Marketing suffers from a crisis of credibility and are perceived in general solely to support sales. So what can marketers do to be more in control of the revenue process and build the respect they deserve - especially among their operational peers?
Marketing and sales should complement each another, instead of making their life reciprocally difficult, don’t you think? If marketing and product development are doing a good job, selling should be so much easier and provide the opportunity to invite customers to buy rather than to aggressively praise the goods.
What the man at the Apple Store is doing, who sells an iPad2, for instance, can’t really be described as selling. A lot of people are usually queuing in front of his shop, just waiting to give him their money with a blissful smile on their face. “I invite you to buy my product - if not, the next one please”, is actually what the salesman says and expresses. The real estate agent, on the other hand, who claims that the house would sell if the offer is just below market price and if the loan is already approved, avoids his job.
The duty of a salesman is to allay the potential customers’ fears and convince him to get involved with something that turns out to be a success in retrospect. Marketing should make it as easy as possible for sales to pass invitations to customers. Therefore, the primary goal of such an understanding of marketing is the creation of a situation in which the sale is just the cherry on the top of the cake and not the only salvation.
Selling is a calling and hard work, but if what you sell is delivering a real benefit to the buyer it is actually quite easy. And it is your job in marketing to give your customers the best advice on how they can benefit from your offer.
Sales and marketing are truly successful only with the proper common goal: Not selling, but inviting! And in times of social media it will continue to stay that way, as nowadays it is even more than ever expected to reduce the pure advertising slang and cultivate human respect and interest.
Just remember that all human beings are programmed for pattern recognition, which is a basic skill needed for survival and is hardwired into our DNA, as we depend on our ability to recognize both danger and opportunities. This intrinsic aspect of our nature allows you to tap into the motivational triggers that govern our subliminal decision-making responses – so don’t push your clients to buy, invite them!
Always keep in mind that good marketing is generally based on a well-thought-of emotional concept, which is especially true on the Web, where content and attention span go hand-in-hand. If your Web marketing is not interesting, informative, and entertaining, it neither will ever be memorable nor have the lasting impact you need to meet your sales and marketing objectives.
By Daniela La Marca
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