When looking at the difference between marketing versus sales, the error lies in approaching them the same way. To make things easier, smaller companies tend to combine the two in one division. Larger companies into two different divisions. Generally, sales and marketing work together to obtain the same result – to promote revenue and business expansion.
Specifically, they serve two distinct functions.
- Marketing focuses on customers wants and needs by showing how their product meets these desires. These “target markets” are both current and potential customers. Thus, marketing campaigns are all about persuading interest and creating leads or prospects. Basically, the marketing departments focus outwardly trying to bring people inward – into stores, websites, dealers, shopping complexes etc.) Marketing supplies the customer’s first impression of our product or service.
- Sales is done more through direct interaction with customers trying to convert prospects into actual paying customers. Trying to persuade them to purchase a product or service. Thus, sales teams focus more on the physical presence of their product or service once the customer has made contact.
Marketing versus Sales: A closer look.
A good summary can be found from Theodore C. Levitt, a marketing professor from Harvard – “The difference between marketing and selling is more than semantic. Selling focuses on the needs of the seller; marketing on the needs of the buyer. Selling is preoccupied with the seller’s need to convert his product into cash; marketing with the idea of satisfying the needs of the customer by means of the product and the whole cluster of things associated with creating, delivering and finally consuming it..”
For example, an office-product salesperson goes out on call to a large building complex. Hopefully, because of earlier marketing efforts, some of these prospective clients are already familiar with the product. Because ground work had already been done, the salesperson doesn’t waste time explaining the product. Instead they can focus on the sales incentives, free samples, promotional events, quantity discounts etc. Thus the sales person is concerned with selling the product, the marketing to show how the product meets consumers needs.
Knowing the difference between small business marketing versus sales can help any business become more effective in both marketing and sales. Dividing them up allows the delivery of more value to the customers. It encourages us to formulate specific plans in each area and stops costly overlaps and redundancy of effort. Basically it stops us from doing the same thing twice.
Common small business marketing versus sales failures
- A common failure of small business is expecting people will love and use our product/service because we love it and use it. Getting to personally attached to product specifics makes it hard to fulfill the real wants and expectations of customers. Basically, we need to meet customers’ needs, instead of our own. That way we can design marketing efforts to show how our product not only meets but surpasses all our customer expectations.
- Another common failure is spending all our time and money getting the product/service ready. Only leaving little time or money to actually bring in the customers. Nothing’s worse than sitting in a beautifully well-stocked store just hoping people will come in. Our product/service preparation, marketing efforts and sales promotions all must be done together. Just think of it like a juggling act. We want to keep all the balls moving, if we want to be successful.
- Many failures happen when we market a product, the salesperson can’t provide: For example: Marketing departments making false claims and over hyping what the product actually does. Making the salesperson look the fool when the product fails to perform. Then there’s the old “Bait and switch” – promising one thing and delivering something else. Many times marketing departments come up with great sales incentives and deals to new customers. But fail to provide similar incentives, rewards and even overcharging their current customers.
- Finally there’s the failures in sales departments. Before instant internet price comparison many companies held false sales – marking up prices and then putting a sale sign on them at the original cost. Not having enough marketed or sale products on hand to meet customer demand. Putting tiny little notes like “for a limited time” or “while supplies last” and then not stocking enough of the item, forcing people to purchase a higher cost item. Providing discounted services, and then slowly raising prices through mark-ups, add-ons and “extra” features. Finally, there’s the bundled approach. These items together look like a real discount, but additional items only include things that don’t sell well, are dated, or that no-one really wants.
Knowing the difference helps us develop better marketing plans which frees up sales teams to do what they do best. Make sales!