What is the difference between marketing and sales?

There seems to be a never-ending discussion between marketing and

sales professionals as to what the difference really is between

marketing and sales functions. Most of the time, both

Business activity terms are used to describe any business.

activity that is involved in increasing income. For little ones

companies, with limited resources, there are often no practices

difference in marketing and sales functions, all revenue

Generating activities are typically implemented by the same

personal.

As a company grows in revenue and number of staff,

typically follows a logical progression of the business function of

“specialization”, a process where the lines between more

Generic, departmental descriptions and functions became much

more definitive and associated functional responsibilities

concentrate much more. Marketing and sales functions are not

exception.

Marketing and sales functions are diverse but very

interdependent. Typically, “sales” cannot exceed revenue.

goals without effective marketing planning and support,

and “marketing” directives eventually become useless without

sales to implement the plan.

As with many complex business problems, it is sometimes easier

to define something by what it is NOT how is to define it by what

is. Let’s take a closer look at marketing to better define

what sales are not.

Simply defining “marketing” as the “Four Ps”, product, price,

place and promotion, according to your Marketing 101 class in

college is not practical in today’s global markets. in a

general sense, marketing is more theoretical than sales, it focuses

on purchase causality and has a more prescriptive purpose than

descriptive. Marketing involves micro and macro market analysis

focused on strategic intentions where sales are driven more by

tactical challenges and customer relations. Let’s get closer

notice how marketing is really different from sales:

Marketing responsibilities differ from sales responsibilities in that

marketing:

* Establishes and justifies the best competitiveness of the company.

position within a market

* Initially creates, helps sustain and rigorously interprets

customer relations

* Locate and profile potential markets and key players

within

* Generate quality sales opportunities

* Develop effective sales tools

* Formally analyze and track competitors’ business strategies

and tactics

* Define, prioritize and justify new product or service

improvements and developments

* Promotes an explicit image of a company product or service.

* Facilitates the transfer of customer information to the rest of

the company

* Simplify the acquisition of products or services of the client.

process

A full-time marketing director would be responsible for the

following tasks:

New product launches:

Development of strategies, program incentives, times and means

coverage

Agency evaluation:

Selection and evaluation of external marketing contractors.

Customer database management:

Selection of software, training, maintenance of contact with the client.

Information

Market research:

Market definition, prioritization, project management, data

meeting

Price analysis:

Pricing as a marketing tool … initiate and analyze the competition

pricing practices

Product audits:

Establishment of a formal means of evaluating competitiveness

Offerings

Public relations:

Establishment, orientation and coordination of all public areas

Relations

Fairs:

Definition, participation, prioritization and auditing of

effectiveness of all trade shows

Product Promotions:

Formulation of strategies, composition of programs, definition of premiums,

all media coverage

Marketing Communications:

All printed / electronic communication: brochures, catalogs,

price lists, case histories

Media selection:

Assist in the selection and prioritization of all media options:

print, broadcast, multimedia

Internal communications:

Establish and maintain all corporate communication between companies.

half

International market:

Establish presence of the company in specific international markets,

effectiveness audit

Strategic planning:

Offer strategic information and alternative perspectives for

business management strategies

Board meeting participation:

Communicate and reinforce the company’s marketing priorities.

strategies and tactics

Corporate vision statement:

Proliferate and reinforce the corporate vision throughout the

Organization

Identity and corporate image:

Create, maintain, improve and “manage” all corporate images and

symbols

For a “pure” marketer, the marketing function in a business is not

just a business function, but a business philosophy. Year

The Effective Marketer Really Believes “Mastering” His Target

the market “owns” its market. How much more can a marketer do?

maintain market leadership the more effective they are

perceived within the organization and within the industry.

As customer retention has become a business priority in

our increasingly intense competitive markets, the marketing function

has evolved from influencing potential customers to engaging

they business planning and the advancement of the company. Effective

Marketing has also blurred the distinction between product and

service and continue to apply more influence to the company

sales representation priorities.

In conclusion, the marketing and sales functions are deeply ingrained

in the purpose and intentions of growth of the income of each. There

There are few functional areas in business that relate more to each

other. So the next time you hear someone say the word “sales”,

when the appropriate description would have been “marketing”,

or vice versa, think about this article and choose from any of

these documented business functions to make your point of

distinction!

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