Marketing and Sales: What is the difference?

Marketing and Sales: What is the difference?

Marketing and sales are some of the most important components of a business’s survival in the market. While both are dependent on each other many people confuse marketing with sales and vice-versa which is a big mistake. Marketing involves designing a product according to the needs of the market and customers, promoting the product through advertising, etc., and setting up a competitive price for the product. Marketing is a platform that drives sales. While on the other hand, the sales process is what you do to successfully sell a product and fetch a contract. Sales and marketing together are a part of selling and one cannot do without the other. They can also be called activities. The success of a business is critical to the success of these two important activities.

Marketing is the backbone of a company’s future and launching pad for sales. While the marketing process encompasses the design of the product, advertising, etc. the sales process is the execution of all the efforts which involves direct interaction with the clients either by in-person meeting or cold calls or by networking. But there is always an ongoing rivalry between the two, one claiming dominancy over the other. The marketing people say they have an upper hand because they think it is they who designs the products, lays down the strategy also develops tools essential for sales. They say sales are the outcome of marketing and thus should follow its directions. The salespeople might not agree with this view and maybe the opposite in their opinion. They think that it is the salespeople lly product and bring money to the business.

But many experts believe that marketing should play a pivotal role among the two. A successful marketing campaign makes sales easy and makes people believe that it is the salespeople who are the dominant leaders. The most important role of the marketing department is to create opportunities for the sales department. Marketing drives sales and sales drives companies’ success. Marketing is like life support for sales, one who is constantly backing up the sales department and enabling them to successfully deliver the end product. There shouldn’t be a race to gain supremacy over another department but a race to win the market and customers working together.

Many businesses combine sales and marketing but in reality, they have different targets. While the sales department is interested in fulfilling the requirements of what the customer asked for, the marketing department is busy studying what the market demands. The goal of the marketing department is to foresee how the market will shape up in the future. They should envision their product catering to the needs of the market for the next few years and be ready to make design changes in their prodaccordinglynglA the company must integrate its sales and marketing department in a well-fashioned manner. It is the correct integration of these two important entities that fuels the growth of a company. The salespeople should not be merely treated as cash collectors. Each department has its role and should go hand in hand in selling the product of the company and should be the foremost important criteria.