Need Marketing Ideas? Ask Sales

Coming up with marketing ideas can be hard. And even when you have a list of marketing ideas, it can be difficult to decide which ones to prioritize. While your marketing team has the most expertise in making these decisions, don’t forget to check with sales.

Here are 3 kinds of marketing ideas you could be getting from your sales team.

What do prospects want?

You can conduct focus groups and market research, but don’t forget your closest connection to prospective customers. What are your salespeople hearing from their prospects?

Your sales team can provide insights into the features prospects are requesting, as well as prospects’ common objections and concerns. They should be able to identify prospects’ changing priorities over time. Make sure you have a method for easily collecting and processing this valuable information and converting it into actionable marketing ideas.

What are customers saying?

Customer feedback is one of the most important pieces of information for your business, and surveys aren’t going to give you all the information you need. What feedback are your salespeople getting?

Customers can provide valuable feedback about how they are using your products and services and what value they find. They may be more willing to share this information in a conversation with their sales rep than via an impersonal survey.

Consider developing a process for soliciting customer feedback at various points after new clients are engaged. And again, make sure there’s a process for funneling this information back to the relevant departments, including your support or product teams if necessary. In addition to marketing ideas, customers can provide product ideas as well.

What are your competitors doing?

Your sales team likely hears more about your competitors than anyone else in your organization. They’re fighting for the same deals, sometimes presenting directly against each other, and possibly even hearing your what your competitors are saying about you. Some salespeople or account managers may even be able to get copies of proposals your competitors have sent to their clients. Are you in the loop?

Develop categories of key information you are interested in knowing from your top competitors, and identify ways for your sales team to share that information once they hear it.

Finally, create space to identify marketing ideas with sales.

You may have noticed a consistent thread in all three of these categories. It doesn’t matter what information your sales team is hearing if you’re not getting it from them. Develop processes for collecting this information.

The simplest way to do it might be having a regular part of the sales meeting dedicated to sharing marketing ideas and information from the field. You could also include a section in your Sales PlayBook for marketing and sales to share information and ideas.

How else do your marketing and sales teams work together? Share your sales marketing alignment strategies below! Want more from CFS? Follow us on Twitter @CFSPlayBook!