Integrate sales and marketing for +30% more success
Sales and marketing are both responsible for attracting and serving customers. Ideally, these departments work closely together. Unfortunately, in practice, this is far from always the case. And that costs money. Better alignment between sales and marketing can lead to 32% higher sales, as well as 36% more customer retention and 38% higher sales.1 So get started with our practical tips.
Today, the prospect has already gone through 85% of the buyer's journey prior to first contact. So the sales cycle largely falls to marketing. At the same time, marketing needs sales more than ever. Specific content from customer needs are crucial for lead generation and content. And that specific knowledge comes primarily through sales. So the need for collaboration is growing in both departments.
Develop plans and content together
The way to get both departments to work together is to have them plan together. First, it is important to agree on the ideal prospect. How does this prospect behave, what industry does he work in and in what position? Based on this ideal prospect, build personas together so that everyone knows razor-sharp who to target and what triggers each persona has. Then draw out the buyer journey together in as much detail as possible and develop very specific content for each persona and touchpoint, working on 6 to 8 touchpoints per lead. Research shows that nearly 95% of B2B buyers choose their supplier based on content offerings. Because of the information overload, prospects will look for increasingly specific content because it makes them feel like it's about them. Let sales think about personas, journeys, content and marketing campaigns so that they fit seamlessly with customers and the follow-up journey. The ultimate goal of providing relevance with content is to address certain questions, expectations and concerns.
Hire sales marketers
The integration between marketing and sales can be accelerated by hiring people who combine both functions. Sales marketers, in other words. Sales marketers are the new version of inside sales and focus on inbound marketing. They work in both online and offline marketing and sales tools, CRM and marketing automation software. They are also active on social media. They push content, create content and analyze what the recipient does with it. They focus on conversion of individual on- and offline contacts. The knowledge they gain from data analysis and contact with customers and prospects, in turn, the sales marketer converts into highly targeted SEO techniques, SEA campaigns and new content items. In short, the sales marketer supports both marketing and sales people. Indispensable in the integration of marketing and sales.
Work from the same CRM & automation systems
Whereas CRM used to be mainly an internal knowledge source of sales, today it is the digital heart of sales as well as marketing, linked to all communication channels. Besides phone calls and emails, marketing automation also logs and tracks visits to the website, customer portals and social media in the CRM system. As a result, you know exactly when a prospect opens an offer and how often. You measure which videos were viewed and to what extent. You see which social posts a prospect sees or “likes". Based on the observed behavior, you can send the right follow-up message each time. Still not convinced? Then follow up with a convincing customer case. Already working on the offer? Then an advice call follows. This is how you serve prospects in a customized way.
Collaboration leads to a stable sales funnel
Cooperation between marketing and sales not only makes your commercial success 30% greater, but also more predictable and stable. Sales has a cyclical nature. Depending on the average lead time of your proposition, it is hollow or stationary. Also, sales (for example, contacting potential customers by phone) has more of a short-term effect. With marketing, you build effect steadily per touchpoint and stack effectiveness. Moreover, the quality of a lead generated by marketing is often high. Through inbound marketing, the right customers select themselves based on specific content. If they then contact you as a result, the most important foundation has already been laid. So by having marketing and sales work together, you can achieve both short- and long-term results. You also flatten the peaks and valleys as you steadily build on a stable sales funnel.
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