5 Ways Marketing Departments Help Salespeople Catch Butterflies
Let’s face it, and the market is very different than it was 20 years ago.
Businesses must remain competitive in today’s world. Businesses must be able to understand how to stay relevant, top of mind, and respected by their customers in order to do this. Brochures and cold-calling alone will not work anymore. Your company is able to solve the problems of potential customers. The length of a typical sales cycle will vary depending on the industry. Your company must nurture prospects by creating awareness, building interest, making a case why your brand is the right choice for them, and then presenting solutions and following up with the customer to win the sale.
Marketers, Get on Stage Right
Salespeople today have many options for closing deals. Some are easier than others. It all depends on the quality, demand, and price of your product or service. All of these factors can be amplified by the use of the right tools. Companies are increasingly turning to market as a way to increase or create brand awareness and resources for their sales teams. Marketing and its relationship to sales are so much more than just creating flyers about the latest product or promotion. Marketing can do something that a sales team cannot: increase brand visibility on all fronts, then support the sales team with the resources needed to enrich the selling process by listening to the customer’s needs on a personal (or organizational) level. This requires data and insight. It also requires storytelling skills and the ability to connect with customers.
This process often works just as well behind-the-scenes as it does in-your-face. The effectiveness of a marketing campaign is often measured in terms of its ability to convert leads to sales immediately. However, the intangible, unobserved results (the portion of the iceberg below the water) can be just as crucial to a company’s success. There are many opportunities being created for everyone that is captured. The time it takes to nurture those leads into customers will depend on the prospect’s budget, company initiatives, and workload, as well as the sales team’s effectiveness.
The Life Cycle
Marketing is like the lifecycle of a butterfly. Many people associate victory with the appearance of the monarch. However, they don’t realize that the butterfly was not born looking so majestic and charming. Although the end product or end result is the main focus of most companies, marketing departments are constantly building the formative stages.
Many organizations that are sales-oriented fail to see the metamorphosis occurring during the “butterfly,” or the chrysalis (cocoon); the stage is still in its caterpillar or chrysalis stages. This results in a low ROI and spikes in sales forecasts.
This can make measuring marketing impact and metrics more difficult. It’s not always easy to see the big picture. The relationship between marketing and sales, and the execution of strategies, is a significant factor in the conversion of sales opportunities. Your sales team will be more productive and catch more butterflies if you have a well-supported marketing plan.
Here are some tips to help you care for, preserve, and grow your butterfly population
Use original content — Always!
A team member who has a solid background in writing, a good understanding of your industry, and a creative mind is one of your best and most profitable investments. Failing to invest in your company’s marketing will cause your company to slow down faster than anything. Some companies attempt to do it themselves with branding and communications, but without a professional copywriter or team of marketing professionals. They don’t realize the risks and aren’t prepared for the consequences.
While no one would intend to intentionally steal or plagiarize another’s intellectual property or copy it, many people who are trying to paraphrase or quote from a source don’t know the right way to do so. No matter if the error was made in print or digital format, it could immediately affect your company’s reputation. This can cause severe damage to your reputation and credibility. If the original author is alerted, they could sue you and be fined for copyright infringement or intellectual property theft. The laws and regulations that govern the creative writing and artistic efforts of writers and artists extend beyond the printed world to digital works. You should trust someone with strong writing and marketing skills who can tell your story compellingly and give credit to original sources whenever necessary.
Keep your fingers on the pulse of industry and market.
Market research and industry news will be on the radar screen of your marketing team. They will subscribe to different newsletters, monitor social media, and scan the internet for competitors and partners. You can increase your authority and reach by collecting data from other sources.
Credit where credit is due
Professional marketers need to learn how to give credit where credit is due. While Point 1 stressed the importance of accurately citing outside content when it is used as a reference, this does not only apply to written copy. Credit must also be given to the creators of the images. Many articles list the source of the image in order to credit the photographer or artist. Even if a company is paying for stock images, they will often (and should) identify the original source of the image by naming the photographer (which is included in the subscription to the stock image account).
Start a conversation
Your brand and your customers should not exist in isolation. A marketing team that is effective balances brand promotion with audience engagement. Marketers shouldn’t be focusing on their marketing efforts only. Many marketers are avid readers of marketing materials from other companies, making them a force for good!
You’re right; consuming content from other styles and reading what’s out is a smart way to keep current and well-known. It’s a great way to get ideas and inspiration, and it also shows that your brand and company are open to new opportunities.
Your company cannot be successful if it owns an island where the only people living there are its employees. You can also encourage feedback and reward sharing of your content. Interaction with people outside your target audience is essential to getting your name out there.
Trusted partners and finding equilibrium
It is essential to be able to identify the company with whom your company will outsource its marketing efforts. There are many quality marketing services available for all budgets and sizes. However, it is essential to do your research before allowing a third party to take your company’s reputation and business.
A. Ask for examples of work for other companies to ensure that it isn’t all the same. A company that has proven its ability to stand out from the crowd is one that can give customers a different look and feel.
b. Choose a local company so their representatives can be available for face-to-face meetings. It is easy to lose a lot of information when business is conducted via email or phone. A local partner can be a great option as you will be able to assess their work and reputation more quickly than if you are looking into a company in another area.
c. Choose a company that takes a consultative approach when marketing your brand. A partner who is open to working with you will be able to take your vision into account, help you develop your ideas, and guide you through best practices and industry standards.
d. A partner who has a plan. A marketing partner should be able, just like a property designer could offer you many options to maximize the design and function of your home within your budget. They will likely present you with a range of marketing strategies they can use at different levels within your budget and show you the percentage. These combinations of strategies should be presented in packages so they can help you understand the information and where you will get the best bang for your buck. This will help you balance your budget. Hiring a company to build your site may not be worth it if they don’t have the resources to update your blog, conduct outreach, or do email marketing. Outbound must be linked to inbound and vice versa.
e. Marketing is a living entity that must be continually energized and fed. To keep you informed of your progress, ask your partner in marketing to share their ongoing plans. You will get the most from your investment and maximize your return on your investments by creating content calendars, publishing schedules, and quarterly or monthly development initiatives that are in line with your budget. It is essential to have a written agreement that outlines how often this partner will create and promote content for you. There should also be a schedule of updates to your website with estimated ETAs.
These points are applicable regardless of whether your company is outsourcing its marketing or doing it in-house. It is essential to have the right team and know what to ask for in order to market your business, no matter if you are in the retail, financial, hospitality, professional, or professional services industries. While B2B marketing is different from B2C, it’s also true that there are differences in B2C marketing. However, creativity, engagement, collaboration, and consistency will all help you to fill that butterfly net.
