Fast forward to a vision of the singularly focused, well-aligned sales and marketing organization focused on both short-term and long-term goals. The team is reaping the benefits of communication, interaction and collaboration tools and technologies that are prevalent in businesses today.
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THE FOCUS |
THE GOAL |
THE SOLUTION: What do you need to get there?
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Success criteria |
Business profitability |
Full visibility into results/ KPIs (key performance indicators); Predictable pipeline and accurate forecast to allow earlier insight for adjustment
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Vision of the ideal customer
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Customer profitability |
A join definition of the ideal customer that looks at revenue and costs to serve over the lifeime of that relationship
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Relationship quality (outlook)
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Long-term |
Needs-based and collaborative—as a result of capturing knowledge over time
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Process
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Collaborative and easy to use
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Joint planning, shared customer database, connects all users in a single customer lifecycle
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Technology
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Integrated CRM |
Holistic view of the customer; Best practice workflow is created and improved over time
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The answer is a single mission-directed plan, crafted by stakeholders in both marketing and sales that shares the same success criteria, vision of the ideal customer, relationship outlook and process. The plan is supported by a strong technology foundation comprised of a set of applications that are flexible, scalable, familiar, and easy to use.
In this ideal state, marketing becomes a sales multiplier, making all front-office processes more definable, repeatable, and friction-free. Sales becomes the confidante to marketing, sharing customer insight and best practices. Together, they focus on what customers need and when they need it. They learn together and get smarter together over time.
About Wendi McGowan