Strategic Marketing Management Paper
Marketing Discussion Post #1
What is the relationship between sales and marketing?
BOOK: Alexander Chernev, Strategic Marketing Management: The Framework, 10th edition. Cerebellum Press. Copyright 2019. ISBN-13: 1936572595
REQUIREMENTS:
An appropriate-length response to the Forum questions should be between at least 150 words and should include a minimum of one scholarly or professional sources (outside of the textbook) per question in order to receive full points. Students are encouraged to review the articles, etc. used by fellow students. Students are cautioned to follow APA guidelines to receive full points.
Assignment should meet professional standards in content, punctuation/writing style and APA guidelines for citation of sources.
Several criteria must be met in order to receive full credit:
- – They relate directly to the assigned topic and contribute new information to build our understanding of the concepts.
- – They develop the point with examples and appropriately documented research, exhibit sound research skills employing various tools and library resources such as surveys, Internet, databases. Wikipedia is NOT a valid source.
- – They contain original thought- synthesizing information. Do not simply copy material from another source.
- – They are written clearly and correctly and follow proper APA citation rules with a minimum of 1 professional business or peer-reviewed sources other than the text
NOTE: Examples below are NOT perfect (some don’t follow the necessary requirements/guidelines). Use the below examples as reference.
Example 1
In his book Strategic Marketing Management: A Framework, Chernev clearly states the difference and the interconnectedness between sales and marketing by stating the following: “The goal of marketing is to create a product that sells, not to sell a product.” While selling is a tactical component of an effective marketing strategy (e.g., positioning a product of service in a way that prompts a customer to buy), marketing is the strategic process of creating value for stakeholders (the company, collaborators, and customers). Marketing Management involves an end-to-end experiencethat starts with understanding target customer needs, aligning capabilities to meet those needs (whether real or perceived), partnering with collaborators who have similar strategic interests, and creating superior value through market offerings that can be sustained over time.
Essentially, “marketing is first and foremost about creating value” for stakeholders; selling is about turning prospective customers in loyal clients that create value for the organization (and its collaborators). The marketing process is designed to attract target clients (perhaps by using the G-STIC Framework). The selling process help us translate marketing efforts into profits. In this way, the relationship between marketing and sales ensures that a market offering translates into value for the company and collaborators (through increasing profits from sales and non-monetary benefits), and for customers (through product/service utility).
Using a car as an analog, if marketing is the car (include a pre-set GPS and with all required machinery), selling is the fuelthat makes the engine go.
Example 2
Prior to taking this class, I’ve always viewed sales and marketing merely as different modes of distribution.
I thought marketing is for selling small products/services in the, say, $1-$100 range (e.g. pens, app subscriptions, burgers) by doing activities such as social media content marketing, TV/radio advertising, and search engine marketing. It’s not worth having salespeople go around selling a pen to everyone in the neighborhood. With this line of thought, I used to view sales as a way of distributing more expensive stuff in the, say, $1,000-$1,000,000 or more. Anything from cars to houses to high growth startups requires “selling.” Customers won’t simply come buying after seeing an ad.
After a few classes/chapters in, and like others mentioned above, I feel marketing is much more holistic with the focus on creating customer value while sales is more on finding prospective customers who value products/services at hand the most and making them purchase.
Example 3
Though on the surface, sales and marketing can appear to be similar, they are fundamentally different. The objective of marketing is to maximize profitability and create value for the organization. On the other hand, sales are driven by additional revenue dollars from products and services, even if it hurts profitability. Sales quotas are usually time-bound, whereas marketing is a long-term strategy for continuing growth. Marketing is a part of the corporate strategy because it sets the vision, identifies the target customer, and integrates the product strategy in achieving corporate goals. On the other hand, sales are a subset of marketing, which focuses on the department level to sell more products to the customer.
Example 4
Many businesses make the mistake of equating marketing with sales, however, marketing is much broader than sales and encompasses a strategic approach to business development. Per Chernov, marketing is an overarching business discipline that if employed effectively, drives growth and empowers innovation. As a business discipline, marketing is first and foremost about creating value. (p.5, Chernov, Marketing Management: the Framework)
Marketing begins with the iterative process of crafting a value proposition and identifying a target customer. It includes understanding the unmet needs of that target customer that the company can fulfill better than its competitors, while at the same time creating value for itself and its collaborators, designing a product that delivers value, and communicating that value successfully. Per Drucker, a successful outcome of marketing strategy is a product that essentially sells itself. Marketing does not end with the sale, but encompasses the customer’s experience – how the customer uses the product and ultimately replaces it with another offering from the same company because they have bought into the company’s value proposition. Marketing requires a strategic vision that can be implemented through sales and communications, one that takes into consideration the context, competition, and collaborators, along with the customer and the company itself. Sales is one of many activities that is included in the marketing framework.
Example 5
Our textbook has good definitions of sales and marketing. The difference between sales and marketing can be viewed from their goals, where selling is a tactical practice to sell certain products and services, while marketing is strategic planning to create value and product to sell. Like in the textbook, the conceptual framework mentioned that marketing aims to make selling superfluous.
I have a slightly different view on the difference. I think Sales and marketing have similar goals, but different focuses. Sale is an implementation process to connect products and customers, concerning the sale to the target customers. Marketing is a planning process on developing the right products and finding a target customer base. There should not be a war or replacement between them in a company and the two functions should have a cooperative and productive relationship. Because a right marketing strategy like a map to help Sales easier to find the right people, while effective Sales who are close the customers and deals can generate revenue and timely feedbacks to ensure that the marketing strategy is effective.