Sales vs. Marketing: Which One to Use?

When people use the word marketing to describe sales, it’s enough to make any true marketing professional’s blood boil.  While sales and marketing are used interchangeably way too often, there IS a distinct difference.  So, don’t ask whether you should focus on sales or marketing…because the answer is both.

Think of marketing as a machine and sales as one important cog to keep that machine running.  You see, marketing and sales are two different things that are – or should be – part of a company’s business strategy.  Sales is quite straight forward. It involves actually selling the company’s products or service to its customers. Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers, so that the product or service sells.

Marketing has a much larger scope than sales.  It is about how a company places itself in the market and in the eyes of its customers and potential customers. It also incorporates what products the company sells. In short, marketing ensures that sales take place; that a sales team is armed with the tools needed to promote and highlight services and products; that the customers are confident enough to buy from the company. Hence, it can be said that sales is a PART of marketing.

A successful marketing plan has a lot of moving components.  But, to truly be effective, marketing requires the 4 Ps - Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Marketing is the first and the broadest step to make sales effective.  Once the mix is in place, sales can take off!

The 4 Ps of Marketing

Product – the product is either a tangible good or an intangible service that seems to meet a specific customer need or demand. All products follow a logical product life cycle and it is vital to understand and plan for the various stages and their unique challenges. It is important to recognize those problems that the product is attempting to solve. The benefits offered by the product and all its features need to be understood and the unique selling proposition of the product need to be studied. In addition, the target audience for this product needs to be identified and understood.

Price – the price is the actual amount the end user is expected to pay for a product. How a product is priced will directly affect how it sells. What is the perceived value of the product to the customer?  If a product is priced higher or lower than its perceived value, then it will not sell. So, it’s important to understand how a customer sees what you are selling. If there is a positive customer value, then a product may be successfully priced higher than its “monetary value”. But, if a product has little value in the eyes of the consumer, then it may need to be underpriced to sell. Price may also be affected by how competitors price a rival product.

Promotion - marketing communication strategies and techniques all fall under promotion.  From advertising to sales promotions to special offers and public relations.   Whatever the channel used, it is necessary for it to be suitable for the product, the price and the end user it is being marketed to. What the difference between marketing and promotion? Promotion, like sales is one cog in the marketing machine.  It is the communication aspect of the marketing function.

Place – Also referred to as placement, this deals with how the product will be provided to the customer. Distribution is a key element of placement. The placement strategy will help assess what channel is the most suited to a product. Is it primarily on-line, in-stores, virtual, etc.?  How is it being promoted and where?  Social media?  Traditional media?  Determining your true target audience and their habits is key to getting the place or placement right.  Place can also include where in the store or in the community is this product or service located?  Top shelf?  Bottom shelf? Check-out lane?  Drawing the right customer to the right place at the right time is important!

What else is Marketing?

The essential goal of marketing is to increase the desirability and value of the product and of the company to the customer.  Beyond sales, there are so many things that go into effective marketing, like:

Consumer research - to identify the needs of the customers.

Product development - which aims to design a product to meet those needs.

Advertising -  to raise awareness, build the brand and to generate interest in the product.

All of the above, if done right, should naturally lead to a position where sales can happen.

Summary

Marketing is the reason a person goes to a particular store or place.  Sales is the reason that a person buys a product or service from that particular store or place.  For example, a retail store gets you there through marketing.  The associate sells you a particular product within that store.

Still not sure where marketing ends and sales begins?  Good, because it is a fluid process wherein all cogs need to work together.  When that happens, so does success!