When sales are low or falling, the "shift-the-blame" game starts. Sales will complain Marketing isn't generating enough quality leads, and conversely, Marketing will complain that Sales aren't working hard enough to convert their provided leads into a sale. In most cases, the root cause comes down to a misalignment between Sales and Marketing.

An often-overlooked key to the success of any marketing strategy, from the content that you post on your blog to the email vouchers you send out from time to time, is your buyer persona. Most marketing teams look at the demographics of their target audience; few go any deeper than the age, marital status, and income level of that audience. But a well-developed buyer persona is essential to quality lead generation: without one, you could be marketing to the wrong people.

There are definitely compelling advantages to Smarketing, but the actual practice of getting the sales and marketing teams to work seamlessly together requires more than goodwill. One key component to success is a strong information system which manages, documents and leverages concrete data behind all marketing and sales activities.

A fundamental understanding of your business' Unique Selling Point (USP) is key to the success of any marketing or sales effort. USPs are a core part of a business, not just some airy-fairy statements on a piece of paper that is locked in a dusty cabinet. If you don't have USPs, or feel that your existing USPs do not accurately describe your business, four simple questions can help you get started.

The statistics and results about Smarketing don't lie; it produces outstanding benefits in revenue growth for businesses, on average, a 20% bump, according to Hubspot. However, as we discussed previously, the implementation of a major organisational shift is never simple. This is especially true if both teams are significantly divided. Let's dive a little deeper into the strategy of getting Sales and Marketing staff support behind the move to a Smarketing "state of mind."

2017 has seen a major seismic shift in the application of media and social channels to both empower and disrupt players in the corporate and political landscape. A whole new generation of media pundits and social media users are finding new voice and power over established brands.

So what are brands and marketers to do in this new, volatile world, where media channels are both a vehicle for enthusiasts, and a weapon for the disgruntled?

The case for Smarketing - the integration of sales and marketing efforts - is strong, but implementation of a new way of doing things is never simple, and organisational inertia is a common cause of failure. In preserving the status quo by maintaining the current, comfortable way of doing things, businesses often put their long-term viability at risk.

When inbound marketing strategy first became popular among marketers a little over a decade ago, Australian marketers were less than eager to jump on the inbound bandwagon. While the rest of the world was reaching consumers on previously untapped digital platforms and using their content in innovative ways, it seemed as though the Aussies were, for the most part, still using those old intrusive outbound strategies.

For 74% of companies, converting leads into customers is a top priority, according to Hubspot. The same study, however, shows that just 32% are concerned with sales enablement. These statistics show the dreadful gap between marketing and sales that is costing companies all over the world money they never even knew they could have.

An integrated strategy that combines your marketing campaign with your sales efforts can help to bridge this gap, and convert more leads that your marketing team collects into clients your sales team can effectively work with. Read on to find out more about how smarketing can benefit your business. 

For as long as marketing has been around, advertisers have used outbound marketing to reach potential clients. But the old method of putting your brand out in the world— and being as in-your-face as possible about it so you can be heard over the competition—just doesn't work any more.