Sales and Marketing are two terms often used interchangeably even by business pros. Truth be told sales and marketing tend to go hand in hand but they aren’t entirely just one and the same thing. Don’t get confused by the two as in this article we will be dissecting more into the sales and marketing correlations whilst also telling you the two differences in the two common terms in the world of business.
The Differences between Sales vs marketing
For starters, sales is defined as the process driving business transactions between two parties which in this case maybe business and a consumer whereby the consumer gets a product or a service. Marketing, on the other hand, refers to working to transfer the product or service to the consumer but this time using customer oriented strategies.
In simple words, the role of sales personnel is to sell what the business has in terms of a product or service. Their work is to match the customer demand to the products or services the company currently offers and they do so by going out there and finding the customer. They work to build relationships with the customer while they also overcome any challenge that they might encounter in this process.
Marketing, on the other hand, is all about understanding what customer’s perspective towards the brand is, but with an aim of generating sales at the present and in future. A marketer’s role is to give a business that competitive edge in the marketplace by bridging the gap between what the consumer wants in relation to what the business is producing. They will tend to find out things like which segments, or groups of customers the business should target and which channels they should leverage. This way they can help the business modify what they are offering, the pricing, and communication channels so that they can meet the needs of the customer. Marketers will also work to craft tools and tactics to attract the consumer to the brand, improve the relationship between the two and develop new leads.
That said, sales and marketing are intertwined no wonder it is hard to mention one without mentioning the other. So how are marketing and sales related?
The Relationship between Sales & Marketing
At the end of the day, the goal of both marketers and the sales team in the business ecosystem is to sell! This is where the two disciplines meet along the way. One of the pillars of marketing is what is known as the marketing mix which is defined as the factors that can be controlled by business and they can be used to influence and convert a target consumer.
At the heart of this is the 4Ps of marketing i.e. pricing, promotion, place, and product. They are essentially a marketer’s territory but then their success will also involve a lot of the sales team chipping in with their efforts. They might be involved in things like running ads, doing sales promos, doing publicity and PR, finding new sales channels, creating new products/services etc.
The sales process can take many forms such as direct sales technique, business to business, business to consumer, travel consumer etc.
Tips to Increase Sales of Your Product or Service
Now that you know a thing or two about the sales and marketing, let’s take a look at some simple ways you can increase the sales of your product or service.
Tip 1: Use Digital Channels
Customers have gone digital these days and so should you. It is vital to that you make more use of digital channels in both marketing and sales. We are talking about the likes of mobile friendly websites, social media sales channels etc.
Tip 2: Secure Your Websites, Boost Conversions
If you are using a website as a main channel of selling then you will need to secure it to boost conversions. This is owing to the fact that customers tend to be wary of doing any online transactions and they will be more comfortable if you have a secure platform. You can use cheap price SSL certificates to secure your website and boost conversion ratio in sales if your budget is low.
Tip 3: Understand the Customer
Another simple way to improve your sales is to analyze the customer and find out if they are likely to buy what you are selling then identify the problem the customer has that you can solve. Once you have acquired a customer, try to keep the customer for as long as this will generate recurrent sales.
Tip 4: Create a Competitive Advantage
Establish what stands out on your product or services and focus on them as a selling point. Tell the customer what they will enjoy if they chose you.
Tip 5: Pick a Proper Price
You don’t have to go way cheaper than your competitors but the right pricing certainly matters. If your products or services are more expensive then you should deliver what customers would find a value worth the money.
Tip 6: Give Your Customers Free Goodies
They say the best things in the world are free. So, you can definitely win the hearts of new and even existing ones through free goodies. It can be a taste of a product or a sneak preview of a service you are offering. If it is good, they will come for more!
Final Remarks
That’s it about sales and marketing plus how you can boost conversions rates in your business. There isn’t a blueprint for success but these few tips should be sort of a yardstick you can use to improve the performance ad success of your business.
