At first glance, sales and marketing teams seem like natural allies. Both, after all, focus on driving growth. But sometimes, they act more like opposing forces – battling each other for resources and attention instead of realizing that they’re stronger (and more effective) when they work together.
Marketing is all about data, optimizing the mix of tactics used to move audiences from awareness to interest to lead. At some companies, the marketing team assists with sales support, purchase validation, and loyalty or advocacy programs. But generally speaking, marketing focuses primarily on high-volume lead generation. Sales, on the other hand, is a relationship game. It’s all about cultivating personal connections and developing solutions for clients’ specific needs. In many ways, sales is as much art as marketing is science.
Yet, the two disciplines often butt heads. The marketing team delivers what it sees as qualified leads and becomes frustrated when sales can’t close those deals. Meanwhile, the sales reps don’t think the leads are well-qualified at all, especially in comparison to the relationships they’ve built themselves.
As a result, sales and marketing remain in their respective corners of the office, projecting assumptions onto one another. As is the case in most disagreements, a frank conversation would alleviate the tension and offer a collaborative path forward, but someone has to start those discussions, and no one wants to break first.
The case for experiential marketing
The financial consequences of silent feuding, however, can be huge. When sales and marketing don’t cooperate, productivity drops — to the tune of $1 trillion a year. Marketing misses opportunities to improve the prospect pipeline and better qualify leads, while sales struggles to maintain account values and customer ROI. Inefficiencies also, inevitably, lead to missed opportunities.
But experiential marketing can provide an antidote to these crises. Experiential marketing is just what it sounds like — an interactive, real-time brand experience that engages audiences directly. It’s a win-win for marketing and sales because it supports both of their functions. It also brings them into brand alignment, which Marketo reports can drive a 209% increase in marketing revenue.
Experiential marketing works best in the middle of the funnel. By the time audience members engage with this strategy, they should already be aware of the brand. Now, they’re primed for consideration and conversion. This tactic can also be used for customer retention, as novel brand experiences can foster loyalty and advocacy.
But if experiential marketing is to succeed, it requires input from both the sales and marketing teams – just as antagonistic pairs of muscles can only generate movement if one contracts while the other relaxes. A divided front cannot stand.
Marketers can create an engaging brand experience that draws leads into the funnel, and sales can then nurture those prospects through direct, personalized communication. The immersive nature of experiential marketing captures people’s interests and makes them more receptive to marketing and sales communications. Most importantly, the real-time nature of the tactic allows both teams to adapt and optimize their strategies as needed.
Building a united front
If your marketing and sales teams are at odds with one another, experiential marketing can bring them together while also yielding great returns. Here’s how these teams can use experiential marketing successfully:
1. Co-educate
You can’t cooperate with others unless you understand their role in a project and respect their place on the team. Encourage dialogue between marketing and sales, beginning with educating one another on what each department does. I’m not talking about condescending cursory reviews. These conversations should include deep dialogue about each team’s role, objectives, and benchmarks for success.
More than likely, overlaps will emerge, and that’s a good thing. Common ground is a great starting point for collaboration. Besides, finding redundancies is the first step toward creating more efficient processes. If marketing can take a few responsibilities off the sales team’s hands, and vice versa, both will be more productive – and probably a lot less prone to irritation, burnout, and the inevitable inter-office sniping.
2. Understand
Both teams must be on the same page about the expected inputs and outputs of each process. There should be no ambiguity about who’s responsible for what or how each department is contributing to an experiential campaign.
What does marketing need to know about the offering to market it effectively? Which assets should sales be using at each stage of the funnel? Both teams should work through these questions together so everyone is clear on the goals and processes surrounding an experiential campaign.
Insist on clarity around common terms, too. What does a ‘qualified lead’ look like? Discrepancies on this definition are often the source of tension between marketers and sales reps, so take the time to come to a consensus.
3. Plan
From day one, both teams must have a seat at the table. Experiential marketing is a joint effort, so all relevant voices should be in the mix. Before building a campaign, create a framework for the initiative.
What are we promoting? What are the online and offline engagement protocols? Which team is responsible for which aspects? What are the hand-off points between marketing and sales? Establishing these points at the outset reduces friction and allows everyone to stay focused on the ultimate goal.
Co-planning a campaign can also create more inter-departmental trust. When the members of each team actually know and communicate with one another, they feel more confident in their colleagues’ abilities to get things done. Efficient division of labor can energize teams and make them more productive.
4. Commit and communicate
Once the teams’ roles in an experiential marketing campaign are set, everyone must stick to their assigned responsibilities. If someone has a problem or decides to shift gears, everyone needs to be updated about what’s going on. As soon as the workflow breaks down, people begin blaming one another and retreating to their own departments. By communicating early and often, the teams can maintain their newly established trust while adapting to unforeseen challenges.
Experiential marketing engages prospective clients, draws them deeper into your funnel, and, perhaps most importantly, unites your sales and marketing teams. Whether they realize it or not, when one department succeeds, so does the other. By creating opportunities for sales and marketing to work together, you can foster more productive collaboration and increase overall return on investment.
