In some ways, it is unfortunate that businesses are segmented by departments. While this can bring in the best people for a particular specialism, it can also have the effect of splitting apart different parts of the same process.

Sales and marketing, and all the other parts of a business, are reaching for the same results – to grow a well-functioning and successful business. While the approach of sales and marketing can (and should) be different, they are intrinsically linked. It, therefore, makes sense that data gathered from these two functions should come together to inform the best route forwards. Sadly, this is rarely the case.

What happened to the leads?

There are many objectives that a marketing team will have, but a primary one will be building leads as the stepping stones to sales. Leads may come in many forms from digital advertising campaigns. Forms, emails, phone calls and landing pages to name a few. It is the job of the marketing team to collate these leads and make sure they are reaching the sales team to follow up and seal the deal. However, for this to truly inform the marketing process and future digital advertising campaigns, the direction of travel with this data needs to be circular not linear.

A common breakdown of communication between sales and marketing comes from the results of this lead handover. For a business’s marketing function to be truly informed and adaptable in their approach, they need to know what is working, and what isn’t, when it comes to leads.

As a business owner, it is well worth putting processes in place to join up your sales and marketing, so data is shared back and forth, making the process of gaining customers and clients seamless.

Cost per lead or revenue per lead? – joining the dots

Cost per lead has become the benchmark by which digital marketing campaigns are measured, but this approach will only ever give part of the story. For truly meaningful marketing metrics, we need to delve into the quality of the leads that are coming in and talk about the overall revenue per lead. This is another reason it is vital for marketing to receive regular feedback from sales. Doing so will enable your marketing team to optimise their activates across digital platforms and concentrate their efforts on the best leads by revenue.

‘How can I help you today?’ – bringing operations into the marketing and sales picture

A common set up for marketing leads, especially when it comes to an outsourced marketing function, is through a business’s operations. Google Ads and other digital advertising can be pointed to lead through via phone or email, which are often picked up by a reception/customer service team.

It is important that these staff are kept well informed of potential leads coming through from campaigns, so they know exactly where to direct them. The customer service basics should also be up to scratch. It’s surprising how far a clear, friendly and professional greeting can go with a new potential client in deciding if your business will be the right fit for them.

Incoming emails can also be integrated with your CRM system, to track the progress of enquiries and give useful insights into customer touch-points and behaviours with your business.

Establishing training for front-facing staff and investing in call monitoring and martech systems to check the quality of communication and ongoing data will be money well spent in bringing together you marketing, sales and operational functions.

If you would like help with your digital advertising campaigns and strategy planning, please do get in touch.

You can find out more about our team and their experience, here.