Integrate s-s-s marketing within your organization!

That the sales and marketing departments need to work closely together is no longer news to many. Both departments focus on bringing in new customers and selling products and/or services. Yet that collaboration within several companies is not running as desired. The integration of "smarketing" may well be the solution.

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Smarketing, the new collaboration between marketing and sales

‍Inmany companies, sales and marketing operate as two separate departments: they work in separate rooms, often have their own director and both departments report based on their own indicators. This way of working can result in miscommunications between the two departments, something you would like to avoid as a company.

Therefore, we would like to introduce: 'smarketing'. This is an approach in which the sales and marketing departments integrate with each other. This involves agreeing on the terminology that will be used, the data and KPIs that will be reported on, and the two teams working closely together. In some organizations, the two departments are even put into one room. The marketing department involves members of the sales team in developing marketing campaigns, and the marketing team listens in during sales processes.

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The key take-aways for a successful smarketing business

‍Theopposing interests between sales and marketing can lead to turmoil and questions. How do you ensure that marketing and sales help each other to the best of their abilities, and what do the departments need from each other to function as well as possible?

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1. Communication is key

‍Agood communication between sales and marketing is important for ultimate sales success. This communication will cover the basics of marketing campaigns, the solutions being promoted and what target audience these solutions and campaigns are for.

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2. The right transfer

‍Itis important that qualified leads are transferred from marketing to sales at the right time. Contacting a lead too early can be disastrous for the sales process. To avoid this, as an organization you can set hard criteria that a lead must meet before they are designated as a qualified lead.

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3. All the information in your hands

‍Inorder to make the right move, it is important for sales to have all the necessary information. Marketing should inform sales about, for example, the conversations they have already had with a customer and what interests emerged there. By providing sales with the right information about the customer, the sales process runs as efficiently as possible.

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4. Strong reporting

‍Althoughseveral organizations have integrated the term "smarketing" into their operations, in practice marketing and sales still appear to operate as two different teams. To ensure that marketing transfers the right leads to sales, clear reporting on set targets is essential. When marketing delivers the right qualified leads that are easy to convert, both teams become stronger as a result.

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5. Provide overview

‍Itcould just happen that half of the sales team is on vacation when marketing brings in a bunch of new leads. The present sales team is working hard, but still has too little time on their hands. Promising leads may then drop out, something you obviously want to avoid. By having a clear overview and insight into the calendar of the marketing department, it becomes clear when a switch is needed to convert leads.

Whichever way you look at it, within every organization there will always be an interaction between marketing and sales. By having the two departments work together using the same tools and data, they can get results faster and easier. Smarketing is all about strong communication, the right (sales) tools and tremendous willpower from both parties. Success guaranteed!

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