From
my experience most small and mid-sized companies are product-centric and sales-driven.
They fall short of practicing solid marketing
principles. Their promotion
and sales campaigns fail to achieve ROI goals.
They typically reward only short-term quota related metrics. Buyers are wary of their sales reps who ask
to partner with them to solve a problem but don’t have the necessary business
acumen for adding value, which results in customer relationships that last only
as long as a given sales opportunity.
Marketing-Driven Companies are Innovative and Build
Relationships
Marketing-driven
companies develop core competencies into sustainable competitive advantages
that build barriers to both customer churn and competitive entry. Their unique brand value proposition [UVP]
differentiates them from competitors. They
apply market research skills to understand what motivates buyer behavior and they
continually scan the environment for new opportunities and threats. They are skilled at penetrating existing
markets and developing new ones. They
nurture relationships with mavens, connectors and other influencers. There is a close alignment between the
engineering, design, marketing, BizD and sales teams for continually enhancing
the product portfolio. Complementary
marketing enables a “whole product” solution and generates quality
referrals. Content marketing injects the
right information into the buying and selling process at the right time. Account-based marketing [ABM] generates
repeat business, new applications and referrals. Marketing-driven companies design effective
touch points that support a healthy marketing
funnel and sales funnel. They invest in the right marketing automation
tools that simplify the process and foster consistency and effectiveness.
Sales Process Plays a Key Role in Marketing-Driven
Companies
The Sales Organization is not an Independent
Fiefdom
Marketing-driven
companies hire and train the right sales
and contact center staff to support the marketing plan. They consistently execute an excellent sales
process, contribute to a strong customer portfolio and manage a healthy
sales funnel. Sales reps earn the right to
collaborate with customer leaders to solve problems because of their high business acumen, which adds
credibility to their solutions. A solid business
reputation sets them apart from competing sales reps who do not possess this
resume.
Sales reps with high business acumen also understand
their company and its products, processes and competition, and how their
company wins. Customer experience, transaction
GP, campaign, quota and company profitability incentives motivate behavior to
achieve short-term objectives while fully supporting the marketing plan.
Sales reps who work for marketing-driven companies receive
sales-ready leads. They have more time
to manage high quality sales opportunities, develop accounts and referral
sources, and manage geographical, industrial and virtual territories.
I believe that it is more difficult to create and
sustain a marketing-driven company than a sales-driven company. But, in the long run it will be a more
interesting place to work for the right people who will generate the results
that really matter in the long run.
Customers will want partnering relationships because of the way
marketing-driven companies work.
