It’s Business 101: Marketing and Sales are the two forces that drive business; Whether it’s a small one-person operation or a global corporation, these are the two distinct channels for reaching customers and prospects. Or at least that’s the traditional thinking…

The problem is that this traditional approach creates a wedge between two forces that should work together. Sales often thrive in relationships that may or may not be beneficial to the companies’ overall growth goals. Marketing, on the other hand, may be producing leads but doing little to close sales faster or help improve existing relationships. Integrating the tactics of these two traditionally separate elements into one integrated initiative can increase your share of the markets where you need to grow and close sales faster.

The good news is that creating an integrated initiative can be done from almost any level of an organization and in conjunction with strategic partners like design partners, advertising channels, and lead tracking mechanisms. To close the loop between sales and marketing, there are some key strategies that help make the transition successful.

Recipe for better ROI
An Integrated Initiative redefines ROI by applying marketing and sales tactics together in a coordinated effort to achieve objectives in specific markets. Here’s an example:

Let’s say your company has a new product launch next quarter and an announcement has been created for the launch. A traditional definition of ROI compares the cost of creating and placing the ad to the sales generated. If you sold more than it cost, you had a good ROI. This is an important benchmark, but let’s see how an Integrated Initiative redefines it.

In our hypothetical Integrated Initiative, the ad does not sit idle in a magazine. It becomes part of the sales cycle. Ad reprints are used in personalized direct mail pieces from each member of the sales force to prospects in their territories. A press release provides a preview of the product in a broader range of commercial media. That press release is sent to current customers in a preview email offering them special pricing or incentives. A unique URL is created that incorporates the announcement and the press release. Customer testimonials about related products may also be posted on the site. Site downloads can be tracked and fed back to sales. All of these materials are also provided to the sales force for drop-behind and trade show brochures. PowerPoint slides would also be created for inclusion in presentations.

In other words, an integrated initiative is a coordinated drive to get more leads, continue existing relationships, close sales faster, and increase sales volume in the right markets. ROI is measured not just in how well the ad worked for you, but how well the ad’s message worked across all possible channels of communication with your customers and prospects.

One of my clients recently told me that through conversations with salespeople, he learned that customers often refer favorably to a customer story that appeared in a trade publication. It’s a rare compliment in this business and I’ll take it, but not before asking, “How many of your salespeople are speaking favorably to their customers about that item? Are they using reprints to build relationships? Can they mail reprints to attractive prospects?” to help close sales? My client was simply looking at the quantified results: the clients liked the article. He wasn’t considering that his sales force could build on the momentum of this positive feedback. (By the way, we used the article and an ad in a very successful direct mail campaign that generated significant sales in a matter of days.)

Reaching thousands in one ad is very important, but in the end it’s a single handshake that closes a sale. Integrating advertising, marketing, and public relations into your company’s sales culture supports them in both decade-long relationships and initial cold calls. If a marketing message can be part of the process across the entire sales/marketing spectrum, sales will increase.

Diversify your toolbox
Diversity is key to an integrated initiative. After all, if you’re going to integrate the tools you’re using, diversifying those tools will simply give you more to work with and more opportunities to succeed.

Take advantage of new technologies to expand the tools at your disposal. For example, you may be able to negotiate a print ad program that will provide you with PDF files of all the ads and news items that appear in a publication. There is little to no material cost for the magazine, and it provides the sales force with an article that can be easily emailed to current and potential customers.

Another example is the editorial consultation of packaging with an advertising program. Advertising in a special issue focused on a key market could warrant a conference between the magazine’s sales, marketing, and editorial staff to preview the issue and offer insights into that market. A direct mail piece to a select list of readers/customers for that issue with a letter from the regional sales staff further focuses efforts on target markets and helps increase advertising impact.

In this case, advertising, public relations, direct mail, and sales are all part of a cycle that will ultimately reach prospects from several different angles. This, in turn, attracts leads and tightens sales cycles.

While these tools are not necessarily free, they are comparatively inexpensive. More importantly, they add significant value to elements that already exist, such as advertising and public relations. Tactics diversification is simply realizing the full value of core markets and sales tools that already exist.

repetition is not always bad
Repetition is known to be a very effective means of communication. This is how we learn as children and this is how we remember it as adults. An integrated marketing program ensures that your message penetrates repeat markets. If you have a customer testimonial program, for example, reference those customers in press releases, trade show literature, your website, industry speeches, annual reports, and advertisements. Even incorporate them as talking points in presentations and sales pitches.

Iterations like this ensure that your message to the market gains traction with every contact with customers and prospects. Often this is a simple, easy-to-implement element that can serve as a good first step in integrating a marketing program.

Close the cycle – Close sales
Putting together an integrated initiative that intelligently closes the loop between marketing and sales harnesses the power of each and delivers results greater than the sum of its parts. More importantly, it refocuses attention on the broader objective of strategic growth. It takes careful planning and execution (no one said it was easy to make every part of an organization rethink its role), but the rewards can be an overall sales/marketing organization focused on the same set of priorities at the same time. In other words, by closing the cycle, the sales are closed. And that’s good for everyone.

About ABI

Founded in 1980, ABI, Inc. specializes exclusively in business-to-business marketing public relations. ABI provides global market support services to companies in various industrial and technology market segments. Offices in New York, London and Singapore provide rapid response to commercial and advertising opportunities for clients.

For more information on ABI, please call James Krouse, Director of ABI Europe on +44 207 031 4411 or visit http://www.abipr.com/