[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/12\/17\/how-to-sell-smarter-the-changing-role-of-marketing-and-advertising\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/12\/17\/how-to-sell-smarter-the-changing-role-of-marketing-and-advertising\/","headline":"Sell smarter: The changing role of marketing and advertising","name":"Sell smarter: The changing role of marketing and advertising","description":"Traditional advertising practices set out to define, build, and control a brand\u2019s image, but that's not possible anymore.","datePublished":"2014-12-17","dateModified":"2024-04-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/rich-taylor\/#Person","name":"Rich Taylor","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/rich-taylor\/","identifier":79,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4047d1e3d612728a5321afcca6b9fd94b552f95ba7293c54a03db680789385ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4047d1e3d612728a5321afcca6b9fd94b552f95ba7293c54a03db680789385ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Generative-AI-for-sales_FTR.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Generative-AI-for-sales_FTR.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/12\/17\/how-to-sell-smarter-the-changing-role-of-marketing-and-advertising\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sales\/crm\/","name":"CRM","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_relationship_management","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q485643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/customer-engagement-marketing\/","name":"Customer Engagement","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_engagement","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q5196451"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/marketing-general\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]},"Sales Success"],"wordCount":766,"keywords":["Customer Engagement","E-commerce","Marketing","Retail","Sales","Social Media"],"articleBody":"For most marketers, the traditional role of advertising is to build awareness, shape brand perception and drive sales.\u00a0In this traditional marketing model sales result from promoting your product(s), service(s) and unique value proposition.\u00a0While this has historically been a successful way to build and grow a brand, today it has become an ineffective and inefficient way to practice advertising for two reasons.First, it\u2019s out of touch with modern sales principles and best practices.\u00a0And second, this traditional approach is too focused on \u201cimage\u201d at a time when image is a superficial and unsustainable competitive point of difference.Adapting modern sales principles and best practices to marketingWould you believe that greater brand sales success is possible when your marketing and advertising objective isn\u2019t to sell?\u00a0It may sound hard to believe but let me explain why it\u2019s in fact true. In a study of 35,000 sales calls conducted by Huthwaite, Inc. researchers found that \u201cthe best way to sell is not to sell at all.\u201d\u00a0In fact, today\u2019s most successful and highly effective sales people spend very little time telling people about the features and benefits of the products and services they offer.Instead the most effective sales people spend most of their time trying to identify, understand, explore and resolve the problems their customers face.\u00a0They ask good questions but in fact talk very little about themselves and their product.\u00a0And when they do talk they tell stories that make a solution easy for people to understand.\u00a0Unfortunately, most of today\u2019s brand marketing and advertising does just the opposite.Everywhere you look there are brands aggressively promoting their products and services by talking about their features and benefits.Theses marketers still believe if they assert their brand value proposition strong enough and repeat their message often enough it will drive sales. Most of the time it doesn\u2019t and it won\u2019t.\u00a0Highly effective salespeople already know that telling stories that focus on the problem your audience is facing, rather than on the product or service you have to sell, is a much more effective way to connect with and engage your consumers.Isn\u2019t it time we as marketers let go of the outdated notion that advertising\u2019s role is to sell the unique features and benefits of your brand? Embrace the fact that telling a story about the problem your audience cares about will help your brand sell more without trying so hard to sell.      Sales process automation: Freeing sellers to sell \u2013 and excel                Learn how automation, done right, improves the sales process by eliminating manual tasks and guesswork so sellers can focus on closing deals.      Why brand behavior is more important than imageWhile traditional advertising practices set out to define, build and control a brand\u2019s image, marketers no longer operate in a world where brands completely control the message.\u00a0We live in a world where information is at people\u2019s fingertips and instantly available. From their smartphones, tables and computers people share their experiences, good and bad, along with their attitudes and feelings through a LIKE, status update, tweet or post.It\u2019s a world where transparency matters. Brands that promise one thing in their advertising but deliver something else face immediate criticism. And sometimes this criticism quickly grows into condemnation, outrage and crisis that can damage or destroy a brand\u2019s image and reputation in a matter of hours.This means the story people tell about your brand is primarily based on their experience with the products and services you deliver. It is also why it is so important that you tell a story that is authentic, meaningful, and relevant to your customers and the people you\u2019d like to buy your brand. Stories are how consumers sort through all the traditional marketing clutter and hype that bombards their everyday life. Smart salespeople are using the power of a well told story to win over people\u2019s hearts and minds. The future growth of your brand lies in your willingness to stop forcing your marketing and advertising to play a role that breeds consumer distrust and skepticism.Let go of the belief that the role of your marketing and advertising is to promote your brand\u2019s unique features and benefits, and embrace the idea that telling a clear, simple and emotional story of how your brand helps people resolve a problem or challenge will have far greater impact on future growth.  It’s not your father’s CRM.Boost customer relationships.Win loyalty.\u00a0Drive revenue.The future of business starts\u00a0HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2014","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"12","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/\/12\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"17","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/\/12\/\/17\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Sell smarter: The changing role of marketing and advertising","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2014\/12\/17\/how-to-sell-smarter-the-changing-role-of-marketing-and-advertising\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]