When Marketing and Sales are strengthened

[Ehsanuls55]

Marketing and Sales come from a history of disagreements, in some cases coldness, in others disinterest.

Regardless of the case, changes in the way B2B buyers buy are requiring companies to have both departments work together toward a unified funnel.

The benefits are many, but to achieve them we must change our approach, moving from the traditional model to one that allows synergistic collaboration between marketing and sales.

This approach is called S+M or “Smarketing,” and that is the topic of this article.

It's the Internet's fault.
Digitalisation has changed the rules of the game. Previously, the B2B seller controlling directors email lists would speak directly to the buyer. In these conversations, all kinds of queries related to the buyer's need and the seller's solution were resolved.

These types of meetings gave the B2B salesperson the opportunity to demonstrate their authority in the field and become a trusted advisor.

Today, that process happens on the digital channel.

Buyers prefer to resolve their queries online, with information that they can find and process through digital media, social networks, search engines, comparison sites, video or podcast platforms, etc.

This has made the role of Marketing grow significantly in the B2B purchasing process. The more complex the need and the solution, the more necessary it becomes to have qualified information, and the more relevant the work of creating and making available that valuable content.

That's why we say that digitalisation has changed the rules of the game. Now it is the buyers who want to direct and control their own process, and they find in digital content the raw material to be able to understand, compare and decide.

B2B sellers have become more focused on the final stage of the prospect's journey, the so-called BoFu (bottom of the funnel), which is the moment when the buyer ends up defining which supplier they will move forward with.

In this scenario, it is key that marketing and sales work hand in hand.