Marketing and sales are critical functions within any business that work closely together to drive growth and success. While marketing is often viewed as primarily responsible for creating and distributing content, it is essential to remember that marketing is about the service that product marketing leaders provide to salespeople. In this blog, we’ll explore why marketing is less about the content and outputs you provide to salespeople and more about your service to help them sell.
Marketing is about understanding the customer
One of the critical roles of product marketing leaders is to understand the customer. This includes researching and understanding the customer’s pain points, needs, and decision-making process. By gaining this understanding, product marketing leaders can develop messaging, positioning, and solutions that resonate with the customer.
Product marketing leaders should work closely with sales to understand the customer’s needs and to develop messaging that resonates with the customer. This helps salespeople have more effective conversations with customers and leads to increased sales.
Marketing is about enabling sales conversations
Marketing is about more than just creating content and outputs. It is also about enabling salespeople to sell more effectively. Product marketing leaders should work closely with sales to understand what information and resources they need to be successful. This may include sales enablement materials, customer case studies, competitive information, and product training.
This is easier said than done. Product marketers typically focus on product development and may not have time to stay informed about the sales conversation. They also may not have access to sales calls and meetings, making it challenging to stay informed about the sales conversation. And product marketers may not have the same communication and interpersonal skills as salespeople, making it difficult for them to understand the nuances of the sales conversation.
Lean into your strengths.
Product marketing leaders can help salespeople sell more effectively and close more deals by providing them with the information and resources they need. This results in increased sales for the company and increased satisfaction for the customer.
Marketing is about supporting sales throughout the sales cycle
The sales cycle can be long and complex, and product marketing leaders must support salespeople throughout the process. This includes working with sales to develop messaging and positioning, providing sales enablement materials, and working with sales to understand the customer’s needs.
Product marketing leaders should also be available to support salespeople during customer interactions, such as presentations and product demos. This ensures that salespeople have the information and resources they need to effectively communicate the value of the company’s products and services to the customer.
Marketing is about working together as a team
Marketing and sales should work together as a team to drive growth and success for the company. Product marketing leaders should strive to build strong relationships with sales and to understand their needs and goals. This helps ensure that marketing is aligned with sales and that the company can achieve its goals.
Product marketing leaders should also be open to sales feedback and be willing to adjust their approach based on this feedback. This helps ensure that marketing is effective and that salespeople have the information and resources they need to be successful.
Advice to product marketing on providing better service to salespeople
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Understand the customer: Make sure you understand the customer’s pain points, needs, and decision-making process. This helps you develop messaging and positioning that resonates with the customer.
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Work closely with sales: Work closely with sales to understand what information and resources they need to be successful. This helps ensure that you are providing the proper support to sales.
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Support sales throughout the sales cycle: Support salespeople throughout the entire sales cycle, including during customer interactions and presentations.
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Be curious: Strive to build strong relationships with sales and work together to drive growth and success for the company. Pay attention to sales conversations to understand the customer’s needs, pain points, and decision-making process. This will help inform product development and messaging, helping product marketers to create products and marketing materials that better meet customer needs.
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Be open to feedback: Be open to feedback from sales and be willing to adjust your approach based on this feedback. This helps ensure that your marketing efforts are practical and that salespeople have the information and resources they need to be successful.
Product marketing leaders are critical in driving growth and success for the company. While marketing is often viewed as primarily responsible for creating and distributing content, it is essential to remember that marketing is about the service that product marketing leaders provide to salespeople. By understanding the customer, enabling salespeople, supporting sales throughout the sales cycle, and working together as a team, product marketing leaders can help salespeople sell more effectively and close more deals.
To provide better service to salespeople, product marketing leaders should focus on understanding the customer, working closely with sales, supporting sales throughout the sales cycle, and being open to feedback. By doing so, product marketing leaders can help drive growth and success for the company and increase satisfaction for both the customer and the sales team.
In conclusion, it is crucial for product marketing leaders to understand that marketing is about the service they provide to salespeople and less about the content and outputs they give to salespeople. By providing better service to salespeople, product marketing leaders can help drive growth and success for the company and increase satisfaction for both the customer and the sales team.