Smarketing: how to make money with the integration between marketing and sales

Together. Besides a song composed by Gianni Gastaldo and performed by Paloma San Basilio, together it is also an adverb. And an adjective. It is a synonym for united or linked. Acquire the essence of something close, near, and that works at the same time. And it is also the keyword that gives meaning to smarketing and on which this type of business strategy is structured that will help you make your budget profitable.

What is smarketing

We will begin by saying that marketing is a set of strategies used to commercialize a product and to stimulate its demand. In a company, the marketing department aims to publicize the product or service so that it reaches users or potential buyers. On the other hand, the sales department is in charge of selling different strategies. If marketing is the yellow tile line that leads you to a product or service, sales are the friendly clerk who opens the door and invites you for a drink.

Once both are understood, we can say that smarketing is the union of marketing and sales. It was born from combining "sales" and "marketing" and, under this structure, both departments must plan a strategy together in which to fight for common objectives. The actions taken by both should have measurable goals and everyone, as a single team, will be held accountable for the results. It is the union so that the demand for your product flows and grows harmoniously.

In this concept, we work as a team to prevent possible sales, leads, or any other objective of our company from being lost. If the objective becomes something common, the whole team, regardless of the department, is focused on the same point.

In classic business organizations, the marketing and sales teams have always worked separately, but rowing to the same place, and moving to collaborative work has many benefits.

What does smarketing bring to a business

More and better results

Companies that work with smarketing manage to increase the ROI of both departments, in addition to increasing business income. Organizations with aligned sales and marketing teams achieve 32% revenue growth. Additionally, according to MarketingProfs, sales profit rates increase by 38% and customer retention rate is improved (36% higher).

More efficiency

By unifying objectives, these are achieved in a faster way, which increases our efficiency as a company. If both departments work together, you avoid wasting time or duplication, and if they also use common tools (for example the same CRM), you save on company expenses.

Improves actions and helps us get to know our target audience better

Two heads think more than one, and this type of organization that combines the efforts of two departments allows us to improve the perception we have of our clients and thus improve the campaigns carried out.

Actions are more measurable

Something vital in any strategy, be it content, marketing, or sales, is the measurement of the actions carried out. Smarketing favors action measurements and makes it easier for you to understand what is most effective.

Improve the work environment

Numerous studies claim that a good work environment improves employee productivity. This type of strategy encourages teamwork, empathy, and creates a healthy work environment, something essential in any company.

How to integrate smarketing in our company

Putting smarketing into practice in a company can be one of the points that change the future of our business. But how can we start to integrate it? The first and foremost thing is to keep in mind that we need planning as with any other strategy. Surrounding ourselves with experts in the field can be vital when implementing a new mechanism in our work organization, but there are some key points to follow that we can summarize briefly.

- Unify objectives. It is vital to begin that the team is clear at all times what are the objectives to be achieved. Having clear goals and that they are the same for everyone is a fundamental step when integrating smarketing into our business.

- Promotes open communication. To achieve the integration of both departments, communication is essential. A couple who do not speak will not get very far and here it is the same. If we want this "marriage" to be happy and lasting, open, and constant communication in the team is essential.

- Unify the tools and concepts used. The saying goes that "each teacher has his booklet", but in our case, the book to use must be the same. If the entire team belongs to the department it belongs to, uses the same tools, and speaks the same language, the access, and management of information is facilitated, time will be saved, confusion avoided, and results improved. Implementing, for example, a CRM tool common to both departments is a perfect formula for this. It should also be noted that the data used and the KPIs must be the same for both departments to be able to check the joint results.

- Evaluate the results. At this point, the periodic review of the results comes into play, which allows us to work on the motivation of the team (celebrating the successes of the campaigns) and the areas for improvement in a more orderly way (evaluating errors more objectively). It is essential for this to hold meetings in which to analyze these results and establish new objectives.

When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone, he did so by saying a phrase: "Let's make history." With smarketing, we can also make history in our business, but together. That word is without a doubt the key to carrying out this strategy.

Main photo: Janis Rozenfelds