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Staying Ahead of the Competition Has Never Been More Challenging!You market an offering and competitors

quickly respond with a better price, offer or solution.

Today, we seem to have to be quicker, smarter and more creative than the year before.

Every company is searching for a competitive edge or solution to beat competition.

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Our Best Solution Is Within Our Own Companies

Creating synergy with your sales, marketing and customer service is the answer.

When your sales, mktg and cust. service are working in sync with each other the impact on your sales and profit are substantial.

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Watching Marketing and Sales Try to Understand Each Other

Can Be Comical

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We See Three Common Issues that Impact Sales Support ROI

1. When marketing communications are not aligned with the core conversations that salespeople want to have with the customer.

Customers want to know how we will partner with them to accomplish their goals. They don’t care about features and benefits!

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We See Three Common Issues that Impact Sales Support ROI

2. When marketing tools are not aligned with the customer decision making process or sales cycle.

There are moments of truth at each phase of the customer buying process that require tools that facilitate the sales cycle…Not tools that make marketing look creative!

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We See Three Common Issues that Impact Sales Support ROI

3. When Customer Service, Sales and Marketing are not focused on the customer experience.

Customer retention and sales growth are limited when these three departments work independently, and reactively, instead of defining the customer experience and proactively driving it as a team!

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Is This Departmental Disconnect Worth Fixing?

Of 1300 sampled companies, a 2007 CSO Insights Survey benchmarked 87 companies that achieve synergy and found that they:

Out-distance others by 25% in volume Are 3 times more successful closing sales to

proposals Are consistently better at cross-selling and up-

selling Are 5 times more effective at avoiding discounts

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Applies to All Business TypesWhether your organization:

Has two or two hundred employees Is a retail, manufacturing, service or sales org. Is a Non profit Uses an outside agency to do your marketing

But - getting marketing, sales and customer service on the same page has long been a challenge in business!

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The Challenging ParadoxSales, mktg, customer service work for the

same cause, but rarely together!

Sales staffs tend to feel the people doing the marketing don’t understand their needs.

Marketing people tend to think the sales people don’t see the big picture or are short sighted for the sale.

Customer service tends to just do “their” 9-5 job!

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The Reality Check!

Send an email to every employee in your company and ask them the following question:

“How do we want our company to be seen or perceived by our clients, prospects, and potential employee candidates?”

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Is Everyone on the Same Page?

If their responses are not concise and do not clearly define your company’s value proposition, this is a clear sign that you need a formalized marketing plan.

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A Plan Creates Fertile GroundCreates direction/focus for all

departmentsPulls everyone together as oneGood planning allows synergy to evolvePlans typically focus on strategies for:

Sales to current accounts and or new prospects Leveraging your strengths to fill market need Customer service initiatives Marketing communication and promotion

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Define How Each Department Impacts Your Plan’s:

Current account base strategies What will be the sales focus to grow this base? What mktg programs can work along with sales? Make sure cust. serv. is the glue to your efforts!

New client development strategies Each rep should have a prospecting plan Mktg and cust. serv. should be a part of this Going at this alone usually creates waste

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Integrate to Effectively Communicate!

Mktg and sales should jointly develop goals

Communicate – Establish a process through which sales and cust. serv. is continually providing feedback to marketing.

Forge a team within the 3 departments/areas and make sure everyone understands their purpose and role in your plan.

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Integrate to Effectively Communicate!

All three areas need to clearly understand: Company and individual sales goals What makes up our current base (key cust.,

etc.) New business development agendas Sales person needs / cust. serv. needs The selling cycle and their role to impact it.

Have key account/customer plans that all three areas can tap into to maximize sales.

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The Marketing – Sales DynamicCreate Customer Value

Marketing: product, price, market communication

Deliver Customer Value Sales and customer service execution

Manage Customer Value Everyone gets involved (review and manage

customer satisfaction, customer and market segment sales volume, product mix sales)

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Marketing Serves External and Internal Customers!

Sales people are just as important as the external customers.

2005 AMA study revealed that nearly 90% of the materials developed by mktg is never used by the sales people it was created for.

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Keys to making sure your materials work for your sales people

Learn your staff’s entire sales process and where their material needs may be.

Understand how and where they may use marketing communication tools.

Realize that mktg’s function is to help the sales staff make sales – not just creativity!

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Questions to ask sales before creating tools for them

What does your ideal lead/prospect look like?Describe your decision maker’s characteristicsWhat messages or issues resonate in meetings?Where and or what are the barriers to your sales?How do you typically overcome them? How can we

help?What are the competitive challenges you see?What works for you and what does not?What points of your sales cycle can we help you most?

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Know Sales Staff Objectives Before Designing a Marketing Tool

Just because sales wants a brochure, we need to ask why. What’s the objective?

What phase of your selling cycle is this for?

Is it needed to educate prospects?To overcome objections?To increase conversion?For cross selling or up selling?

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Mktg Usually Falls Short in Helping Sales Staffs After Presentation

1. Inquiry (from your promotional mktg) – customers explore your product/service

2. Lead/inquiry is qualified by sales person3. Sales person presents offering4. Proposal/quote or (if retail) price is

discussed5. Negotiation6. First Sale or No Sale Initially7. Up sell/cross sell or future selling

opportunity

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Today, Business Has Evolved from Transactional to Relational

CRM allows you to build the relational equity of your customer base, and manage the sales cycle.

All three departments need to be using CRM Helps manage leads, selling and service cycles Allows for better sales pipeline management Has tools to track your mktg efforts

Without CRM information, marketing and sales departments are flying blind.

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The Glue to Your Sales / Marketing ROI

Realize CSRs are a part of your marketing! Make sure they understand company purpose

and value proposition in your market.

Convert from a cost center to a profit center Get them involved in driving additional revenue

If possible, partner each CSR with an assigned sales rep.

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Transform Their Culture from Reactive to Proactive

Get them proactively involved in increasing sales within your current account base.

Encourage up selling / cross selling CSRs are usually in the best position to do this.

Marketing people should ask them about what they see and hear in their world.

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Does Every Department Understand Their Role

in Managing the Experience?Keep all employees in the loop and

educated Too often I see companies whose employees

don’t clearly understand an offer being run.

Is what you say you are, what they will get?

Good CRM applications can really drive the quality of your customers’ experiences.

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Integration Increases MoraleEmployee job satisfaction is at the core of

a solid customer experience.Without engaged employees at each

phase, the delivery of an intentional experience will not happen!

The number one reason for customer attrition is due to a company’s indifferent attitude.

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What are the Benefits of Synergy Across Sales,

Marketing, Customer Service?Reduces cost of sales-increases efficiencyEliminates wasted marketing $$$Generates effective sales toolsImproves mktg accountability and return on

$Increases your pipeline of new prospectsBuilds morale and reduces frustration

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What are the Benefits of Synergy Across Sales,

Marketing, Customer Service?Improves service levels and the overall

customer experience.

Results in greater customer retention

Increases referral activity

Allows for higher pricing and margins

Boosts revenue and profitability!!!

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