional silos to drive value and boost brand success. Ready to grow your business? Get in touch!
