Do you know what smarketing is? It is a strategy based on the integration of work in the areas of marketing and sales (sales). The idea is to recognize the affinities between the areas and encourage the creation of joint action plans, eliminating any noise between sectors and expanding the possibilities for conversion and customer satisfaction.
The truth is that the integration between sectors is here to stay, and has been consolidating itself as a source of success for organizations. Abdul Rimaaz , the study Sales and Marketing Alignement, suggests that, in keeping, marketing and sales areas are able to increase up to 20% revenue of a company .
If you want to take advantage of the potential of smarketing in your company, keep reading this article! We will talk in more detail about what smarketing is, the advantages of betting on the integration of sectors and where to start applying the concept in your business!
What is smarketing?
The name smarketing comes from the junction between the terms Sales and Marketing, and defines very well what the expression means. It is an alignment strategy between the activities of both sectors that, historically, used to work autonomously and disconnected.
Smarketing assumes that marketing and sales are part of the same timeline with a single objective: to convert visitors into leads and leads into customers, providing satisfying and memorable shopping experiences.
For this, the idea is for the marketing team to keep its focus on attracting prospects, nurturing them and turning them into qualified leads, ready to be approached and converted by the sales team. Do you understand how the joint action of the sectors makes total sense when we think about the sales funnel ?
Why can aligning sales and marketing be a good deal?
In addition to having a direct result in the company's revenue, understanding what smarketing is and applying the strategy in the company can bring a number of other benefits. Below, you can check some of them.
Balance in processes
Having functional and balanced processes is the dream of any sales manager, isn't it? However, in many cases the misalignment between sectors and the lack of knowledge about what smarketing is, makes the routine subject to rework, missed opportunities and team dissatisfaction.
Want an example of how knowing what smarketing helps to balance processes?
In a misaligned team, the marketing team does not follow the progress of the sales steps , and therefore, does not know how the conversion processes are. If the sales team is overloaded, receiving more and more marketing leads will not be productive, even if these leads are well worked.
The ideal is to keep communication active and the process flow aligned so that marketing can follow the steps of the sales team's work, understanding the ideal time to replenish the lead base.
More assertive decisions
Another common problem in companies that are unaware of what smarketing is is the ineffective or assertive decision making by one of the two sectors. When they do not know the reality of the other, it is common for the definitions to be positive for only one side, and to negatively affect the progress of tasks on the other.
An illustrative example would be work based on different buyer personas . While marketing understands X as the business persona (and directs efforts to attract leads with this profile), the sales team focuses on converting leads with another profile, who arrive, often through direct channels (such as the exposed business contact on the website or on social networks).
Making collective decisions helps to direct efforts in the same direction, which contributes to results that are much more assertive and aligned with the company's sales purpose.
Collaborative processes
Teamwork and collaboration are important drivers for creating a more motivating and productive work environment. which found that 75% of employees consider teamwork and collaboration to be essential .
If collaboration is important in the macro aspect of organizations, just imagine the transformative potential of good teamwork carried out by related sectors, such as marketing and sales?
Where to start practicing smarketing?
Now that you know what smarketing is and how it can positively contribute to creating a more synergistic routine, it's time to take the first steps. See 5 essential steps to put smarketing into action in your company.
Trace common goals
To ensure that the marketing and sales teams work in line, it is essential that both have common goals. In addition to a general objective, it is important that each area has specific - and complementary - goals. A good way to set goals to achieve a goal is to use the SMART methodology .
SMART is an acronym for the words specific (Specific), measurable (Mesurable), attainable (Attainable), relevant (Relevant) and temporal (Time-based). Each of the concepts represents a key aspect for the construction of goals appropriate to the reality of the company and the sectors.
See in the video below some more secrets to apply SMART methodology in your business:
Have persona definitions aligned
Remember the persona definition problem mentioned in the previous topic? Once you understand what smarketing is, you can work to eliminate it altogether. The big secret, in this case, is to define a persona common to the business and align it with both sectors.
The creation of a persona goes through 3 essential steps:
· interview the company's customers and potential customers;
· analyze the collected data;
· structure a detailed persona based on the listed data.
Eliminate the competitive environment
Another common stigma in companies that do not know what smarketing is is the competitive environment between the areas of marketing and sales. Instead of acting synergistically, the areas operate in “opposite” teams, which generates great operational and personal noise.
When implementing smarketing, eliminate competition. Use trainings, conversation circles and events to strengthen the idea of teamwork and unity between the two areas.
Bet on collaborative work tools
The digital transformation has enabled companies to take important steps towards a more integrated and collaborative routine.
Various software and tools help to make the processes of different teams more connected and contributory, as well as helping to automate routine tasks , allowing team members to dedicate themselves to strategic tasks together.
A marketing automation tool that helps create more streamlined nutrition and lead conversion flows, a CRM and sales platform that improves business management and increases team efficiency.
Understanding what smarketing is allows any company to take the first steps to build a more integrated and assertive routine. Remember that such a change requires the creation of a new culture between areas, which can take some time. But don't get discouraged! We guarantee that the results will be surprising.
Get more information about Abdul Rimaaz to visit this link
