When decision-makers in companies think about growth, they often look in two directions. Sales measures effects on the spot, while marketing measures in months or years. What could possibly go wrong? (Yes, there’s more than a pinch of irony in that question.)
It’s no surprise that the relationship between these two departments is often described as ‘complex’. In reality, the dynamic and the division of roles is fairly simple. Both are essential, but each operates by its own rules. When those rules aren’t aligned, friction follows. But when the interests, goals and know-how of both departments are brought to a common denominator, a company can achieve incomparably more than if just one of them dominates.
Sales needs speed and looks for opportunities. Marketing needs consistency and creates the foundations so the opportunities can arise in the first place.
Where do the most common conflicts come from? How can data become a bridge between the teams, and what can we learn from good practice? Read on.
Where does it get stuck, and where do the differences in expectation arise?
Sales wants results quickly, because that, after all, is its job. Marketing, in turn, wants to build foundations that are resilient to fluctuation and built for the long run. Conflict shows up when sales sees marketing activity as too slow, and marketing sees sales as too direct, too immediate, and at times too haphazard. In reality both are (partly) right, because each is judging the other by its own yardstick.
Let data be a bridge, not a weapon for an internal battle.
In many companies, data becomes a source of tension. Sales analyses ‘field’ numbers while marketing studies its communication metrics. Instead of squabbles and an open front about who should defer more to the other, the best path is for the company to be able to connect the data. Only when interpreted together does it become the best ally for both teams, and therefore for the whole. If a company sets up a unified reporting and interpretation system, the tone of the conversation changes too, because there is no longer ‘our’ versus ‘your’ data, only one shared view that shows what is working and what isn’t.
Take a real-world example. Volvo Trucks accelerated its global sales by combining marketing data on brand perception with sales data on customer behaviour at different stages of the buying process. The result wasn’t just ‘pretty charts’, but better stories, better content and a substantially higher sales conversion rate.
What does the experience of others tell us?
Plenty of companies are already proving that marketing and sales can operate around the same goal, even if their teams approach work at different rhythms. A typical example is the online retailer Zalando. Their marketing team develops emotional, powerful campaigns, while sales at the same time measures customers’ micro-decisions at every stage of the purchase. When some piece of data shows that customers don’t understand a new feature or service, marketing prepares explanations, clear visuals or new messaging. When marketing spots a shift in behaviour and pinpoints where in the funnel the customer ‘stops’, sales gets an immediate read on whether the obstacle is the price, the offer, or somewhere else. A similar example, sticking with fashion, is the global giant Zara. There, sales analytics is used as the main information system for developing new collections. Marketing then shapes stories, highlights and communication based on the same data. The result is a blend of swift sales response and a consistent marketing strategy.
How to connect the two worlds: a culture of cooperation is key.
You have to start with culture, not with tools. Companies that successfully bring marketing and sales together know how to weave together three steps.
First, leadership clearly defines how success is measured: not only in sales, but also in communication, perception and loyalty. If sales measures today and marketing measures tomorrow, leadership has to bring both views together into a single goal.
The second step is organising the processes so that the teams meet regularly and exchange information. Such meetings aren’t there to convince anyone or to compete over who is right. They are there to understand what is happening with customers. Sales brings real contact with the market into the company, while marketing brings the broader perspective backed by data, research and strategy.
And the final step is unifying communication into a single story. The story sales tells the customer in the physical or online basket and at the point of sale has to be the same story marketing tells across all communication channels.
Marketing and sales aren’t opponents. They shouldn’t even be in each other’s way. They are part of the same equation, which only delivers a result when both sides act in alignment, in connection, and with the same definition of success.
Let’s talk about how to align the two at your company.
