Marketing and Sales -Basic Differences

 Marketing and Sales are connected to each other and have a common goal, it is important to know about the basic differences between the both, here are some important points which will clearly differentiate between marketing and sales.

Marketing

Sales is one of the subset of marketing, marketing is having a variety of subsets included in it, marketing basically focuses on brand awareness and brand promotion and creating interest in the public and target customers.

If anyone doesn’t know about your products and services, marketing will help to make him /her know your brand, in short marketing will increase your product and service presence.

Marketing targets big databases, which means a larger size public which will help in pulling the interest of the customers towards the brand.  

Sales - 

The sales team always works on a short target base, which means the prime function of sales is to convert the leads generated by the marketing team into purchases of products or services.

The sales team uses tools and techniques for converting these leads into purchases. However, the sales and marketing teams are working on a common goal to generate maximum revenue.

Example to differentiate between marketing and sales -

Generally, customer interest to purchase is a journey of marketing and sales, it includes 4 steps viz- brand promotion, customer leads, follow-up work and conversion, and purchase of product and services

Suppose we have promoted our services and products using different marketing tools and advertising tools like Facebook, and Instagram ads and we have received 10 leads, this will complete the task of the marketing department.

The sales department will focus on this small target base and takes follow-ups which will convert 10 leads to 6 potential buyers, after clearing their doubts and queries if 3 customers purchased our products and services this will be the sale of my business. 

Dos for marketing person-

For marketing professionals there are many dos and don’ts which are of prime importance some of them are listed below-

a. Try to understand the needs and preferences of your target audience

b. Try to define your marketing objectives and goals

c. Try to develop high-quality, engaging content that resounds with your target audience.

d. Try to focus on delivering value to them, you are solving their problems, try to tell services and product-related stories which will connect with your audience.

e. Don’t rely on one marketing channel to reach your target audience develop a mix of online and offline channels such as social media, email marketing, content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), paid advertising, events, and more.

f. Try to analyze regularly and measure the performance of your marketing campaigns, which will give you more clarity about which necessary tools and techniques to be used for better reach.

Don’ts for marketing person-

a.  Avoid spam material for marketing and also avoid unethical practices for lead generation, which will damage your brand and products.

b. Don’t Ignore or avoid customer concerns about your products which may lead to dissatisfaction and negative word-of-mouth about your brand.

c. Overpromising and underdelivering will lead to disappointed customers and damage your credibility. Set realistic expectations and strive to exceed them whenever possible.

d. Don’t ignore the analysis of data and customer preferences collected for your product, otherwise, your products and services will not reach out to customers properly.

e.  Avoid engaging in activities or campaigns that contradict your brand's core principles.

Dos for salesperson

a. Try to build a strong relationship with your potential customers, try to identify their needs and preferences which will help you to provide customized solutions to them. Building trust and rapport is key to successful sales.

b. Try to listen to your audience carefully, about the needs and preferences, and solutions he expects from your company.

c.  Try to take all relevant information you want to pass to your audience which will develop more clarity between your products and services and the customers.

d. In case you received any query which you can’t answer instantly, then try to communicate with a customer that you will answer it in time.

e. Consistent follow-up is required to convert the leads into a purchase, this follow-up should irritate the customers.

Don’ts for a salesperson-

a. Don’t be over-aggressive or pushy in your sales approach because of your customers' boundaries and decisions which can create discomfort and harm your reputation.

b. Don’t mislead customers through overpromising and overclaims, this will erode trust and damage your brand credibility.

C. Don’t ignore the objection and queries raised by the customers try to answer them in time.

d. Sales profession is evolving and try to develop yourself while practicing this profession.

 

Remember that, these are just guidelines. Adapt them to your specific sales role, industry, and customer base. Strive to provide exceptional customer experiences, build lasting relationships, and contribute to the overall success of your organization.