By Whitney Satin
History is ripe with famous feuds: the Capulets and Montagues, Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Burr, or, as I glibly noted in a previous post, Peggy and Al Bundy. Enter Sales and Marketing to the fray: often at odds, though truly dependent on one another for the successful operation of any given company. If early results from our sales and marketing alignment diagnostic are any indication, the two groups have managed to find at least some common ground: commercial messaging is crucial … and it’s something we’re not very good at it.
The pain points are many. On the one hand, sales reps say that the messaging and positioning they get from Marketing is largely irrelevant. More often than not, reps bypass Marketing’s collateral altogether, opting instead to create “rogue” campaigns they believe will more quickly move customers through the purchase funnel.
On the other side of the floor, marketers often gripe that Sales fails to tailor messages to address the unique needs of different customers. Once armed with a pitch, reps go on autopilot—or so the theory goes. This results in missed opportunities to make the company’s given solution truly resonate with customers, which ultimately translates into missed revenue.
Finger pointing aside, it’s safe to say we must have a pretty broken machine when it comes to delivering consistent messages across the slew of interactions we have with our customers. From advertising to product information to tradeshow collateral, the opportunities to send mixed messages are many and, as companies explore social media facets, still growing.
Without first establishing a baseline about why customers should choose their products and services over competitors’, Sales and Marketing have little to tether them to a consistent message across these different outlets. Moreover, it’s increasingly tempting to tout the latest feature or R&D breakthrough, resulting in messages that focus on nuanced product differences, rather than the unique capabilities the company may provide.
Leading marketing organizations get two things right:
1. They work closely with their sales teams to first identify sources of differentiation, and then
2. They communicate these differentiators at major decision points across the purchase cycle.
The key is to take advantage of every opportunity—including your Web site, event collateral, and the sales pitch—to articulate and constantly reinforce unique sources of value in language that resonates with customers.
Think about what specific benefit a customer gets as a result of doing business with you. This not only builds appreciation for how your company differs from the competition, but it will also help you move customer conversations beyond price—something we’d all agree is a desirable outcome.
MLC members, visit our new Messaging Topic Center to learn more about identifying and communicating key differentiators.
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