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Bridging the Gap: Understanding the Difference between Sales and Marketing
“In simple terms, if we define Marketing, it revolves around the consumer. It involves selecting a consumer or a segment of consumers, and then, from market research to advertising and creating interest, its purpose is to make consumers happy and satisfied.
After creating interest and desire among consumers, Sales involve communicating with customers and converting that interest into desire and purchase.
So, from the above definition, can we say that Marketing is a pull strategy and Sales is push? Right?
Marketing is pull and Sales is push?
If Marketing is pull and Sales is push, then how come Sales is a part of Marketing? Or are they different? You will find these claims on the internet that don’t align with each other and don’t have clear reasons. Let us help you.
Generally, Marketing campaigns are based on creating the top of the funnel of Marketing, which is awareness and interest through advertising, SEO, Public Relations, etc. But that doesn’t mean that Marketing is all about pull Marketing. Think of personalized mail, targeted ads, or messages you receive when you leave something in your cart.
On a similar plane, when we talk about Sales as a push strategy, it starts at the bottom of the funnel by contacting prospective customers and then converting that into a purchase. Now imagine the last time you saw a reel of your followed influencer educating about a topic and then endorsing a brand to avail a special discount.
Hence, even though they have characteristics for which they are known, segmenting them on basis of just pull and push is too basic. With developments in the market and new experiments by organizations, we can’t distinguish them solely based on pull or push.
“The work that Marketing does sets up the Sales organization to do the part of the job that is theirs. You can’t do one without the other.” by Taina Palombo
And it’s important to note the fundamental difference between sales and marketing: while marketing focuses on creating awareness and interest, sales activities involve direct interaction with potential customers to generate revenue.
Difference between Sales and Marketing
Now, coming to our second question, if you search on the internet about “Is Sales part of Marketing?” you will get results that yes, Sales is part of Marketing. On the other hand, if you search “Is Sales and Marketing different,” you will get reasons for that as well. But, just like the above problem, you will not get the justification for the same.
Generally, Marketing is a very broad concept that does research, decides pricing, value proposition, positioning, and all other things from finding to satisfying the customer. However, in Sales, it is communicating about the product which the Marketing department has done. Marketing sets the stage and pitch which a salesperson needs to execute, and the role of Marketing doesn’t end nd its process doesn’t end till new lead comes. Hence, Marketing does the work that a salesperson needs to do; that’s why Sales is considered a part of Marketing. But that doesn’t mean that full Sales process is part of Marketing closing the deal and driving revenue doesn’t include in that generally. However, for different conditions the distinctives and overlapping of both functions differ.
The difference between sales and marketing varies across companies, business scales, business models, industries, etc.
For different companies, let’s take the example of Louis Vuitton, Max Fashion, and any local garment company. For Louis Vuitton, tell me when you have seen the company offering any coupon, sale, or any Buy Get offer. No, right? However, when it comes to a company like Max Fashion, you must have seen their ads on social media or television, and at the same time, offering coupons, sale, and offers. And when it comes to your local lifestyle company, when have you seen their advertisement? That is because the company Louis Vuitton has a Marketing-focused approach where their pricing, design, value proposition are towards premium and work on a fully attract basis, which doesn’t require much work of Sales department. However, in companies like Max Fashion, their main target is the mass middle-class market with a good brand, quality, and a value proposition. Then, due to the availability of that type of brand being high in the market but with a distinguishable brand, it requires the help of both Marketing and Sales function to work as independently in sync. For your local garment manufacturer, their target is the low and middle-class segment without any brand or value proposition where their work would be of Sales where they need to push it into the market as they are indistinguishable in the market.
For different businesses like B2B and B2C, the interaction differs as in business dealing as B2B; their value proposition requires better quality, better pricing, availability, etc., where they are more focused on Sales and very low or no focus on Marketing. Hence, they would have the same Marketing and sales department. On the other hand, if you see brands that are more focused on customers, they will have to provide value proposition in every way from pricing, availability, quality to brand, image. Hence, they would have different Sales and Marketing departments.
For different levels of business, the functions of Sales and Marketing differ based on the workforce, where small startups and businesses, they would have the same Sales and Marketing department due to low human resources and a low level of organization. As the company grows to become bigger, they would be requiring different Sales and Marketing departments.
On the industry basis, it also differs based on what your company sells. In this way, you can take examples of companies selling things like steel, milk, eggs, pipes, etc., and on the other hand, companies selling toothpaste, juices, drinks, chocolate, etc. For the earlier type of companies, you have not seen companies advertising, and if they do, it’s very low as compared to the latter one. Whereas for the latter one, social media and television are full of their Marketing. This is because for the earlier one, the market is commoditized, which means it doesn’t matter what brand it is; it only matters what the product is, hence very low stress on Marketing and hence the same department. Whereas for the latter type of companies, the market also considers their brand, image, and their differentiation, hence different Sales and Marketing department.”
In conclusion, the dynamics between Marketing and Sales go beyond the traditional characterization of pull and push strategies in the business realm. While Marketing sets the stage for Sales by cultivating awareness and interest, the distinction between these two functions becomes increasingly nuanced in the ever-evolving business landscape. The interplay between Marketing and Sales exhibits various Shades In Business, emphasizing their symbiotic relationship. Rather than relying on a simplistic classification, it is imperative to recognize the multifaceted nature of their collaboration, including the difference between sales and marketing. The relationship between these functions is influenced by a myriad of business variables, making it essential to conduct a thorough business analysis before delineating their roles. By doing so, we can foster better communication, harness synergies, and boost the overall growth of a business.
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