Why Marketing Is Business Development’s Most Valuable Player

What should marketing be responsible for in your company? Even for marketers, this question is difficult to answer.

The Harvard Business Review found that the responsibilities of a chief marketing officer vary greatly from one job description to another, as well as the experience and skills of the people who hold that position.

Most people are responsible for marketing strategy, branding and customer metrics, but beyond that, we seem to disagree.

The main reason for this confusion is a misunderstanding of the marketing function. Marketing is usually viewed in a very operable way, rather than a function that really adds value to the enterprise, that is, the after-effect of developing products.

But this is too limiting. Marketing should be a strategic driving force for sales, a pipeline generator for the company’s future business, and should have the function of positioning the entire company in competition.

Marketers should consider themselves as strategists in their respective business streams because they can influence, measure and interact with each potential market every day.

Ideally, they should use this expertise to guide the future direction of each business, but marketing is often forced into narrow channels.

The Untapped Potential of Business Development + Marketing

If marketing is usually not done somewhere, it is business development. It is shocking that almost half of all service companies do not coordinate the two.

This is usually due to friction caused by the double pressure of business development. This double pressure causes marketing to drive better potential customers through marketing, while marketing hopes to better cultivate potential customers through business development to obtain higher The closing rate. But how can it succeed without another?

Business development is closest to customers and their personal needs, while marketing is positioned to create better messaging and content, which will resonate with the market, potential customers and existing customers.

Both parties should inform each other from the highest customer research channel after the transaction ends to obtain better results.

1. Finding On-Point Messaging

Business development tends to focus on potential customers in front, and marketing team members sometimes try to wash their hands after potential customers are handed over to sales staff.

This can lead to a disconnect between the language used in marketing activities and the more sales-oriented terminology used in business development.

When working together, business development can more effectively use certain campaign languages ​​to bridge the gap between where customers are initially attracted and where sales are trying to shift customers.

Similarly, business development can enable marketing to better understand the language customers use to describe their needs.

The marketing department can then create a complete channel messaging strategy that uses content, events, and specific messaging throughout the sales process to find, capture, and nurture potential customers more effectively.

This can produce better sales information and supporting materials, and keep pace with the language and goals of the marketing campaign. Ultimately, this will contribute to conversion and retention rates throughout the sales cycle.

2. Setting Up Sales Slam Dunks

Business development requires marketing to bring better qualified leads, but without sales help, marketing cannot provide these leads.

The marketing department must use the knowledge of business development to determine the good and bad of potential customers, so as to develop effective advertising campaigns and target key buyers and influencers.

Together, these two departments can create a key stakeholder map and develop strategies for the most important aspects of the company’s decision makers.

The next step is based on the stakeholder standards and can bring the most meaningful activities to potential customers.

Sales staff should also regard marketing as a business analysis expert. By bundling various data streams together, they can find areas with the greatest opportunities for different customers and industries.

Once marketers integrate the ecosystem of analysts, consultants, partners, and influencers to determine high-quality goals, they can help business development formulate comprehensive strategies to systematically achieve these goals.

3. Clearing the Path Forward

Marketing teams can obtain competitive intelligence and activities through social media, so that they are always at the forefront of industry changes, which will help adjust and improve differentiated news, so as to maintain a leading position in the competition.

By working together to form a unified strategy, both marketing and business development will benefit from consistent messaging, better lead results, and reliable lead tracking throughout the channel.

A pragmatic marketing mentality can also complement business development by ensuring that salespeople can access appropriate forums and events to attract customers and influencers.

These opportunities are the key for salespeople to display products related to potential customers, which helps to generate some on-site sales leads through correct positioning and contact.

Sometimes, for marketing managers, the hardest part is being invited to join the business development team. Stop waiting for invitations and start looking for ways to “show and tell” your value.

Find any use case outside the realm of marketing definition, where you can prove measurable and visible results. Rumor has it that if other departments use marketing expertise, it can help them improve their performance.

The End Goal

People’s dream is that people no longer choose marketing, but first go to marketing to seek positioning, messaging and differentiation strategies. Starting from business development, work towards this dream by looking for small marketing victories with other departments.

The long work of marketing is trying to redirect the organization to a marketing-first approach. Marketing should act as the main influencer and build bridges with customers, thereby contributing to goal setting, business development, sales and most other functions.

A true marketing-first organization regards marketing as a key participant in strategy formulation, potential customer generation and innovation. If you don’t have these in your position today, please consider adding it as a task to prove the full value of marketing.