The alignment of sales and marketing strategies based on common goals takes on the fancy term of “smarketing.” The objective of smarketing is to remove the existing barriers between a company’s sales and marketing departments by creating an integrated approach to both.
When the barriers are removed, two things happen. There’s greater visibility into the goals and achievements of each department, and each can leverage the data and knowledge of the other, which results in efficient lead generation and closing more sales. The bottom line here is that smarketing can ramp up sales substantially.
As a matter of fact, a study done by the Aberdeen Group discovers that companies with aligned sales and marketing departments achieved 20 percent annual revenue growth while counterparts actually had revenues decrease by 4 percent. But how does a company create and implement an effective smarketing strategy? Here’s a snapshot of some factors to consider.
The Dynamic of Together Instead of Alongside
In order for sales and marketing teams to function efficiently, they must work together instead of alongside each other. Both need to be on the same page and talk the same language. From there, specific procedures should be in place to determine at what stage of the marketing funnel a lead gets sent to the sales department. The criteria for what qualifies as a sales-ready lead needs to be defined. Without specific procedures and criteria in place, the sales team will wind up wasting time trying to close leads that shouldn’t have been send over in the first place. Potential sales are lost.
Establish Goals and Metrics
Specific numbers, percentages and timeframes should be clearly defined so each department knows its responsibility. Consider creating a service level agreement between the sales and marketing departments for accountability. Be sure to reevaluate the agreement regularly in order to keep up with performance.
Connect the Dots
Connect marketing analytics software with customer management (CRM) software in order to close the loop between the two departments. This way, sales leads can be tracked through the sales funnel. Marketing teams can see what leads turned into sales and evaluate the why or why not. Another benefit of connecting these two systems is that marketing teams can send additional information about leads to sales. This helps sales reps makes warmer calls and increase the close rates. At the same time, the sales department can provide feedback about which marketing programs are working and which ones are not. At the end of the day, both the sales and marketing departments can obtain valuable information that would’ve been lost if the dots weren’t connected.
The Data: Measure, Analyze and Learn
By measuring and analyzing data of each department, performance of each department at each stage of the marketing and sales funnels can be known. What percentage of leads did sales contact? How does this number compare to the goals established by the service level agreement? Share all of the data on a dashboard, so each department can determine where there’s room for improvement.
Communication
Communication is key to a successful smarketing strategy. There should be direct and frequent communication between departments. If the marketing department is running a new campaign, the sales department should be fully informed. And during weekly meetings, both departments can discuss progress, tweak buyer personas, learn about product updates and more.
If you’d like to learn more about the smarketing strategy and how its ramps up business efficiency, give Marketing Essentials a call today and talk to one of our digital strategists at 419.629.0080.
