How to Align B2B Marketing and Sales Departments for the Win

Companies nowadays are more knowledgeable, and 90% of them independently surf the web for information and professional assistance to help them with project planning. Studies show that clients may complete over 50% of their purchasing process independently, making the collaboration between the sales and marketing departments essential.

However, companies that operate sales and marketing teams separately are at a disadvantage since there is a gap between the two departments. Driving sales and revenue is the shared objective of your marketing and sales departments. They must therefore maintain their phase at all times.

Organizations that are aligned reduce their customer acquisition costs by 30%. Additionally, the lifetime value of their customers is 20% higher.

B2B Sales and Marketing Alignment

To compete in the age of the customer, businesses of all sizes, including B2B firms, need to modernize their communication and content strategies. Prospects for B2B transactions nowadays initiate the buyer’s journey on their own. This suggests that the sales teams won’t start participating actively in this one for a very long time.

Prospects independently investigate and develop interest depending on the content from the internet. They will also evaluate and compare the providers themselves before moving on to the next stage. They will consider social media and customer feedback when searching to acquire reviews.

In this situation, the engagement of the salespeople comes before making wise use of marketing. Having high-quality content that increases brand credibility in its area of expertise is essential for attracting leads. Both teams must collaborate to do this. This is true! Sales teams have access to crucial information about prospects that marketers can use to create effective customer segments.

Companies with aligned marketing and sales teams experience 36% higher customer retention. Hence, aligning marketing and sales techniques is mandatory for any SME. The company’s sales force, which is especially crucial in a B2B market, is actually organized by the commercial department.

 “Sales and marketing alignment is about one shared goal: revenue that is delivered or over-delivered every quarter. There will always be tension, but that tension can be positive if there is a culture of clear expectations and communication.” – Craig Rosenberg

The goals become common when the sales and marketing teams collaborate for prospecting, lead generation, lead nurturing, closing sales, and creating customer loyalty. When objectives and duties are in line, prepare for more effective sales and marketing campaigns and happier teams at work.

But the question is how to achieve it!

How to Bridge the Gap between B2B Sales and Marketing?

Each industry should establish its own sales strategy and integrate it with marketing because each has different needs. Here are some fundamental steps:

Set objectives and KPIs

What expectations and goals do the two departments have?

What measures are to be used to assess whether those expectations and goals have been met?

It will be simpler for marketing and sales to support one another along the journey if they know one another’s objectives. You can create a service agreement for this purpose, which will function as a contract between the two departments.

Decide which buyer personas are ideal.

Marketing team need feedback from customers, prospects, and sales teams to identify the target audience, the message and offer to convey to the prospects, and the channels of communication that are most effective.

Suppose sales professionals need help to close a deal. In that case, they can always blame marketing for not getting the correct types of leads because marketing is supposed to design customer personas without input from sales teams.

“An empowered buyer is exactly what a sales and marketing organization should be targeting. Sales and marketing should unite to determine who their ideal customer is and how to reveal their latent pain and to move the customer to a place where they are more successful because of the product or service being offered.” – Claudine Bianchi

Together, develop a lead generation strategy.

The sales team should give input on lead generation strategies developed by marketing in addition to helping in the formulation of the ideal customer persona. Yes, marketing does have a plan, but it could be different from what the sales team is striving to reach.

Sales representatives aim to close a sale, but they might need to find out why a prospect is interested in the offer. Your communication will improve overall if you stick to one plan of action.

Define your responsibilities.

The traditional sales funnel concept separates marketing from sales. Both departments would cooperate better if income generation were their shared goal rather than just generating leads or closing sales. Additionally, it would streamline and improve the lead transfer procedure.

Determine success.

The sales and marketing teams should keep holding frequent meetings (weekly or monthly) to discuss and report on the results of each department’s initiatives. The following can be the primary determinants:

Is the marketing team effective at generating high-quality leads for the company?

Are there any sales tools that can help sales teams close more deals with clients?

Is the sales team aware of frequently asked queries, objections, and problems that could be addressed by more receptive marketing material?

Can marketing or sales teams shorten the purchasing process for their customers?

Continue to improve.

Analyze the information once again.

What methods are effective?

How can you expand on successful tactics or apply these techniques as a template for another sector that requires expansion?

What strategies do not work, and why?

Make notes about what circumstances to establish procedures or rules that will help create more successful plans.

Conclusion

The best opportunity to boost your company’s success right now may be through better sales and marketing alignment. Both teams significantly increase marketing ROI, sales productivity, and, most crucially, revenue growth by cooperating in a single revenue cycle.