How to Align Sales and Marketing to Improve Your Online ROI?

Sales and marketing are two critical functions of any business. However, the two live in different worlds. Sales talks to customers while marketing talks to prospects while they are still searching. But despite the different approaches, they have the same goal: improved conversions.

It is crucial to align your sales, and marketing teams to achieve maximum impact. If you don’t align your sales and marketing teams, it will have a direct effect on your enterprise.

The best sales funnels work to align your sales and marketing so that you can be as effective as possible at driving leads and sales. By creating an integrated strategy you can use sales to boost your marketing, or you can use marketing to boost your sales.

With that focus, it’s important to align both marketing and sales. This blog will go into different ways that sales and marketing can align to help your business achieve a higher ROI.

What is Sales and Marketing Alignment?

Sales and marketing alignment is about getting the sales and marketing teams to work together for a common goal.

Aligning sales and marketing involves creating a set of strategies and tactics that ‌help both teams accomplish their objectives. The two teams will still have distinct goals, but they will both be working on key elements that overlap and work toward driving revenue for the company as well as building a strong brand for the business.

The sales team is usually responsible for acquiring new customers, managing relationships with existing customers, and closing sales deals. The marketing team often takes care of developing leads through advertising campaigns, creating content, nurturing prospects through drip campaigns, or assisting with sales calls.

When it comes to aligning your sales and good marketing strategies, keep in mind that they don’t have to be exactly the same. Instead, you can focus on using different strategies that complement each other to drive revenue for the company.

Why Should Sales and Marketing Align?

Sales and marketing alignment results in an increase in revenue, because customer-facing teams can speak with one ‌voice. It also increases efficiency, reducing wasted time and resources spent working against each other.

The two departments have different goals, different processes, different priorities, and often operate on completely different timelines. In many companies, these two departments don’t even talk to each other. They operate in their own silos — one focused on selling products once they’re launched, and the other focused on generating demand for those products before they launch.

When sales and marketing are aligned, there’s a clearly defined process that both departments agree upon. Ideally, this process is well-documented and practiced regularly. This ensures consistency throughout the organization.

Every process requires buy-in from the participants involved. When sales and marketing work together to create a process for how they will work together, it’s more likely that there will be buy-in from both sides.

Aligning sales and marketing can be difficult because their goals are often misaligned.

Marketing handles brand awareness and lead generation, but that doesn’t always translate into sales. Sales might have a pipeline full of prospects but struggle to convert them into customers or close existing deals.

Alignment between the two teams can help solve this problem by working toward a common goal: ensuring that marketing generates leads that sales can easily close into paying customers.

Common Problems Sales and Marketing Alignment Can Solve

Most businesses have experienced a disconnect between their sales and marketing teams in some way. Whether it’s the inability to generate leads, poor customer experience, or a lack of revenue, sales and marketing alignment can solve many of your business problems.

Here are the common problems that businesses face, and how aligning your sales and marketing teams can help solve them:

i-Lead generation problem

If you find your sales team is constantly asking for more leads, it’s time to get your sales and marketing teams working together. This way the two departments can have a better understanding of what makes a quality lead, so you’re bringing in more qualified prospects from the start.

ii-Improving customer experience

Aligning your sales and marketing teams will create a seamless customer experience throughout all of your channels. This will increase customer retention rates, which is key for any business’ growth. It’ll also increase revenue since it costs 5 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one.

iii-Lack of revenue

A business’ revenue is another area where sales and marketing alignment can help solve a problem. Marketing departments should be equipped with strategies that help expand the customer base and upsell or cross-sell current customers. Sales need to know this information so they can properly close deals and increase revenue.

iv-A high cost of customer acquisition

If it’s costing your business too much to acquire new customers, it’s time to take a step back and see where things are going wrong. It could be that your sales and marketing teams are working against each other instead of together. When you align the two departments, you can create a more efficient process that will save your business money in the long run.

v-Lack of visibility into the sales pipeline and forecast

It’s difficult to predict how much revenue your business will bring in and when if you can’t see what’s happening in your sales pipeline. When sales and marketing are working together, they can provide each other with the information they need to create an accurate forecast. This way, you’ll know exactly how much revenue to expect and when.

vi-Inconsistent buyer’s journey

A buyer’s journey should be the same no matter which sales or marketing channel they’re coming from. If it’s not, that’s a sign that your sales and marketing teams are out of sync. By aligning the two departments, you can create a consistent buyer’s journey that leads to more sales and happy customers.

vii-Ineffective strategies

Aligning your sales and marketing teams will help you create marketing strategies that are based on data and customer insight. This way, you’ll know what’s working and what’s not, and you can adjust your strategies accordingly.

