Developing a compelling value proposition (limited resources)
Understanding customer preferences and needs and incorporating the 'voice of the customer' (limited resources)
Improving sales and marketing integration (insufficient senior support)
Measuring Marketing ROI (Lack of Process)
Prioritizing markets and segments (limited resources)
Here is a link to more details regarding marketing and here for sales .
A quote from Richard Eldh of Sirius Decisions sums up the need for better sales and marketing alignment well: “The question is not whether you will align sales and marketing, but what results alignment will deliver.”
Lead nurturing
The day was concluded by Fergus Foster, Managing Director of Marketo EMEA, a Silicon Valley company that provides marketing and customer engagement software. He also emphasized the importance of the changing buying process and that marketing and sales must respond to this by means of a new lead to revenue process (demand generation), in which sales and marketing come together. The image below illustrates the changing buying process and the role of the salesperson and marketing. Content is King according to Fergus. “We have to entice customers and prospects to read our information and engage them.” Not every lead from a company is immediately ready to new zealand telegram data buy and if it is passed on directly to sales, there is a big chance that it will be lost.
Research shows that 90% of leads are never closed. Fergus advocates nurturing these leads until they are ready to buy. By scoring leads using demographic criteria and purchase intent (for example; how many times a whitepaper was clicked), a lead is passed on to the next stage of the sales funnel and a certain content is released to this lead. For example, a prospect needs different information at the beginning of the orientation versus the moment when he wants to make a purchase. The message should also be adapted to the recipient (is this a user, the CEO or someone from Finance?). The result of lead nurturing and scoring is especially great for 'slow' leads that are not yet ready to buy.
The conclusion of the day was clear. The world around us has changed forever through the internet, social media and mobile, including the purchasing process of prospects and customers. This requires changes in sales and marketing and a high degree of alignment between these two departments. By responding to the new purchasing process and by using social media and technology where possible, clear competitive advantages can be achieved. Why wait?