Marketing and Sales – A Comparison

Businesses need an effective and efficient sales and marketing team to ensure that the corporate goals of the business are achieved. The processes involved in sales and marketing differ. However, these processes are interlinked especially with regards to the objectives that fuel their implementation. Even if sales and marketing are intertwined in many ways that one, it is still important for us to have an idea on how they can be separated from one another. This can give you an idea on whether you are fit for implementing sales processes, developing marketing strategies and activities, or both. For you to distinctively compare marketing from sales, continue browsing the content of this post.

• Sales Agreement Samples
• Advertising and Marketing Examples

1. Workforce

Since sales activities are developed to match the demands of the market, people who have a strong sales background and engaging personality are deemed important in the industry. Sales departments commonly need the expertise of the following:

• Sales managers and supervisors
• Sales assistants
• Sales professionals
• Financial advisers
• Accounts executives
• Reservation specialists

The range of marketing is broader when compared to sales. Hence, more people are needed to be hired by businesses to achieve their brand marketing, advertising and promotion goals and objectives. The workforce involved in marketing activities are as follows:

• Marketing managers and supervisors
• Marketing assistants
• Graphic designers
• Content creators
• Web developers
• Social media managers

2. Priority Setting

The focus of sales and marketing are different; so are their listing of priorities. The priority in marketing checklists is not always the same when compared to sales to do lists. That being said, the priority of marketing is to reach the audience whose activities are related to the offers of the business while the priority of sales processes is to sell the offers of the business to the leads gathered through marketing activities.

Though the set priorities of sales analysis and marketing are somehow different, the main goal of these two is to ensure that customers will be aware of what the business can provide them with so that a  potential lasting business-to-consumer relationship can be established.

3. Pull and Push Strategy

Marketing activities apply the pull strategy. The idea behind this strategy is that the business needs to ensure that credibility and trustworthiness will be established by the business in every transaction. Hence, the following of the company will be drawn to try the products and services that they are being offered with. Simply put, pull strategy is meant to pull people nearer to the business by developing a brand that is worthy of the customers’ attention and trust. You can usually see this strategy written on marketing checklist examples.

Sales activities implement the push strategy. Instead of developing a brand that can pull people in, push strategy promotes the products of the business by showcasing the actual items to the target audience. Push strategy is very effective in sales as it can already give an idea on how the customers can benefit from the offerings of the business. You may also see marketing research questionnaire

4. Corporate Operational Processes

The corporate operational processes of sales and marketing differ from one another. Marketing, for one, needs to tap a wider audience which is why the activities that people in this department need to accomplish are more in terms of number. Some of the processes involved in marketing are as follows:

• Market analysis – demand and supply
• Competitive pricing methods
• Identification of platform, mediums and channels of distribution
• Marketing strategies that can produce great sales results

Sales usually takes the approach that is the opposite of the corporate operational process followed by marketing professionals. Sales interactions are more direct and sales-based.

5. Focus

Though sales and marketing activities are interrelated, people who work for the two departments usually have different focuses. Marketing has an objective to achieve the following:

• Distribute information about the company; its offers and the image it wants to project in the most efficient manner
• Develop a comparative marketing analysis for business operation development
• Promote the business in an appropriate way which can help it become more desirable to the eyes of the market
• Ensure that the activities of the business are helpful in maintaining or even improving the company’s competitive advantage

Compared to the number of focus that the marketing team needs to be keen on, the sales department has the major responsibility to fulfill the sales goals given to them. Sales volume is very important to be fulfilled as it can affect the financial aspects of the operations. Aside from this, one of the important things that sales professionals need to focus on is to make sure that there is a high chance of repeat business per customer. You may also see marketing goals.

6. Horizon Approach

There are different results that can be expected from both sales and marketing undertakings. Horizon approaches especially those that are relevant for development, improvement and innovation have different time frames before actual realization. In marketing, it usually takes a longer process for the results of activities to take effect. Here are some examples of marketing tools which take the horizon approach:

• Brand exposure
• Business branding
• Corporate image development
• New market penetration
• Building customer trust
• Client retention

Unlike marketing activities, sales activities are usually short-term. Once target customers are already identified, it is expected for sales people to produce results in the form of sales. Companies refer to previous sales, competition reports, trends, market movement, financial shifts, product offer development and other relevant activities to identify the appropriate sales quota that is expected to be reached by the sales team. You may also see sales reports.

7. Work Scope

There are various activities that are essential to be highlighted in sales and marketing undertakings. Sales professionals are the employees of the business who are designated for the position to make sure that the products and/or services offered by the business will be purchased. Most employees who work in the sales department commonly have sales quota so that the company can measure their productivity. You may also see marketing plans.

For a product to sell, it needs to be exposed to the market in a positive manner. This is where the work scope of marketing experts come in. Marketers have the responsibility of matching the needs of the customers with what the business offers. Marketing paraphernalia need to have content that can convince consumers and clients that the offers of the company are beneficial and essential to their activities. A few of the deliverables expected from marketing teams include the following:

• Market research and surveys
• Promotional and advertising campaigns
• Sales-generating marketing activities
• PR and customer relationship development

8. Market Leads

Market leads refer to the people, group or community that can potentially be the customer and/or clients of the business. Both sales and marketing play a vital role when it comes to the tapping, acquisition, updating and retention of market leads. You may also see marketing trends.

Marketing processes are mainly implemented to ensure that a potential number of leads can be generated. This can help the business have prospects that can be converted to actual customers and patrons. Meanwhile, the responsibility of the sales department already comes in when there are already enough leads generated. Sales people are tasked to ensure a high conversion rate from leads to actual sales. You may also see social marketing.

9. Target Audience

In terms of the scale or range of target audience, sales is smaller when compared to marketing. Sales processes commonly targets the following entities:

• Individuals
• Small organizations
• Groups

On the other hand, marketing targets a more diverse market. A larger group means there is more responsibility when it comes to generating market leads. This is the reason why marketing activities are commonly intended for the general public while sales activities or presentations are more audience-specific. You may also see marketing segmentation.

Relevance of Sales and Marketing to the Business

If you can understand the individual roles of both sales and marketing, then it will be easier for you to appreciate their importance in the continuous operations of the business. Though there are some companies that merge sales and marketing in one department, being keen with the processes that separate these two can benefit the business a lot especially in terms of setting goals and maintaining focus. You may also see content marketing.

With the right tactics, activities and other undertakings, sales and marketing can contribute a lot to the growth of the business as a corporate entity. We hope that the items that we have discussed in this post made it clearer for you to know how sales and marketing differ from one another and how they are interlinked with the outputs that they are meant to provide to the business. You may also see internet marketing.