Components of Sales and Marketing Alignment

Alignment implies an integration of sales and marketing efforts, but that’s easier said than done. The truth is, creating buy-in and getting everyone on board takes a lot of work. It’s not as simple as just wanting to do it.

Here are the components of sales and marketing alignment you need to pay attention to:

i-Aligning goals

The first step to aligning your sales and marketing teams is to make sure they’re both working towards the same goal. This way, you can measure success and track progress.

For example, if your goal is to increase revenue by 10%, you’ll need to make sure both teams are aware of this and working towards it.

ii-Aligning roles and responsibilities

Another important component of sales and marketing alignment is making sure each team knows their roles and responsibilities. This way, there’s no confusion about who’s responsible for what.

For example, marketing might be responsible for generating leads, while sales is responsible for nurturing them. Once a lead is ready to be passed off, it’s sales’ responsibility to close the deal.

Having clear roles and responsibilities will help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goal.

iii-Aligning systems and technology

Another way to ensure sales and marketing alignment is to make sure the two teams are using the same systems and technology. This way, everyone has access to the same information and can work together more efficiently.

For example, you might use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to track leads and customers. If marketing and sales are using different CRMs, it will be difficult to track leads as they move through the sales pipeline. By aligning the two teams, you can ensure that everyone is using the same CRM and that leads are being tracked properly.

iv-Aligning processes

Processes are another important component of sales and marketing alignment. Make sure the two teams have the same processes in place so that they can work together more effectively.

For example, if marketing is generating leads through a webinar, they should hand off the leads to sales as soon as possible. Sales should then follow up with the leads in a timely manner. By aligning the two teams, you can make sure that leads are being followed up on in a timely and effective manner.

v-Aligning metrics

You need to make sure the two teams are using the same metrics to measure success. This way, you can compare results and see which team is performing better.

If marketing is measuring leads generated, and sales is measuring revenue generated, you won’t be able to compare results. However, if both teams are measuring leads generated, you can compare results and see which team is performing better.

ROI of a Successful Sales and Marketing Alignment Program

The ROI of a successful sales and marketing alignment program is clear to see, but how do you measure it?

It can be tricky to identify the return on investment for a sales and marketing alignment program because many of its benefits are not immediately quantifiable.

Here’s how we define the ROI of sales and marketing alignment:

• The impact on revenue growth rate.
• The improvement in cost efficiency (marketing as a percent of revenue).
• The increase in marketing organization effectiveness (how aligned are marketing and sales, how is the relationship between the two, how strong is the communication?).

The impact of a CRM system, for example, is often seen in the long term, whereas the ROI from an email-marketing tool might take just a few months. This makes it difficult to quantify exactly what the sales and marketing alignment ROI is — especially when you focus solely on short-term metrics like revenue.

However, this doesn’t mean there isn’t value in aligning your sales and marketing teams.

i-Increase in revenue

The most obvious benefit of sales and marketing alignment is an increase in revenue. When the two teams are working together, they can generate more leads and close more deals. This, in turn, leads to more revenue.

ii-An increase in lead quality

Aligning your sales and marketing teams can lead to an increase in lead quality. When leads are generated by marketing, they’re often pre-qualified, which means sales has a higher chance of closing the deal.

iii-A reduction in the time

Another benefit of sales and marketing alignment is that it can lead to a reduction in the time salespeople spend pursuing unqualified leads. If marketing is generating leads, they can pre-qualify the leads before passing them off to sales. This saves salespeople time and allows them to focus on leads that are more likely to convert.

iv-An increase in the win rate on sales opportunities

Sales and marketing alignment can also lead to an increase in the win rate on sales opportunities. When leads are passed from marketing to sales, they’re already warm, which means sales has a higher chance of closing the deal. It is observed that the proper alignment can lead to a 32% higher sales win rate.

v-An increase in the number of opportunities

The goal of sales and marketing alignment is to increase the number of opportunities that reach the pipeline stage. By aligning the two teams, you can make sure that leads are being properly followed up on and that they’re not falling through the cracks.

vi-A reduction in sales cycles

The sales cycle is the time it takes to close a deal. Sales and marketing alignment can lead to a reduction in sales cycles because leads are being followed up on in a timely and effective manner.

