Driving commercial impact: Unifying marketing and sales in the digital era

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In today’s complex business environment, marketing and sales must operate together, constantly evolving to drive significant commercial impact.  At Schneider Electric, we call it Sales and Marketing Working as a Spectrum of One, and it defines our vision on how to elevate collaboration and teamwork between these two functions.

This integration has two elements – the technological advancement that makes everything smarter, faster, more efficient, but also transformation in the people element.  As organizations navigate this landscape, I think that a strategic approach is essential to utilize both digital transformation and evolution of the workforce.

The charming face of digital transformation

The promise of digital transformation for marketing and sales comes from the effective convergence of customer insights to drive decision-making and improve overall efficiency and effectiveness. We want to create synergy between marketing and sales platforms, integrate tools, and use innovative data powered by new technologies. Do we always make the smartest choices about the digital solutions we adopt? How can we best organize our marketing and sales operations? The reality is that we never stop asking and learning.

The people element

Technical advancements alone are insufficient. The people factor is undergoing significant evolution imposed by upskilling needs, team dynamics, and a shift toward a more collaborative mindset. At Schneider, we often refer to this as the Marketing of the Future mindset, where our teams are required to embrace agility, adapt to changing roles, and foster collaboration that break the divergence between marketing and sales.

Now imagine an orchestra where various instruments – an analogy for technological tools and human talents – harmonize under the direction of effective leadership. To enable this orchestration, let’s reflect on the following points:

1. Define the current challenges, and decide on what to stop doing

A strong action system begins with identifying key challenges and making decisive choices about priorities.  Here are some considerations:

• Customer culture – Is our approach customer-centric or product-centric? The shift toward understanding customer needs can enhance engagement and drive sales.
• Collaboration – Assess the level of collaboration among Sales, Marketing, and Customer Support teams. At Schneider Electric, we are starting to review the divergence of siloed technology and potential integration.
• Common goals – The natural consequence is the alignment of a balance of leading and lagging performance indicators between Marketing and Sales that facilitate a shared ambition and common goals.
• Platform connectivity – How various platforms and dashboards are connected giving streamlined data flows essential for informed decision-making.
• Change management – We must quickly adapt our transition plans to specific needs based on geography and agile teams.

2. Enjoy what works, and optimize

While embracing change is essential, we must also focus on refining existing successful strategies to drive commercial impact. We can look at:

• Leverage the evolving MarTech platforms – Leverage new marketing technology to enhance commercial processes and improve customer interactions.
• Data analytics – Implement robust data analytics frameworks for actionable insights.
• Customer Care – The CCC of the Future, as we call it at Schneider Electric, is a vision of customer care evolution aiming to create a seamless customer experience for loyalty and retention.

By optimizing these areas, organizations can maintain a competitive edge while adapting to new demands.

3. Play the wild cards

Ultimately, we need to be open to taking calculated risks by being prepared to explore high investment and unconventional options. These may come from:

• AI-generated intelligence – Explore the potential of artificial intelligence to enhance decision-making, predictive analytics, and customer engagement.
• Talent upskilling – Invest in intensive talent upskilling programs to equip teams with the necessary skills to thrive in a digital landscape.
• In-house knowledge building vs. talent acquisition – Weigh the benefits of developing internal talent against acquiring outside expertise. A blend of both strategies can create a more resilient workforce.
• Marketing and sales talent exchange – Foster a culture of talent exchange between Marketing and Sales to encourage cross-functional learning and collaboration.

In conclusion, Unification, Synergy, Upskilling, Collaboration may sound like common words, but the weight they hold is massive. As we guide our teams through this evolution, we must remember that only technology and people potential together give the key to navigating the modern marketplace and driving commercial impact.