A few weeks ago we talked about the Death of the Sales Funnel with buyers calling the shots for how, where and when they want to talk to sales. The flip side of the coin is the transformation of marketing and their role in the buyer journey. Now Marketing owns a quota to bring the right prospects in the door and deliver sales-ready leads that are more likely to convert. With this new reality of Modern Marketing, marketers are looking at how to measure their business impact with the goal of definitively proving Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI). Content is designed to fuel conversion from anonymous to known leads—first to attract, then with the support of marketing automation, to nurture prospects along their buyer journey. According to Forrester Research, sales is looking to marketing to increase the productivity of customer acquisition by targeting the right accounts and helping sales pursue them—finding smarter ways to prospect and build account-based strategies. With powerful marketing technologies, digital acumen and a little foresight you can get there, but you can’t get there alone.
All the technology in the world can’t help you in your quest to evolve into Modern Marketing unless you mind the golden rules, and in particular, make friends with sales. Sales and marketing now have a common goal to drive revenue. Sales and marketing are now speaking the same language and are motivated to assist each other in attaining their collective goals. The path from anonymous to qualified lead becomes a well-orchestrated dance where marketing goes deeper into driving engagements while sales becomes an active player in cultivating leads. The line between the two disciplines is blurred and both are responsible for bringing the right prospects in the door.
For more information on modern marketing and lead gen, read more about Using Predictive Analytics and Marketing Automation to “Catch” Prospects.
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