Best Practices for Sales and Marketing Alignment

Your marketing team may be firing on all cylinders, but nothing is more frustrating than a sales team who can’t close. The simple truth is that your sales and marketing teams should be closely linked — they should have the same goals and work in tandem to achieve them.

That means your sales and marketing strategies need to be closely connected. If you’re not sure where to start, here are some best practices for sales and marketing alignment:

i-Focus on your customer first

Your customer should be at the center of everything your sales and marketing teams do. When you create buyer personas, make sure they’re based on real data and that they’re updated regularly.

Your buyer personas should include information about your ideal customer’s needs, pain points, and buying journey. This will help your sales and marketing teams create content and strategies that are tailored to your customer’s needs.

ii-Define each step of your marketing and sales funnels

Define each step of your marketing and sales funnels and make sure that the two teams are aligned on what each step entails. For example, you should have a clear understanding of what counts as a lead and when a lead should be passed from marketing to sales.

The handoff between marketing and sales should be seamless, with clear communication about each lead’s status.

iii-Share sales feedback with marketing

Make sure your sales team is sharing feedback with marketing. Your sales team is on the front lines and they have a wealth of knowledge about what’s working and what’s not.

This feedback should be used to inform your marketing strategy. For example, if your sales team is having trouble closing deals, marketing can create content that addresses your customer’s pain points.

iv-Ensure frequent, disciplined communication

Communication is key to sales and marketing alignment. Make sure your teams are communicating regularly, and establish protocols for how information will be shared.

You might have weekly check-ins between the sales and marketing teams, or you might create a shared document where information is updated in real-time.

No matter what system you use, make sure it’s one that works for both teams and that everyone is on board with.

v-Align rewards and recognition

Your sales and marketing teams should be aligned on your company’s goals. And, they should be rewarded and recognized for achieving those goals.

This doesn’t mean that you should have the same rewards for both teams. Instead, focus on creating incentives that are tailored to each team’s strengths.

For example, you might give your marketing team bonus points for generating high-quality leads, and you might give your sales team a commission for every deal they close.

vi-Get control of your content management

Your content is one of your most important marketing assets. And, it needs to be managed effectively in order for your sales and marketing teams to be aligned.

That means having a central repository for all your content, and making sure that everyone has access to the latest versions of your marketing materials.

How PPC Signal Can Help You Align Your Sales And Marketing?

Sales and marketing are crucial to the success of any business. And, when they’re aligned, they can have a major impact on your bottom line. If you run online business your marketing will often rely on PPC advertising to bring in new leads and customers.

While PPC is effective it requires ongoing monitoring and optimization to be successful. That’s where PPC Signal comes in.

PPC Signal is an AI powered PPC management tool that makes it easy to even monitor multiple campaigns. The tool uses machine learning to monitor your PPC campaigns and give insights in form of signals when things are not working out as intended.

PPC Signal helps in boosting the optimization process of your marketing efforts by giving you an edge over your competition. With this tool you can realize what you need to improve in order to make your PPC campaigns even more effective. If for example, you want to increase sales/conversions PPC Signal enables you to focus on that among other metrics.

You can select that on the PPC Signal dashboard and the tool will automatically monitor that. It will share the signal and if you want more insight about the metric you can click on the signal. To get detailed information just click on the explore button.

The explore button delivers the insights as a graphical representation. It also displays the signal over time so you can easily identify patterns.

You can also check out the data in tabular form if you want to analyze the data further or just get an overview of all the signals.

These signals can help you improve your PPC campaigns and as a result align your sales and marketing.

FAQs:

When sales and marketing are not aligned both suffer?

If sales and marketing are not aligned, it can negatively impact your bottom line. That’s because when they’re not working together, they may not be as effective in achieving your company’s goals.

What should I ask my sales team?

• What is the biggest hindrance to adding new customers?
• What is working and what isn’t?
• What are your most and least momentous opportunities?
• Which one problem you want to be solved by any means?
• Who is your hardest competitor–and what are they doing right?

Wrap Up:

Sales and marketing alignment is a critical aspect of any business. By having a successful marketing strategy that complements your sales process, you’ll increase demand and close more deals.

As you begin implementing these strategies in your marketing plan, remember that it’s an iterative process. Be sure to track the results and adjust accordingly. If you’re noticing a disconnect between your marketing strategy and sales process, take the time to reevaluate and see how you can better align the two. The sooner you do it, the sooner you’ll start bringing in more customers and revenue.