Sales & Marketing Alignment: The Ultimate Guide to Boost Revenue & Retention

Marketing Converting is the act of combining sales and marketing together (also known as smarketing) to increase revenue. 

The Cost of Misalignment: A $1 Trillion Problem

I’m sure you’re well aware of the critical role of sales and marketing alignment in business success. Here will delve into the negative consequences of misalignment, including wasted resources and stagnant revenue, and outlines a ten-step approach to achieving successful alignment.

Key Points:

• Cost of Misalignment: Misalignment between sales and marketing costs businesses a staggering $1 trillion annually due to wasted resources and inefficient marketing efforts.
• Benefits of Alignment: Aligning sales and marketing teams can lead to significant benefits, including:
  
  • Increased revenue: Up to 32% higher revenue.
  • Improved customer retention: Up to 36% higher customer retention.
  • Higher win rates: Up to 38% higher win rates.
  • Greater brand awareness: Increased brand awareness.
  • Faster growth: Up to 24% faster growth rates and 27% faster profit growth.
• Evolution of Sales and Marketing: Traditional sales techniques are no longer effective due to:
  
  • Shift in buyer behavior: 92% of buyers start with online research.
  • Decline of cold calling: 90% of buyers reject cold calls.
  • Rise of marketing automation: Data-driven marketing allows for precise targeting.

10 Steps to Achieve Sales and Marketing Alignment:

1. Create a Single Customer Journey: Develop a unified customer experience journey across all touchpoints.
2. Agree on a Customer Persona: Define your ideal customer profile through collaboration between sales and marketing.
3. Use a “Marketing First” Approach: Educate and nurture leads with valuable content before engaging in sales conversations.
4. Track Joint KPIs: Set shared key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress towards common goals.
5. Use Customer Feedback: Utilize customer feedback (“Voice of Customer”) to refine marketing messages and product offerings.
6. Maintain Consistent Messaging: Ensure consistent messaging across all customer touchpoints for a seamless brand experience.
7. Develop Sales-Enabling Content: Create marketing materials such as product sheets and white papers to support sales teams.
8. Collaborate on Post-Sale Growth and Retention: Work together to retain existing customers and increase their lifetime value.
9. Create a Unified Content Strategy: Develop a joint content strategy aligned with the customer journey and sales process.
10. Implement Closed-Loop Reporting: Track leads throughout the conversion funnel and share data feedback to optimize both sales and marketing efforts.

Sounds easy when it’s written down here right? Not sure if you can implement this yourself? Contact us below and will see how we can help!