Through our decades of experience in corporate life the Sales and Marketing functions seemed to exist seperately to each other. Why is this? The marketers should be using the wealth of experience from the sales team; their knowledge of the market, their knowledge of the product and what they believe would sell.
This is demonstrated by the amount of products that are launched....and fail because the marketing department has developed a product that is not suitable for the market. If they had liased with the sales department they may have got the feedback that the product would not work or needed to be adjusted to fit the market. The eyes and ears that are the sales team are an essential development tool for new products. They may not always be right but more fool the marketer that ignores their input.
Increase your Profits with Integrated Marketing
At Maximum Marketing Solutions we believe in the integration of SEO (developing leads), Marketing (developing leads and creating brands) and sales (closing those leads). How one can operate separately from the other is beyond our understanding. Yes, SEO is a specific skill, but why would you SEO for wheels if your selling tyres? The knowledge of sales and marketing influence what the SEO specialist will optimise as the marketing team will synergise with SEO and sales to ensure there is one message for the business or the product that is being focused on. Sales and marketing teams will analyse the market for opportunites to expand the range of products or look for opportunites within the current market to focus their energies. SEO specialists can then focus their efforts on either geographical areas or profitable produst segments or services to maximise their ROI. It's no good focusing marketing and sales efforts on a product in a mature market with little chance of increasing either sales or margin. By ensuring the integration of the SEO, marketing and sales functions improvements in your bottom line profits is ensured.
Small Business SEO, Marketing and Sales Integration
Of course it is easy to throw around "marketing departments" and "sales teams", but what if your are a sole trader or small businessman? What if your teams comprise only yourself or a couple of employees? I believe it doesn't change the importance of the Integrated Approach. A small business or tradesman in Brsibane can still take advantage of the synergies created by pursuing the Intergrated Strategy just as well as a large multi-national. With a basic knowledge of SEO they can create relevant SEO campaigns or employ an agency to do so. With the correct analysis they can consider their product or service range and maximise their efforts. With basic sales training they can ensure the leads created by their SEO and marketing efforts lead to sales. All it takes is the commitment to learn or understand new skills.
What Happens if your don't Integrate?
Of course, there have been thousands (if not millions) of businesses that have not focused at all on these three functions. It is only the last 20 years or so that SEO has become a focal point of the marketing mix. Marketing has changed as well, with the reliance on print advertising becoming less prevalent. Sales has always been important but now you can achieve a sale without even speaking to someone. Competition is everywhere and the way to stand out from the crowd is to ensure an integrated message and the ability to close the sale for a plumbing job or new furniture has been proven to be an essential skill. There are many businesses that have survived throughout commercial history without focus on these core elements, but the integration of SEO, marketing and sales could be the opportunity for your business to stand out from the competition.
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