Sales and Marketing
One thing is certain in business: what you do, or you intend to do, is driven by customers and the marketplace.
The lifeblood of any organization is the customer. Whether you are trying to sell a product or provide a service, an enterprise must understand who it caters to, what its customers want and why they want it, and what those customers are willing to pay for the things they want. Understanding these factors and providing what the customer desires is what the sales & marketing function in an organization is built upon.
The field of Marketing consists of all the activities that are required to present a product or service to its intended user. An essential part of the company, marketing plays a key role in the success of the company.
Marketing must: 1) Define the customer; 2) Align the features and benefits of the company’s offer with the target customer’s needs; and 3) Define the competition
Marketing includes: 1) Influencing product or service design; 2) Establishing pricing strategies; 3) Developing communication strategies; and 4) Identifying channels of distribution
Sales is closely aligned with Marketing. Sales consists of the actions taken to convince a customer to transfer product or service from the company to the customer. The sales element takes into consideration the marketing plan and converts the plan initiatives and strategies into tactics resulting in the creation of sales revenue.
Sales and Marketing strategies should start with a clear understanding of the long-term vision of the organization as it compares to the short-term realities of the organization today. The key is to navigate an enterprise between the two.
While a growth strategy must encompass elements of every function in the entity, the most critical component is the approach to developing a company’s products and/or services. In general, this can be accomplished in one of four ways: (1) work the product or service (e.g., sell more, reduce price, market more); (2) improve the product or service (e.g., change appearance, increase performance, produce more efficiently); (3) expand the reach of the product or service (e.g., find a new audience, export, partner with someone to promote); or (4) introduce a new product or service.
However, once the product or service strategy has been established, implementing the marketing and selling processes becomes essential.
Regardless of whether it is the marketing or the selling process, each process has two distinct components: the research and planning component; and the execution and implementation component. In marketing, the research and planning component is what many people refer to as market research. Data and information are collected, analyses are performed and a marketing plan is generated. In sales, the research and planning component identifies how the enterprise will approach the targeted market and engage the customer. In contrast, the execution and implementation component reflects the more alluring activities of both marketing and sales: advertising, promotion, public relations, selling, business development, and service.
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