{"id":1272,"date":"2019-05-17T08:06:19","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T08:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/?p=1272"},"modified":"2019-05-16T17:36:52","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T17:36:52","slug":"why-sales-must-drive-marketing-priorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/why-sales-must-drive-marketing-priorities\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Sales Must Drive Marketing Priorities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Which comes first: marketing or sales? It\u2019s an age-old question – almost as old as the chicken and egg quandary.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t you have to market to make a sale?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t you have to make a sale to know your market?<\/p>\n

The answer to both may be \u201cyes\u201d. Either way, what we know at 360 Consulting<\/a> is that marketing priorities must be driven by sales — particularly for B2B companies in the small to-mid size market.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n

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The Brand Myth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In recent years, there has been a lot of importance placed on branding. Sometimes it is even suggested that without strong branding, you aren\u2019t going to get anywhere. It takes an immense amount of money to build a brand.<\/p>\n

But for most B2B companies<\/strong>, the truth is that their customers do not care about brand!\u00a0 Most B2B companies waste an enormous amount of money on marketing and branding with very little to show for it.<\/p>\n

Brand is actually built by delivering the outcomes promised by your products and services.<\/strong>\u00a0Customer referrals, testimonials, and repeat purchases are what matter most. And these are the result of a customer\u2019s experience of your products and services.<\/p>\n

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Efficiency Is Key for A Small-Mid Market B2B<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The purpose of marketing is to influence buyers to favor your company over your competition and take action.<\/p>\n

For most B2B companies in the small to mid-market size, every dollar and every sale is precious. These companies simply can\u2019t afford to spend money on anything that doesn\u2019t directly produce revenues or drive more profits. Therefore, the best results come from knowing your buyer and having a direct relationship with them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The sales team knows who the target buyer is because<\/strong> they have sold to them and have direct contact with them. Because of this, the information gleaned here can set the direction for marketing to keep their focus<\/strong>\u00a0on those buyers. Sales also knows the specific messaging that resonates with buyers which can then be used across all marketing campaigns.<\/p>\n

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For more tips on selling to the right market, check out our last post, https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/are-you-selling-to-your-target-market\/<\/a> !<\/p>\n

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How to Use Sales to Drive Marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve looked at the benefits of setting marketing strategy based on sales.<\/p>\n

So now let\u2019s take a quick look at some of the other benefits that come from having a direct relationship with buyers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Marketing teams can use customer feedback directly for<\/strong>:<\/p>\n