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Sales and Marketing: Till Death Do Us Part

February 10, 2011 By

I have recently come across some really good analysis on the alignment gap between sales and marketing.

In his article “3 Reasons Your Marketing & Sales Departments Aren’t Clicking” Carlos Hidalgo is making a critical observation. Marketing and sales organizations typically don’t have a common viewpoint on what alignment should be based:

“The truth is that the right thing around which marketing and sales teams should align is their buyers. Today’s B2B buyer is looking to engage with their vendors and have a relevant 1-1 dialogue. They don’t care about the internal squabbles that may occur between marketing and sales teams. They want to feel attended to. So, marketing and sales need to collaborate on how to have the dialogue with the buyer.

This sentiment is echoed in an excellent research report from Forrester Analyst Jeff Ernst B2B Sales and Marketing Alignment Starts with the Customer (note: you will need to be Forrester customer to access the report. Alternatively read Jeff’s thoughts on his blog).

In particular, Jeff recommends the following to overcome the obstacles of alignment:

  • Develop a common understand of the buyers’ needs
  • Map activities around the customer’s buying process
  • Align marketing and sales initiatives around the customer

I could not agree more.

Marketing is all about moving the customers through their buying cycle journey and only by starting with this common understanding will the so called ‘great divide’ between sales and marketing become history.

I would also like to urge my fellow marketers to stop focusing on what makes us different from our sales counterparts and rather focus on how together we can provide the best buying experience to our customers.

We are all sales people. We are all marketers. Stop the blame game. Start working on your synergies. Till death do us part.

Image Credit:  Flickr

Filed Under: feature, Product Marketing Tagged With: , ,

Fab 5 Product Marketing Blogs

January 30, 2011 By

Update: I have just published my 2012 Product Marketing Blogs list – check here

I have always enjoyed learning and exploring new ideas.

However and for quite a long time, I have found it quite hard to find a lot of good reading materials  related to the field of Product Marketing. Then came the world of blogs giving all of us access to some excellent experts who are freely sharing their thoughts on a wide range of insightful topics.

Here are my Fab 5 Product Marketing Blogs (in no specific order):

  • Jon Gatrell – Jon continuously provides some great insights on topics ranging from Product Management to Marketing. I have become a big fan of his recent Marketing is in the middle series. Jon also does a great job at passing along some really good materials. For example this excellent recap on content strategy.
  • Seth Godin– Well, who needs to introduce Seth? I have now gotten into the habit of reading his short but very unique daily post over coffee. Who knew he would make me want to learn more about Jack LaLanne.
  • Chris Brogan– When he is not trying to sell you one of his new projects, Chris provides some insightful posts on Marketing in the social age. What I most enjoy about Chris however is the human touch he brings into his posts. Chris is real. In life and on his blog.
  • April Dunford – April is a rising star in the world of Product Marketing. Her posts always have a lot of depth and are very relevant to any marketers whether working for a start up or a larger organization. If you want to hear April in action, I encourage you to attend this upcoming webinar.
  • Dave Daniels – An instructor for Pragmatic Marketing, Dave is another great resource for B2B Product Marketers. In particular I encourage everyone in a Product Marketing function and/ or with Product Marketing responsibilities to find out in which of the ‘4 Product Marketing Habitats’ you live in. A worthwhile exercise that will save you a lot of time.

Ultimately your list of favorite blogs and bloggers will differ based on 1) what you want to learn about 2) those who will help you to make a difference in your job, and 3) the writing style of the authors.

I am always looking for more inspiration. Who are your Fab 5?

Image Credit:  Flickr

Filed Under: favs, Product Marketing, Worth the Read Tagged With:

The Best Marketing is the Marketing That Gets Done

January 11, 2011 By

A few weeks ago, John Moore, from Brand Autopsy, wrote an excellent post on what really good marketing is all about.  John comments,

“Really good marketing is, was, and will continue to be about getting the right message to the right person at the right time in the right way(s) to deliver the right results”

He continues by giving a couple of diverse but great examples before concluding:

“No matter the tactics and tools we use, really good marketing is just that … really good marketing.”

I can’t agree more. The tactics and tools might change. The purpose of marketing is not. And yet really good marketing is hard to do, or should I say hard to execute.

It requires some really good marketers who care as much about the latest marketing hype (the Quora of the day) as they do care about the process. Marketers who are maniacally focused on the execution part of the marketing strategy.

Marketers that execute deliver on the following:

  • They usually start with the end game in mind, the company revenue model, and build their teams, plans, tactics and metrics accordingly
  • They’ve mastered the art of project managing a wide range of internal and external resources, while ensuring that everyone within the organization is prepped for the next campaign
  • They don’t stop their efforts with the launch of the campaign. They focus on the entire buying process

Ultimately a great marketing idea will only be a good one if it gets executed precisely and deliver the right results.

Image Credit:  Flickr

Filed Under: favs, Product Marketing Tagged With:

What You Should Really Ask Your Customers?

January 6, 2011 By

Paul Gray from Brainmates recently wrote a blog post on Five Questions Product Managers Should Ask Their Customers. In his blog, Paul lists them as:

  1. What are the reasons that first led you to buy our product?
  2. What problems does our product solve for you?
  3. What do you like most about our product?
  4. What do you like least about our product?
  5. If you could change one thing about our product what would that be?

While these questions make sense, I’d like to offer a slightly different approach that might be more beneficial and rewarding:

  • Don’t start with your product. Most organizations don’t buy a product. They invest in your company. Rather than asking them the reasons that led them to buy your product, ask them ‘why did you choose us’. You might realize that they care less for the next version of your product and more about how you can help them gain internal adoption.
  • Forget the features. Most customers don’t know what features they want. They do however have a good idea for what they want to use your product for. Rather than focusing on their problems, ask them what use cases they are solving or wish they could solve. I guarantee that while you go through this outcome driven approach, they will not only tell you what they like, don’t like or wish to see in your product but you might realize that they want to use your product for a completely new scenario (and potentially great revenue opportunity for your company)
  • Ask them if they would invest in you again. Yes, invest in your company again. You might be surprised by the answer. In fact, while there is little chance that they might say ‘no’ (they probably would not have accepted to talk to you in the first place), there is a strong likelihood that they will say ‘yes’ followed by ‘but’ and a few good pointers that you can greatly learn from. For example, yes but if we were to do it again, we would invest less in the software to start with and a little more in the supporting services, or yes although I would also consider this other vendor that has recently entered the market etc. Ultimately, lots of great insights that you would not have gotten otherwise.

One last point: as you engage with your customers, make sure to not only talk to the direct users but all the stakeholders who are indirectly impacted by the value your product brings to the organization, starting with the senior management team.

They are usually the ones holding the purse.

Image Credit:  Flickr

Filed Under: feature, Product Management Tagged With: , , ,
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