Marketing Vs. Sales – The Two Important Components
Understand The Difference
Often you will hear marketing and sales used interchangeably. However, they are two very different aspects of any business.
Generally speaking, marketing refers to business actions that aim to inform prospects about the brand and its products.
On the other hand, sales include activities that aim to convert the prospects and leads into buyers and repeat customers.
Both marketing and sales need to work together to achieve the same end goal, which is to boost business revenue.
Let’s take a deeper look at both marketing and sales and the differences between them, shall we?
Marketing – What Is It?
Marketing is the sum of all the activities that expose your business and brand to prospects.
It is about making prospects aware of your business, its products, and its activities.
One of marketing’s main objectives is also to create campaigns aimed at grabbing attention and attracting prospects to your business.
In short – With marketing campaigns, you don’t really sell anything. You just bring in potential customers to your actual sales page!
Sales Page, What Do You MEAN?
Alright, unlike marketing, the term “sales” refers to activities that drive prospects towards making that all-important buying decision.
Sales are also responsible for creating a healthy and sustainable relationship with potential customers.
This can be done by offering your products to solve their needs and problems.
The Differences
Alright, so, as you can probably tell by now, sales and marketing are two different things.
Marketing is the act or set of actions that seek to promote, sell, and circulate products or services, particularly to create interest in a product or service before it can be sold.
The sales process generally comes in after that.
But what are the differences in the sales approach versus that of marketing?
Well, there are 3 main differences:
- The process
- The Goals
- The Strategies
Let’s go over each one!
The Process
Both the marketing plan and the sales plan will start by clearly laying down the values and goals of the business.
Each will then go on to state the specifics that are unique to each activity.
With the marketing plan, the more specific details will include the type of product, where the product will be sold, who it will be sold to, and how it will be sold to the prospects.
It also lays out the details of the chosen marketing channel.
The sales plan, on the other hand, will contain details about the sales process, the goals, the target market, and the structure of the sales team.
There is also a vivid outline of the tools to be used, the action plan as well as the resources to be employed.
The Goals
Ultimately the primary goal for both marketing and sales is to increase business revenue.
That said, the main goal of marketing is to make plans while considering the bigger picture.
It looks into the future and aims to promote the business for the long haul. It is marketing that does research on the market and sets the prices of the products – This is where we find the avatar of our perfect customer.
Besides, it also improves the products to ensure that they fulfill customer needs.
Simply put, marketing goals are more long-term based, while sales focus on more short-term goals.
It is often about hitting volumes and quotas that are set each month.
Sales set targets and allocate them to each member of the team.
The Strategies
When it comes to marketing, different strategies can be utilized to suit the type of customer and type of market campaign.
Blog marketing, video marketing, and social media marketing are just some examples.
The same can be said about sales strategies.
There are a variety of different strategies that a business can employ to suit the situation.
For instance, inbound selling, customer-centric selling, or the Sandler method.
All in all, when you get into the nitty-gritty of both marketing and sales, you will come to find that the difference in the strategy used is day and night!
Final Word
The difference between marketing and sales is quite a subtle but essential distinction.
Understanding it will help you get more from your efforts in both areas, whether they are focused on SEO or digital advertising campaigns.
If you think of marketing as the art of telling people about what’s available to them, then sales are all about helping customers make decisions – often by providing guidance during the purchasing process that can lead to a sale at the end.
Marketing helps you find new prospects, while sales help lower their barriers to purchase.
When used correctly to drive business growth goals for any organization, these two disciplines go hand in hand, so educate yourself and maximize performance in both aspects!
Your dream customers are waiting for you.
