Batman and Robin. Thelma and Louise. It’s difficult to think of or say one without the other. So goes “sales and marketing.” These two distinct functional areas are often conflated. Sales and marketing are understandably inextricably linked. Same with marketing and advertising. I am frequently asked, “what’s the difference?”
Consider the customer journey leading up to a purchase as a major highway with several on and off ramps. The highway begins in an unknown location. Drivers don’t know where it begins, how to access the road, or where it leads, but the mayor and local Chamber of Commerce intended to route or facilitate traffic to their town. Who does the mayor call to a) inform drivers that the highway is now open, b) where it will take them, c) why take this new route, d) how to access the highway, e) the result they and others will enjoy while in their town.
Drivers live all along this highway. People will enter the highway from several different on-ramps. You will need to provide specific directions for drivers accessing the highway from every point of entry. Not everyone will need to use this new highway. Not everyone wants or needs to go to the same location. People who want to go to this destination may have different reasons for wanting to or needing to go there. How do you know who should use the new highway? How do you know why people would want to go to this destination? How do you know from which ramp they will be merging onto the highway?
Once drivers are on the road, you want to ensure that they get to the destination as quickly and safely as possible. They could exit the highway prematurely; they could pause at a rest stop; they could stall on the side of the road. How do you ensure that they stay on the highway, driving at a consistent speed without stopping until they reach your intended destination?
The mayor calls the marketing team. Marketing will develop a plan to attract and motivate each group of people depending on where they may merge onto the highway or their possible interest in visiting the town. Once the individuals who are attracted to the town are identified, then sales contacts them, confirms the size of their party, and ensures that they schedule a time to visit and book reservations at a restaurant, hotel, and as many other activities as possible.
It might be oversimplifying to say that marketing is strategic and sales as tactical, but it’s not a bad way to think of it. Many sales teams are focused on their quotas. Obviously, the sales team is tied to a revenue-based quota, but often they are also required to make a certain number of “calls” each day or week. Effective sales management should have a strategic plan for achieving quotas. “More” is not a strategy or a plan.
Similarly, advertising is one communications activity or tactic in marketing’s toolbox. Depending on the goal or strategic mission of a campaign, such as awareness, branding, customer acquisition, increased customer share, or customer retention, marketing may choose to utilize thought leadership content (blogs, whitepapers, eBooks, custom publications, webinars, podcasts, panel discussions, seminars), organic social posts, paid social posts, web pages, web banners, campaign landing pages, brochures, videos, case stories, testimonials, endorsements, sponsorships, trade shows and events, public relations (analyst reports, product reviews, media appearances or contributions, articles, press releases).
Marketing will identify the target audience (based on any number of segmentations, such as geography, industry, size of company, role, title, age, and interests) and messaging. Advertising may develop the content, determine the platform or channel on which the ad will run, when the ad will run, and the frequency (for streaming, broadcast, or digital) the ad will run based on budget and KPIs.
Sales, marketing, and advertising are each critical components of driving revenue and deserve respect for their unique skills and talents. They are in close alignment when operating at optimal efficiency and effectiveness, but they are different from each other.
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