Now if you are anything like me, you would agree that peanut butter needs jelly and jelly needs peanut butter. It's a fact and scientifically proven that you can't have one without the other. When the two go together, classic magic occurs. From the youngest to the oldest of taste buds, the blend of this sweet and salty treat is simplistically satisfying.
However, they are not the same. Peanut butter is peanut butter, and jelly is jelly. The process of creating the two is different. The effects and impacts made on the bread they're spread upon are unique. Both serve a distinct purpose though having one without the other is senseless.
May I just say that the same holds true for marketing and sales. It doesn't make much sense to have one without the other, but they are very much different - different purposes, different impacts, and different results. Another fact of life that is undeniable and should not, could not, would not be confused.
Let's examine these scenarios. With our sandwich, both peanut butter and jelly are required to result in a delectable delight. Well, both marketing and sales are needed to add customers and grow customer relationships. These function areas are interested in attracting prospects and converting them into paying customers, which in turn generate revenue. They, however, use different approaches and strive for different outcomes, both increasing the customer base.
Marketing is more focused on the customer and the customer's need. Everything about marketing involves gaining a better understanding of that targeted audience, so the business can create a brand that speaks directly to them. Data is the name of the marketing game. It is used to develop strategies, plans, and tactics that will help spark interest in your business beyond the product and service provided.
Marketers use market research and analysis to understand what potential clients are interested in and are searching for. That information is then woven into the company's brand so that it becomes relatable to the target. The brand now grabs that potential customer's attention and marketing continues to woo them along the journey that leads them into the arms of sales.
Now it is sales’ job to close the deal and put a ring on it. While marketing is about patience, long-term goals, and building for the company's future, sales is hot and heavy in the now. Sales brings the product and service to the customer and doesn't wait for an invitation. If marketing has done its job right, the invite should have already been accepted by the potential customer via the marketing journey. So, the sales funnel is involved in getting this person to the finish line.
The product and service is sales' number one concern. Getting the product into the hands of people and the right number of people to meet goals and quotas is a top priority. Who these hands belong to - that's what matters to marketing.
Marketing is the yin to sales yang. They are opposite and contrary forces but interconnected and interdependent in every way. Businesses need both as separate functions that work together to bring potential buyers into a relationship that leads to walking down an eternal aisle.
In the most basic form of explanation, marketing sends out the invites to the party and ensure it is the right kind of party that will bring out the right kind of people. Sales ensures that no one leaves the party empty-handed.
So here's to always eating peanut butter with jelly!
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