Professional Documents
Culture Documents
GREMLIN/GETTY IMAGES
Many companies struggle to deliver a consistent and easy buying experience for their
customers.
https://hbr.org/2018/11/using-analytics-to-align-sales-and-marketing-teams Page 1 of 6
Using Analytics to Align Sales and Marketing Teams 1/8/19, 2(51 PM
Consider the following scenario: A manager wants to purchase some computer software for
her business. She asks an analyst on her team to do an online search for information. The
analyst recommends a particular software company’s solution. The manager peruses that
company’s website and requests more information by entering data about her needs
through a webform. The software company emails relevant materials which the manager
reviews before reaching out to an inside salesperson with questions.
But then things begin to break down. The inside salesperson hasn’t seen the webform data,
so the manager must repeat much of the information she had already entered. Furthermore,
some of the advice the inside salesperson shares contradicts what the manager recalls
reading on the website. The manager decides to meet with a field salesperson to get clarity
and to work out some details for a quote. Then, just days after receiving the quote, the
manager gets an unsolicited email from the software company’s marketing team offering a
better deal. The mounting number of inconsistencies and redundancies confuse and
frustrate the manager. At the same time, the software company has wasted time and
resources on duplicate, uncoordinated, and ineffective marketing and sales outreach.
As customers have begun interacting with sellers through websites, emails, texts, social
media posts, print and TV ads, and salespeople, it’s become difficult for companies to
synchronize these communications. (The profusion of independent information sources,
such as customer reviews and price comparison sites, adds to the confusion.) When it’s time
to actually buy, customers may do so via purchasing portals, internet chat reps, call centers,
field salespeople, or other sources.
Customers move frequently and unpredictably between these various channels when
buying. For simple purchases, they might buy online exclusively. For complex purchases,
they might start with online information, then talk with salespeople, and then return to
https://hbr.org/2018/11/using-analytics-to-align-sales-and-marketing-teams Page 2 of 6
Using Analytics to Align Sales and Marketing Teams 1/8/19, 2(51 PM
online sources to validate what the salespeople said. The buying process is no longer linear
or consistent.
For companies that sell to businesses, meeting the buying needs of today’s customers
requires a mindset shift. Companies need an orchestrator to ensure marketing and sales
outreach is well-coordinated and aligned with customer buying needs. In some cases, the
orchestrator is a computer system. In other cases, the orchestrator is a person enabled by
data and analytics.
For larger accounts and more complex purchases, companies are giving account managers
responsibility for orchestrating marketing and sales outreach to customers. In their
expanded role, account managers decide what the company should offer each customer,
along with the best message timing and delivery channel (e.g. digital message, phone call,
personal visit). Account managers are more effective when they are armed with insights
from data and analytics.
https://hbr.org/2018/11/using-analytics-to-align-sales-and-marketing-teams Page 3 of 6
Using Analytics to Align Sales and Marketing Teams 1/8/19, 2(51 PM
For example, a telecom company used predictive analytics to help account managers
orchestrate outreach to under-performing, high-potential customers. The analytics found
“data doubles” for these customers – i.e. similar customers who were buying much more.
The company shared insights with account managers about which customers had significant
unrealized opportunity and what sales strategies had worked previously for their data
doubles. The insights helped account managers offer the right products with the right sales
messages, thus increasing sales at under-performing accounts.
More companies and industries are taking on the challenge of orchestrating marketing and
sales outreach to align with modern customer buying needs. As the volume, variety, and
velocity of business data escalate, analytics (including artificial intelligence) will play an
https://hbr.org/2018/11/using-analytics-to-align-sales-and-marketing-teams Page 4 of 6
Using Analytics to Align Sales and Marketing Teams 1/8/19, 2(51 PM
even bigger role in the effort to improve the customer buying experience.
PK Sinha is a founder and cochairman of ZS Associates, a global business consulting firm, and a coauthor
of The Power of Sales Analytics.
Sally E. Lorimer is a marketing and sales consultant and a business writer based in Northville, Michigan.
She is a coauthor of three books on sales force management.
Comments
Leave a Comment
POST
3 COMMENTS
https://hbr.org/2018/11/using-analytics-to-align-sales-and-marketing-teams Page 5 of 6
Using Analytics to Align Sales and Marketing Teams 1/8/19, 2(51 PM
REPLY 00
POSTING GUIDELINES
We hope the conversations that take place on HBR.org will be energetic, constructive, and thought-provoking. To comment, readers must
sign in or register. And to ensure the quality of the discussion, our moderating team will review all comments and may edit them for clarity,
length, and relevance. Comments that are overly promotional, mean-spirited, or off-topic may be deleted per the moderators' judgment. All
postings become the property of Harvard Business Publishing.
https://hbr.org/2018/11/using-analytics-to-align-sales-and-marketing-teams Page 6 of 6