Best PracticesSales Enablement

How to align marketing and sales in B2B?

In our current competitive environment

it is necessary to comprehend the art of aligning marketing and sales in the world of B2B. When these two vital functions work together, great things can happen. Basically, the two entities can together drive revenue to the organization and directly link that revenue to improving customer satisfaction. If they do not work together, we have two systems trying to serve the same master with no visible coordination between them. When marketing does not serve sales, when sales does not serve marketing, and when both do not serve the customer, then whom do they serve?

Let’s start with what it means to align sales and marketing teams

When these two departments work together, they produce a better class of leads—meaning not just more leads but leads that have a higher rate of conversion. And when you talk about revenue growth, conversion rates are very much part of that discussion. According to a 2015 report from MarketingProfs, organizations that have strong alignment between departments achieve 24% faster revenue growth and 27% faster profit growth.

Enhanced communication and collaboration, more strategic initiatives, and improved customer relations.

Reaching alignment starts with comprehending the responsibilities of the marketing and sales teams. Marketing’s goal may be to create and produce not just a few, but a steady stream of highly qualified leads that convert to sales and to build brand awareness. Meanwhile, the sales team closes deals, creates the “eureka moment,” and builds necessary relationships for leads to convert. Yet, when these teams work together, they can create something truly awe-inspiring. Here are some proven ways to get these two teams on the same wavelength:

Develop a Unified Target: Set shared targets and key performance indicators that serve both teams well and create a sense of ownership and accountability. “It’s very easy for teams to go in separate directions where they don’t have to work together,” says ABC. “We need to make sure everyone understands that if we don’t achieve these goals, it really hurts both teams.”
Regular Communication: Hold weekly check-ins or joint meetings where open dialogue can flow.

For effective alignment, organizations must apply best practices continuously. Consistency is crucial for ensuring that marketing and sales work well together. Among the best practices are these:

Define together the ideal customer profiles and outline the buyer personas that help both teams focus on the right target and the right audience.
Share feedback. Sales must have a voice in the quality of leads that marketing nurtures. Sales Insights help marketing refine its strategies.
Celebrate wins…and oh, by the way, misses together. Celebrate wins together.

Furthermore, organizations must build a culture around data analytics. When it comes to making decisions, companies that are truly data-driven are five times more likely to outpace their competitors in making those decisions quickly. And when we talk about data-driven, we mean using not just “data” in some vague sense, but using specific types of dashboards and “data stories” that canvas a good range of analytics both in and related to the company—contexts that positively biase the decision-makers to make better decisions.

Although alignment has its advantages, it often encounters problems. The main stumbling blocks are communication and prioritization. Here is a work-around.

Make Directors of Teams Work Together: Give the two directors a common project. This way, they help each other and everyone understands the two teams better.
Get Everyone Working on Joint Projects: Do this using as many resources as you can muster. The teams will now have a shared experience and will understand what the other team goes through much better.

Additionally, holding routine review meetings can help rectify any misalignment. Take the time to ensure that the objectives of each team are not just in sync now but also on track to remain in sync moving forward. This imperative gives both marketing and sales the opportunity to assess and also to re-clarify operational directions, ensuring that the two functions remain aligned.

The future development of B2B marketing and sales seems assured. New technologies and fickle buyer behavior—driven largely by their experiences as consumers—mandate that B2B companies adopt a more digital and data-driven approach to marketing. Practices such as account-based marketing (ABM) that were once considered cutting-edge are now seen as table stakes for pairing high-quality prospects with high-quality sales. Yet with the rise of artificial intelligence and automation, the job of integrating marketing and sales seems to have become even more difficult.

A report from Gartner forecasts that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales will happen via digital channels. This impending reality will require even better teamwork—“synchronicity,” in fact—between marketing and sales, if they are to deliver a cohesive experience across all digital touchpoints. And “synchronous working” is what you want, if you are going to do anything remotely like “achieving alignment” and “creating a partnership” between sales and marketing. Time, the common enemy of all B2B marketing and sales teams, is also the secret sauce of synchronicity. And to do synchronicity, time well, and of course, to better just do time, requires leveraging at least some technology.