March 2024
When you hear "CRM," do you immediately think it is ‘just’ a sales tool? While it's vital for sales, let's go back to basics – CRM is about grasping customer needs and forming a knowledge base. This cannot be done without sales and marketing alignment, which was the topic of a recent webinar we hosted with B2B Marketing Expo UK, exploring how CRM serves as a comprehensive data hub for business success.
Table of Contents
Debunking five great myths about CRM sales and marketing alignment
Myth 1: CRM is only a sales tool
Myth 2: CRM is just a database
Myth 3: CRM is only for customer management
Myth 4: CRM is primarily for B2C businesses
Myth 5: CRM can magically solve all business problems
The dire consequences of sales and marketing misalignment
Key challenges and impacts of failing sales and marketing alignment
Sales and marketing alignment around CRM: How to do it right?
Benefits of sales and marketing alignment around CRM
Debunking five great myths about CRM sales and marketing alignment
71% of buyers expect personalized experiences from companies they engage with, and 76% get frustrated when they don't receive them. This doesn’t only refer to B2C customers (see how we debunk this myth further on). But to tap into personalization and better customer understanding, companies inevitably need one thing: sales and marketing alignment across the whole business.
In our long-standing experience as a Diamond HubSpot Partner and an accredited CRM implementation provider, we repeatedly encountered the same fallacies and misconceptions about CRM systems. Here, we unveil several of them, explaining why repeating these statements is counterproductive and impedes you from greater customer satisfaction, higher retention, and increased profits.
Myth 1: CRM is only a sales tool
When thinking about CRM use, the first thing that comes to mind is sales. But while CRM systems certainly aid in managing and optimizing sales processes, they also support marketing efforts.
With an aligned customer knowledge base, marketing teams can segment data effectively and personalize lead-generation campaigns. This alignment ensures that sales teams receive high-quality leads to target, enhancing their efficiency and effectiveness in converting leads into customers.
Myth 2: CRM is just a database
Some people think of CRM as an overly glorified customer knowledge base. To say that CRM is just a storage is like saying that a laptop is just a modern typing machine.
HubSpot CRM serves our clients as a comprehensive platform that not only stores data but also enables businesses to leverage analytics tools to measure performance, conclude, and make informed decisions for future sales and marketing tactics.
Myth 3: CRM is only for customer management
The "C" in CRM may stand for Customer, but modern CRMs are instrumental for businesses long before leads convert into customers.
Aligned sales and marketing teams utilize nurturing and automation tools within CRM systems to monitor leads' behavior and gather essential information. This data allows them to tailor personalized customer experiences throughout every stage of the customer journey, from initial contact to post-sale support. This ensures a cohesive and engaging interaction with prospects and customers alike.
Myth 4: CRM is primarily for B2C businesses
CRM is equally valuable for both B2B and B2C businesses. While B2C businesses focus on managing a large volume of individual customer interactions, B2B organizations grapple with complex sales cycles, cultivating long-term relationships and engaging multiple stakeholders.
In our experience, most of our clients operate within the B2B sphere, seeking our HubSpot expertise to establish efficient data management systems, automate repetitive tasks, build custom sales pipelines, and utilize robust analytics CRM to optimize campaign performance.
Myth 5: CRM can magically solve all business problems
At the onset of their CRM journey, we often see our clients fall into two major categories. The first one is CRM skeptics, who weren’t enthusiastic about introducing the new system, and now, they immediately find it overwhelming and frustrating. The second category is people who approach the new platform with high hopes, seeing it as a panacea for all business challenges.
To embed a slightly more realistic approach, we always emphasize to our clients that a successful CRM implementation requires careful planning, integration with existing systems, and ongoing commitment. While the platform suits all businesses, its effectiveness depends on how well it aligns with the organization's goals and processes. That’s why we recommend starting slow and not jumping head-first into complex automation tools.
“CRM implementation is effective only when your team invests sufficient time in developing the right process and collaborates with an experienced implementation partner. It's crucial to understand that CRM is not a plug-and-play solution; instead, it functions as a structured framework, guiding you step by step toward your goals.”
The dire consequences of sales and marketing misalignment
At the start of the year, with a new business strategy and ambitious goals set, all teams are eager to collaborate towards shared success. However, without a solid sales and marketing alignment strategy, they lose synchronization and gradually drift apart.
When sales and marketing teams operate independently or pursue conflicting strategies, the consequences can be severe. In fact, sales and marketing misalignment is estimated to cost US businesses over $1 trillion each year!
However, the financial toll is just the tip of the iceberg. The actual threat lies in the detrimental impact on the customer experience.
“We’ve seen that happen multiple times working with our clients,” notes Mat Jachna. “They get lost and confused somewhere along their sales funnel, not realizing that their sales and marketing teams work in each other’s disfavor.”
Sales and marketing alignment around CRM: How to do it right?
Now that you understand the risks and challenges of business misalignment, you might wonder how to align sales and marketing efforts effectively. The key is to proceed gradually, following steps that, in our experience, consistently deliver the best outcomes. If you need a detailed process, we have you covered! Check out our complete guide to adopting a smarketing strategy.
- Begin by gathering data from all sources of customer knowledge across various teams, including the website, emails, sales calls, social media, and integrated applications.
- Then, collect information from different teams and organize it into meaningful and reusable segments.
- Finally, assemble all data and insights into a single, comprehensive database structure.
"When sales and marketing teams collaborate seamlessly within a unified CRM system, the advantages are boundless. But among the myriad benefits, the most significant ones undoubtedly include increased business performance, improved brand reputation, and enhanced employee satisfaction.”
Take the first step. With us
Want to achieve the same results and please your customers and teams? Contact us, and we’ll help you craft a practical sales and marketing alignment strategy.
With years of CRM experience, iron-clad HubSpot credentials, and hundreds of happy customers, we will analyze your business environment, customer database, and team capabilities and work out the best plan for you to build an integrated, dynamic view of your clients. 📨 Get in touch with us here.
September 2023
