The success of any marketing plan depends on quality sales insights. — After all, sparking sales growth is the goal of any successful marketing effort. That means making timely, informed choices that will both excite potential customers and boost conversions.

Presidents and Sales Managers look to sales revenue as their chief benchmark when evaluating the success of any marketing campaign. A forward thinking company should rely on sales insights to inform their marketing decisions.

Companies who utilize data driven marketing are more likely to have an advantage over the competition and increase profitability. In fact, "they are 6X more likely to be profitable year-over-year." (Forbes)

Unless we’re talking about an e-commerce model, most transactions depend on one very human element, the communication between sales and marketing. Here are 4 key areas to foster sales and marketing alignment to maximize your growth strategy.

1. Identify Customer Buying Trends

Customer interests and preferences are neither isolated nor random. They are both contextual and observable. So, spotting buying trends within a particular target demographic can help form the basis for an effective data driven marketing Plan.

• For example, has your sales team seen any trends in customer buying patterns within the industry?
• What are some popular products or services customers are buying from competitors?
• How are these products and services being positioned by the competition?
• How can your sales team take advantage of any opportunities that are currently being missed?

The answers to questions like these can help your marketing/sales team develop a game plan to re-position products/services, while designing campaigns that push the organization’s value proposition.

2. Reach New Customers

By identifying key accounts that your organization wants to target, you can start shaping your Marketing Plan. Look at the accounts you want to target.

• Are they large whales or small fishes?
• Are these customers in any particular verticals?

Based on the answers, your marketing team can develop strategies to connect with these buyers, either face to face at trade shows or via digital marketing channels. The more you know about potential customers, the better your sales team can target the push–pull factors that motivate them to buy your products or services.

3. Boost Profitability

While it may not be possible to know in advance what will work (and what won’t), analyze existing sales data to give you clues and help you develop a successful marketing and sales program.

• For example, what are some of your company’s most profitable accounts, projects, or services?
• How can you attract similar accounts?

The answers will help sales and marketing teams work together in researching and creating campaigns to target new markets or to interest existing customers in new products or services.

4. Nurture Relationships with Existing Customers

Nurturing the relationships you’ve built with your top customers is essential.

• Who are some of your existing top customers?

• What specific efforts is the sales team making to consistently support account retention and growth?

• What marketing tools could the sales team leverage to maintain these key relationships?

It is far less costly to nurture existing customer relationships than to drum up new business. And the answers to revenue growth may lie in accounts already on your roster. To help your sales reps execute on key campaigns, marketing can work to maintain, strengthen, and broaden existing customer relationships.

We hope the questions above spark new insights for your sales and marketing teams. Exciting growth happens when we can provide customers with solutions to their pains and open pathways to their prosperity. The key can be as simple as facilitating cooperation between the sales and marketing teams.

Schedule a conversation to discuss sales & marketing greatness. We can dig deeper to uncover what makes your brand tick. What makes your customers, partners, employees, and leads excited to do business with you? Our conversation will help you learn more about key strategies that fuel growth and build your brand's excitement.