There seems to be a never-ending discussion between marketing and
sales professionals as to what the difference really is between
marketing and sales functions. Most of the time, both
Business activity terms are used to describe any business.
activity that is involved in increasing income. For little ones
companies, with limited resources, there are often no practices
difference in marketing and sales functions, all revenue
Generating activities are typically implemented by the same
personal.
As a company grows in revenue and number of staff,
typically follows a logical progression of the business function of
“specialization”, a process where the lines between more
Generic, departmental descriptions and functions became much
more definitive and associated functional responsibilities
concentrate much more. Marketing and sales functions are not
exception.
Marketing and sales functions are diverse but very
interdependent. Typically, “sales” cannot exceed revenue.
goals without effective marketing planning and support,
and “marketing” directives eventually become useless without
sales to implement the plan.
As with many complex business problems, it is sometimes easier
to define something by what it is NOT how is to define it by what
it is. Let’s take a closer look at marketing to better define
what sales are not.
Simply defining “marketing” as the “Four Ps”, product, price,
place and promotion, according to your Marketing 101 class in
college is not practical in today’s global markets. in a
general sense, marketing is more theoretical than sales, it focuses
on purchase causality and has a more prescriptive purpose than
descriptive. Marketing involves micro and macro market analysis
focused on strategic intentions where sales are driven more by
tactical challenges and customer relations. Let’s get closer
notice how marketing is really different from sales:
Marketing responsibilities differ from sales responsibilities in that
marketing:
* Establishes and justifies the best competitiveness of the company.
position within a market
* Initially creates, helps sustain and rigorously interprets
customer relations
* Locate and profile potential markets and key players
within
* Generate quality sales opportunities
* Develop effective sales tools
* Formally analyze and track competitors’ business strategies
and tactics
* Define, prioritize and justify new product or service
improvements and developments
* Promotes an explicit image of a company product or service.
* Facilitates the transfer of customer information to the rest of
the company
* Simplify the acquisition of products or services of the client.
process
A full-time marketing director would be responsible for the
following tasks:
New product launches:
Development of strategies, program incentives, times and means
coverage
Agency evaluation:
Selection and evaluation of external marketing contractors.
Customer database management:
Selection of software, training, maintenance of contact with the client.
Information
Market research:
Market definition, prioritization, project management, data
meeting
Price analysis:
Pricing as a marketing tool … initiate and analyze the competition
pricing practices
Product audits:
Establishment of a formal means of evaluating competitiveness
Offerings
Public relations:
Establishment, orientation and coordination of all public areas
Relations
Fairs:
Definition, participation, prioritization and auditing of
effectiveness of all trade shows
Product Promotions:
Formulation of strategies, composition of programs, definition of premiums,
all media coverage
Marketing Communications:
All printed / electronic communication: brochures, catalogs,
price lists, case histories
Media selection:
Assist in the selection and prioritization of all media options:
print, broadcast, multimedia
Internal communications:
Establish and maintain all corporate communication between companies.
half
International market:
Establish presence of the company in specific international markets,
effectiveness audit
Strategic planning:
Offer strategic information and alternative perspectives for
business management strategies
Board meeting participation:
Communicate and reinforce the company’s marketing priorities.
strategies and tactics
Corporate vision statement:
Proliferate and reinforce the corporate vision throughout the
Organization
Identity and corporate image:
Create, maintain, improve and “manage” all corporate images and
symbols
For a “pure” marketer, the marketing function in a business is not
just a business function, but a business philosophy. Year
The Effective Marketer Really Believes “Mastering” His Target
the market “owns” its market. How much more can a marketer do?
maintain market leadership the more effective they are
perceived within the organization and within the industry.
As customer retention has become a business priority in
our increasingly intense competitive markets, the marketing function
has evolved from influencing potential customers to engaging
they business planning and the advancement of the company. Effective
Marketing has also blurred the distinction between product and
service and continue to apply more influence to the company
sales representation priorities.
In conclusion, the marketing and sales functions are deeply ingrained
in the purpose and intentions of growth of the income of each. There
There are few functional areas in business that relate more to each
other. So the next time you hear someone say the word “sales”,
when the appropriate description would have been “marketing”,
or vice versa, think about this article and choose from any of
these documented business functions to make your point of
distinction!