[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/10\/07\/sales-and-marketing-digital-trends\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/10\/07\/sales-and-marketing-digital-trends\/","headline":"Sales and marketing alignment is critical to win the digital customer","name":"Sales and marketing alignment is critical to win the digital customer","description":"It\u2019s no secret that sales and marketing alignment is challenging. Typically they work in parallel and rarely together. But, at today\u2019s successful companies, these teams are forging a strong, collaborative alliance that enables them to know their audience better, grow sales, and boost loyalty in this age of the connected, empowered customer. Recently, an Aberdeen […]","datePublished":"2016-10-07","dateModified":"2021-02-10","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/shalini-mitha\/#Person","name":"Shalini Mitha","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/shalini-mitha\/","identifier":183,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a94791a5e961f531a4604567d0562610412b149622abc6d8e117f6b44159a79?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a94791a5e961f531a4604567d0562610412b149622abc6d8e117f6b44159a79?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\/2016\/10\/sales-and-marketing-alignment.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/sales-and-marketing-alignment.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/10\/07\/sales-and-marketing-digital-trends\/","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\/","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\/commerce\/trends-commerce\/","name":"Trends","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fad","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q787045"]}],"wordCount":636,"keywords":["Customer Engagement","Digital Trends","Marketing","Sales","Sales and Marketing"],"articleBody":"It\u2019s no secret that sales and marketing alignment is challenging. Typically they work in parallel and rarely together. But, at today\u2019s successful companies, these teams are forging a strong, collaborative alliance that enables them to know their audience better, grow sales, and boost loyalty in this age of the connected, empowered customer.Recently, an Aberdeen research report\u00a0on the success of sales and marketing alignment. The study found, \u201cBest-in-class companies that optimize the marketing and sales relationship grow revenue 32 percent faster.\u201dAnd, more importantly, \u201cCompanies that align sales and marketing efforts by using their CRM system as system of engagement versus system of record enjoy stronger customer retention rates as well as more efficient end of the customer journey sales results. Benefit: 62 percent of best-in-class companies attain total sales team attainment of their quota.\u201dSales and marketing alignment: No easy challengeHistorically, the relationship between sales and marketing has been tumultuous, with both sides playing the \u201cblame game\u201d and pointing fingers on the reasons for lost revenue. But don\u2019t bring out those divorce lawyers yet \u2013 there is way to bring harmony.As with any new relationship, you need to set ground rules to ensure a successful union. Sales and marketing need to discuss the best ways to work together \u2013 especially in terms of a lead definition, process, and execution. Collaborate on the best approach to nurture leads and communicate on what works and what doesn\u2019t. As sales and marketing roles continue to overlap \u2013 with marketing carrying more responsibility further into the buying cycle and sales needing to be more knowledgeable and prepared with every customer interaction \u2013 it is important to break down those silos.The blame game needs to stop. In truth, both groups need each other. Marketing can be quite resourceful in deal support, nurturing leads\u00a0and\u00a0building customer relationships, while sales can provide first-hand insight into what customers want. The two need each other, and forging a strong, collaborative alliance is imperative in the era of the connected, empowered customer.How to align sales and marketingHere are four steps to get you started with sales and marketing alignment:1.) Work with marketing to ensure personalization of marketing content. It is imperative to know at what stage your customer is in their buying journey \u2013 so marketing can provide personalized and relevant content and so sales can build trust and confidence.2.) Accelerate productivity. A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. According to a study by Harvard psychologists Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert, 47 percent of our waking hours are spent ruminating and unfocused. Make every moment productive. Empower sales reps to sell with insight \u2013 anytime, anywhere, on any device.3.) Turn insight into action. The modern customer generates a tremendous amount of data. Enterprises are challenged to collect, organize, and interpret all of this data in order to create detailed customer profiles and share those across the entire front office. According to Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP, \u201dMachine learning will fundamentally change the enterprise and help salespeople see which opportunities will close.\u201d\u00a0Best-in-class companies use CRM solutions to provide ways to best proceed with current pipeline opportunities, based on past marketing and selling success.4.) Leverage tribal knowledge. Today\u2019s marketing and sales practitioners are supported by applications that promote the free exchange of ideas and best practices. Best-in-class companies are 91 percent more likely to deploy enterprise social collaboration platforms.Like any good marriage, the secret is mutual respect, empathy, and communication. If sales and marketing work together in harmony, the customer wins and loyalty and customer retention follows.  Every digital moment matters.Are you making the most of them?1,000 business leaders dish on how to stand out from the crowd with a great CX. Get the details\u00a0HERE.\u00a0This post was originally published on Selling Power and is republished here with permission."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2016","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/10\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"07","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/10\/\/07\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Sales and marketing alignment is critical to win the digital customer","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/10\/07\/sales-and-marketing-digital-trends\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]