Do you look at Marketing as a cost center or as a revenue center? If you said “cost center,” you’re missing out on a big opportunity. Don’t feel bad, though; for a long time, Marketing has been seen as just that—a necessary but costly part of doing business.
Revenue? How could Marketing actually contribute to that?
But things are changing, and fast. Buyers are much more self-educated than they were 10 years ago (or even 10 months ago). They’ve studied up, they’re Internet savvy, and they’re turning to social media and communities, including LinkedIn and Twitter, to see what people are saying about brands.
They’re so knowledgeable, in fact, that many business buyers have already made a decision about what they’re going to buy even before talking to a vendor.
Sales needs to adapt in response if it’s going to be on equal footing with the buyer. Luckily, Marketing has a wealth of knowledge at its disposal to help Sales do just that.
Marketing can enable sales reps to be as educated as buyers are so that Sales knows exactly where the buyers are and can help them move forward in their journey toward a buy.
In short, Marketing can help sales reps to better do their job and, in turn, it can actually have an impact on revenue generation.
