Ending War Between Sales and Matketing

[MARKETING TODAY] January 24, 2011 34. A public utility practices marketing when it encourages consumers to reduce demand in summer months through higher pricing. 35. When a firm uses a warranty card to determine consumer input as to product uses, it is involved with the facilitation of demand. 36. Some analysts believe that more colleges should accept major credit cards towards payment of tuition. From a marketing perspective, this involves facilitation of demand. 37. When a firm uses a questionnaire to determine consumer reactions to a new form of distribution (such as Web-based shopping), it is involved with the regulation of demand. 38. Demand regulation is generally more critical for products with stable sales patterns than for products with seasonal sales patterns. 39. Demand regulation is very important for services (such as car washes, telephone usage, and accounting services) since services cannot be inventoried or stored. 40. Marketers must be careful to include both consumer demand and publics’ demand in their communication efforts. 41. The role of marketing in the production era is limited to selling. True-False - Applied/Comprehensive/Integrative 42. Ninety percent of a firm’s marketing budget is comprised of personal selling, advertising, and premiums. The company is positioned in the marketing department era. 43. During the sales era of marketing, marketing personnel are unimportant because

An organization’s management roles can be quite different and diverse, depending on the industry, its culture and the ultimate goals of the organization. Managers on different levels of an organization play several roles and exercise multiple skills as they effectively and efficiently, integrate the work of people through planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Historically, there are three key management viewpoints: classical, behavioral and quantitative. To be an exceptional manager, it is essential to embrace a viewpoint

The management’s view of the sales issue and field-based perceptions are different. For example, the management believes that the company has kept pace with the business but he market perception is that it has not and still a premium company which only a few can afford. Though there are products, which are priced competitively, but this has not been communicated to the customers adequately.

Smith et al. (2006) identified that there is a complicated interaction between marketing effort and sales efficiencies. However, if the collaboration between sales and marketing is improved, the company will gain significant advantages. According to CRM (2009), in Sirius Decisions Demand Creation Waterfall, leads are moving the inquiry stage to marketing-qualified lead to sales-accepted lead to sales-qualified lead and finally to a close. At the same time, marketing is allowed to work closely with sales and they realized that coordination between two functions results in the increase in a pool of prospects with a higher possibility of closing (CRM,

There are misconceptions about the role sales and marketing teams play as it relates to consumers. Quora.com provides validity of differences by outlining the difference. For example, “marketing tries to understand the customer as a generic group/ segment or persona in order to create generic value propositions and 'mass' awareness” (citation 1). Marketing is known to have long-term goals and their workflow follows that timeline. Marketers lean toward the creative and detailed oriented traits where collaboration among colleagues is encouraged.

Over time people have developed a negative opinion towards the sales person. They are seen as being pushy because they are not meeting their customer’s expectations. A customer entering a building should feel safe, but unexperienced salesperson come off with a pushy mindset. Often, pushing away the clients. These are problems solved by major companies where they invest into training programs for their new recruits.

Sales and marketing is a love hate relationship within a company. They both are vital to the selling process, but their jobs, while having the same objectives, are extremely different and often causes tension within a company. Marketing is based on research and development for a product in order to focus where it is to be placed in the market, how it is priced and promoted, while it is Sales duty to take the findings from the research and use them to land clients and customers who will by the product, and then work with them to make the product client focused and retain a relationship. The problem arises when Sales doesn’t agree with the Marketer’s findings and Marketers are irritated about Sales lack of execution on a

There was the concept of sales as a hunt, a survival-of-the-fittest contest, pitting tigers against sheep. There was the STP battle cry to raise the quota on how many customers you need to see in a day, “belly to belly,” and there was the emphasis on having as many closing tricks as possible up your sleeve. “Keep beating on your customers until they give in or die,” Robinson

The marketing department wants exclusive rights to interact with the customers. However, it is currently done by the product manager. Marketing should have information about all new product development. However, the development process is separate from the marketing. The division of work is unorganized. Managers have lost sight of its integration responsibilities.

of the key issues result from John’s inability to comprehend the difference between sales representative and a sales manager. He was overly enthusiastic about his position and disregarded Phil Jackson’s tips on how to be successful as a sales manager. Sales managers must be multi-taskers who plan, organize and lead the functions of all customer contact and ensures that these methods of contact maximize the profit and sales goals of the company which hires them. A salesperson is responsible only for his/her own territory – a sales manager is responsible for the entire sales force and their productivity and revenue that

This is another common business orientation. It holds that consumers and businesses, if left alone, will ordinarily not buy enough of the selling company’s products.  The organization must, therefore, undertake an aggressive selling and promotion effort.  This concept assumes that consumers typically show buying inertia or resistance and must be coaxed into buying.  It also assumes that the company has a whole battery of effective selling and promotional tools to stimulate more buying. Most firms practice the selling concept when they have overcapacity.  Their aim is to sell what they make rather than make what the market wants.

According to the sales team, salespersons have different personality which can create conflicts among them. Sometimes, it could cause the problem when they need to work together since they prefer not to talk directly, resulting in delaying work and reducing the work quality.

Sales wants a rapid response to unexpected customer requests or tries to discover production’s plans or when the finished product will be ready. Morale is falling as the effects of these conflicts spread. Managers in different functions are taking sides, usually siding with sales against Ramrod and production. Communication and decision-making have slowed as a result of uncooperative attitudes. Integration between functions is falling. This is dangerous for non routine technology that requires a high level of differentiation and integration to be effective.

The ability to influence others is prevalent in all companies and takes on a different meaning based on the organization. In the field of sales, author Richard

Marketing and sales employees are primarily responsible for designing (with customer input) customer satisfaction surveying programs, questionnaires and focus groups.