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Lauren Van Mullem 4/2/15 1:09 PM 3 min read

3 Signs That Sales & Web Marketing Are Not Working Together

3-Signs-Sales-Marketing-Not-Aligning

Lately, I’ve been on a quest to find the perfect pair of eyeglasses to fit my giant face (the technical term for “giant face” is “wide temples”). The upshot is, most eyeglasses are made for smaller heads than mine, which means that I really need to try on eyeglasses before I buy. Fortunately for big-headed gals like me, online eyeglasses stores are making at-home try-ons easy. These eyeglasses webstores are doing a terrific job of aligning their inbound marketing (the cutest pair of glasses popped up in my Facebook sidebar and I just had to click), website (sleek, modern, intuitive navigation), and freebie incentives (free shipping for at-home trials!).

All of that alone was enough to get me to the point of trying on their glasses. But what pushed me over the edge into buying not just one, but two pairs of specs was how their sales reps were seamlessly aligned with all of their other efforts.

Both companies offered free home trials and free shipping. And, both featured instant customer service chats. I just clicked a button to IM their “stylists” (not called sales reps) who helped me find some great frame options for my giant face. On both of these sites, my interactions with their Stylists were genuinely helpful, met my needs, and were fun. It felt like I was shopping with a girlfriend, instead of talking to someone trying to sell me something. With interactions like that, I was sold. Twice.

These sales reps are completely in line with their companies’ young, hip image. From Facebook ad to website to finalizing the sale, every part of the buying process was aligned, cohesive, and made just for me (and my demographic). Can you say the same for your business?

Here’s how to tell if your marketing efforts and sales team are in formation – or flying solo.

  1. Your sales reps spend more time prospecting than closing.

A great online marketing plan means finding your target audience where they are, crafting a message to appeal specifically to them, and letting them come to you already prepared to give your product a chance. As a 30-something female, I’m on Facebook, and I’m looking for cool, hip, young glasses. The ads I saw nailed my demographic and caught my attention. If your inbound marketing agency isn’t bringing in qualified leads, that puts the pressure on your sales team to be prospecting. We think they should always be closing.

  1. Leads aren’t converting to sales.

By the time a lead is talking to a sales rep, they should be ready to buy. If the leads talk to your sales reps and don’t buy, that may mean that your sales team isn’t operating in line with your company’s values (or your values may not be in line with your marketing). There’s a disconnect happening somewhere in the line causing lead conversion to drop. Check out our Conversion Rate Optimization page for more info.

  1. Customer satisfaction rates are dropping.

Don’t just rely on user review sites to tell you if your customer satisfaction rates are dropping. Use your Social Media to tell you – if people love you, they’ll like you, “share” you, and Tweet you. If they don’t, they’ll either post negative comments or say nothing at all. When your customer satisfaction rates drop, and you’re not seeing repeat business, you have a problem. That problem might be your product, your website, or your sales people. But, it might also be that your marketing isn’t reaching the people who would love what you do. A great inbound marketing company will take a look at all of these possibilities and put your web marketing, website, and sales team on the right track to work together. 

Ask us how you can align your marketing and sales efforts today. 

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Lauren Van Mullem

Lauren Van Mullem, who captures your authentic voice in a way that meets the needs of your specific audience, and her solid knowledge of on-page SEO will get your web content noticed. In fact, she literally wrote the book on marketing using Pinterest for the twenty women’s travel bloggers she managed on Wanderlust and Lipstick. Her theory is that to be a successful writer – and a valuable asset to any business – you have to have a gift with words and a mind for marketing. She works daily to develop both.

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