Wind back the clock 30 years, and Sales & Marketing was king. The joint function played a pivotal role in launching products, and for many businesses, in developing them in the first case. It set and drove revenue targets and kept a close eye on market movement. And every Sales & Marketing department was absolutely intrinsic to companies’ brands.
The impact sales and marketing functions have on a business is still significant; if anything, they’ve never been so influential to a brand’s success. But the drive for more meaningful customer experiences, high competition in the market, and the availability of data insights has made both much more strategic, sophisticated, and essential.
Here’s how the landscape has evolved for Sales & Marketing.
On the outskirts, sales and marketing often seem like one and the same function – or at least so closely related that they only require a single department or individual. That might’ve been true when the “one to many” approach (marketing to a mass audience using the same tactics) was the presiding method. But over the past two decades, a number of key developments changed all of that.
For one, higher levels of market competition has carved a very real need for more sophisticated, targeted strategies that work holistically alongside other business objectives; a 12-month Sales & Marketing plan will struggle to target every audience segment, every marketing channel, and every revenue stream.
Consumers are also far more socially and technologically aware than 20 years ago, and it’s often much harder to grasp and retain engagement, and maintain a good brand reputation. Meaning that even companies with a 5-star, instantly recognisable product need to continually strive towards relevance.
So, expectations have drastically changed. Consumers are progressively interested in personalised, meaningful and multi-faceted marketing that speaks to their needs, wants and values. Leaders want to stretch their budgets to go farther than ever, particularly in building a loyal customer base and increasing market value.
But arguably the most important development is the prevalence of data. We have instant access to insights, statistics, data, and even direct feedback. We have a huge pool of knowledge about decision-making behaviour, buyer and user interactions, channels, sentiment and so on. This stream of real-time information has created huge capabilities – and expectations.
For sales, accessible data means brands can better understand the wider market, upcoming trends or patterns, and how a brand can either stand out or go with the current. For marketing, direct insights can help brands look inward to determine their impact, the success of their product and so on.
The growth of available information has practically eradicated the “one to many” approach. It’s no longer about throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks. Now, sales and marketing functions can use data to individually determine the most strategic and high-impact methods – and join forces to make it a reality.
These changing expectations have impacted role, department and Board structures.
For sales, departments that were led by a Director of Sales and overseen by the CFO are now often steered by a Director of Revenue, and a Chief Revenue Officer. These changes are becoming much more prevalent. An indication that brands are adopting a more nuanced approach to their financial models, encompassing sales strategies within their pricing, profits, expenses and so on.
Marketing departments have likewise seen large scale changes in the past decade with roles now spanning digital marketing, social and paid media, influencer marketing and a wealth of other tactics. These more specific roles are reflective of a dynamic and competitive market, but equally tell a story of how brands are splitting marketing budgets across channels to create greater impact.
“There’s been a steady shift in how we think about and execute sales and marketing activity in recent years. Many businesses are parting with the status quo to develop their own structures, and more high-level strategic roles to drive company goals.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in demand in sales and marketing roles post-2020. It’s something we expect will continue, particularly as we face greater requirements and market competition.”
– Nils Gerardin, Principal Consultant specialising in Sales & Marketing talent
Of course, it’s not to say these changes have been adopted as standard. Yes, it’s far less common now to hire a single individual for both functions, but keeping sales and marketing unified can still result in great outcomes for many brands. This is particularly true for startups and SMEs with modest marketing budgets. Consolidating the two roles drives as much impact with as little resource as possible.
It’s risk mitigation. It’s reputational management. And it’s revenue generation.
As a function, marketing has climbed its own corporate ladder – evolving from a nice-to-have to an imperative. Leaders who recognise the importance of marketing investment have consistent visibility, and their operations are better equipped to endure economic downturns and other disruptions.
And sales isn’t “just” sales anymore. The function has maintained demand, but become as much about building and nurturing relationships as it has about driving growth. A sophisticated sales strategy supports business goals and internal buy-in, and helps create a more productive workforce.
Enhancing the strategic approach to both functions is what ultimately underpins their impact individually and together. As we progress rapidly into the 2020s and beyond, business strategies and the talent that drives them will need to become more closely interlinked to produce competitive outcomes. And if one thing’s evident, it’s that all core roles will play a part in their shared success.
Sales and marketing may be heads and tails, but they’re still two sides of the same coin.
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