Lessons Learned: How to Distinguish Between Marketing and Sales Challenges

Throughout my career in the dynamic world of B2B companies, I have often encountered a significant challenge that many organizations face—the struggle to differentiate between marketing and sales. The answer to that challenge can be summarised like this, marketing builds for the future, widening the sales funnel and creating brand awareness, sales focus on capturing immediate opportunities and driving revenue.?

However, it is vital to understand that marketing doesn't overlook sales activation; instead, it supports growth and ensures that potential clients in the market have your solution top of mind; the question is, what comes first? In this article, I will gather experience and insights on this challenge, emphasizing the importance of B2B companies' missed opportunities when building a brand, understanding the buyer's journey, and the fusion of marketing and sales.

Marketing: Building for the Future

Having been part of both sales and marketing teams through my own companies and as a consultant, I have witnessed firsthand the strategic initiatives crucial for a B2B company's future success. Through the years, I have seen again and again how building brand equity, widening the sales funnel, and creating awareness among our target audience has disruptive growth while running only with sales activation tends to return incremental impact.?

Sales: Capturing the Now

On the sales side, and witnessing their relentless efforts to seize immediate opportunities and generate revenue, I have seen how a strong brand has helped close bigger deals with a broader audience and with more profit. Sales are the frontline force, directly engaging with potential clients, understanding their needs, and closing deals. They bring their expertise and product knowledge to the table, guiding buyers through purchasing, highlighting the unique value proposition, and addressing any concerns. Their focus is on capturing the "now" and converting leads into valuable customers, contributing to the immediate growth of our organization.

The Power of Brand Equity (the positive kind)

A significant lesson from my experience is the incredible power of positive brand equity. A B2B company with a strong brand reputation, customers are willing to pay a premium for products or services, even when competitors offer similar offerings at a lower price. Driven by awareness, Brand equity is the culmination of trust, credibility, and customer loyalty. It sets us apart from the competitors and ensures that potential buyers have the solution top of mind when they are ready to decide. By investing in brand building, companies effectively reach future buyers, the 95%; the 5% need another approach.

Understanding the Buyer's Journey:

Understanding the buyer's journey has been crucial in aligning marketing and sales efforts. The path from need discovery to final purchase involves several stages, each requiring tailored approaches:

1) Need is Discovered:?Potential buyers become aware of a problem or need within their organization that requires a solution.

2) Need is Formalized:?The identified need is defined and formalized, often through internal discussions, to determine specific requirements and potential solutions.

3) Vendor Research:?Buyers thoroughly research potential vendors and available solutions. They gather information, compare offerings, and evaluate their suitability.?

Without awareness at this stage, the deal is lost before it begins.

4) Vendor Engagement:?Buyers engage with selected vendors to gain deeper insights into their solutions after narrowing down the options. This stage involves seeking additional information, asking questions, and assessing compatibility.

Awareness has made it so that the solution provider has been shortlisted; now, equity comes to play. Some might say it kicks in sooner.

5) Vendor Contact:?Once buyers have thoroughly evaluated potential vendors, they make direct contact to initiate more in-depth conversations and explore the possibility of a partnership.

6) Vendor Negotiations:?At this stage, negotiations focus on terms, pricing, and contract details. The goal is establishing mutually beneficial agreements that address the buyer's requirements.

7) Sales and Social Selling:?The sales process commences after successful negotiations, leading to the final purchase. Additionally, satisfied customers can become influential brand evangelists, sharing their positive experiences through social selling and contributing to overall reputation and future demand.

The Fusion of Sales and Marketing:

Don't get me wrong; I firmly believe that sales and marketing should be fused together as partners working towards shared objectives. However, they play different roles in impacting the bottom line; a strong brand brings in more sales and those wanting to sell their companies strongly support bringing up the evaluation of a company.

To Conclude:

1. Brand equity influences customer perceptions, generates positive demand, and sets the company apart.?
2. The sales funnel starts with awareness, and the deal is likelier to happen with more brand equity.
3. Understanding the buyer's journey and strategically positioning each stage raises the likelihood of closing the deal.
4. Recognizing the value of both secures a competitive advantage.

• Marketing builds for the future and widens the sales funnel.
• Sales capture immediate opportunities and drive revenue.

It is also important to keep in mind that Marketing tends to have a wider audience than "just" the buyers; this can be investors, owners, the competition and future and past employees to give a sample.

How important do you think a strong brand is? Based on my experience and backed up by research from the likes of the B2B Institute and Peter Field & Les Binet, it is crucial.?

Growth will be a challenge without it.

What do you think?