Sales & Marketing

For any company selling a product, the concepts of marketing and sales are very important, as they can mean the difference between success and failure. While they are often used interchangeably or grouped they are two different concepts and it is important to understand those differences.

Sales refers to the short-term need to close a sale, get an agreement signed, or ultimately do what needs to be done to sell whatever it is you are selling. Sales techniques and strategies are based on what it takes to 'close the deal', which is crucial to any business.

If you get customers in the door but cannot get them to buy a product, there is a problem with your sales strategy. Sales strategies are focused on the individual buyer and what needs to be done for them to pull out their wallet, or click on the buy button when it comes to online selling.

Companies typically set sales volume targets for a period (weeks, months, and quarters) and have strategies in place where the individuals responsible for actually selling can make those targets. Marketing is a longer-term concept than sales and relates to forward-looking strategies to understand customer needs, influence customer perceptions, and identify how a company can capitalize on that.

The result of the marketing process, and what it directly supports, is making sales easier. Marketing techniques and strategies are based on what it takes to identify the right product mix, the prices for those products, and what needs to be communicated to target customers (via advertisement) to ensure successful sales.

One of the key aspects of marketing strategies is building a brand identity for what a company is selling and this varies from company to company. McDonald's obviously brands its food and advertising far differently than a luxury steakhouse would do. While sales are the 'push' to buy the product once the customer is there, marketing is the 'pull' that gets the customer to you in the first place.

When marketing is done effectively it can also make sales a far easier job for a company, as the customer can already be convinced and ready to buy by the time they enter your store (or website). Sales can still succeed without very effective marketing but it certainly makes the job more difficult.