Though some view them in opposition, your marketing automation and CRM systems are a match made in heaven. Each system is designed to gather and use customer data to improve your sales, so how could they not be perfect for each other?
This reciprocal relationship often falls apart due to a rift between sales and marketing teams. When each team thinks they have the answer on their own, they lose out on the power of the dual relationship.
Why Marketing Automation + CRM Works
Each piece in the marketing automation and CRM team works to improve the other’s processes. Marketing automation is about reaching the customer and bringing back intel on who they are and what they want. CRMs store and process that customer data, breaking it down to create segments and specific sales strategies to reach them. Then, marketing automation puts those outreach methods into practice with automated systems. At the same time, sales reps use CRMs to reach out with a nuanced touch, supplementing marketing automation’s efforts. Then, the conversations sales reps have with prospects influence marketing automation messaging, and the symbiotic relationship continues.
Both systems are one half of a whole that allows your team to gain, interpret, and act on customer data most efficiently and effectively.
Marketing Automation
- Moves customers along with automated messaging
- Sends targeted messages at the most valuable times in the buyer’s journey
- Keeps marketing moving at all times thanks to automation
- Provides great testing ground for message content and timing
CRM
- Shows the full customer journey in one place
- Answers questions like, “what do our customers have in common?” or “what is our average customer life?”
- Allows creation of segments based on characteristics like location and purchase power
- Creates reports on each detail of an individual or group of customers to inform strategy
How to Get Marketing + Sales to Work Together
Once you know the value of the marketing automation and CRM relationship, you need to think about how to bring these two systems to work together. There are a few steps to take:
- Break down silos
Get your sales and marketing teams together. Look at how data is shared, how it should be shared, and how each team’s work fits into the overall customer journey. Once everyone is on the same page about merging sales and marketing, you can establish best processes and workflows.
- Look at the big picture
As part of your sales/marketing blending, analyze one customer or customer segment. Look at how marketing data comes in and talk about how sales uses that data to drive progress. Then, look at how marketing follows up on sales’ actions to keep prospects engaged. From there, determine patterns and analyze data to map out the sales cycle and identify the best touchpoints throughout the process.
- Map processes to tools
Now that you know where and how sales and marketing each engage in the customer journey, map those actions to your CRM and marketing automation. And, make sure your team knows how to use their tools! Survey after survey show sales and marketing team members don’t use CRMs and marketing automation tools as often as they should because they don’t know how to use them. Train your team to understand how to use these critical sales tools and integrate them into their routine.
- Analyze, enact, rinse, repeat
As with all good things, you must check your progress to maintain growth. Regularly pull reports and make changes based on new patterns. Sales and marketing are both dynamic disciplines, and you need to keep your eye out for change to stay successful.
Get Your Sales and Marketing to Work Together with NuGrowth
NuGrowth Solutions was built on the influence of sales and marketing. Our decades of experience illuminated the power of data sharing between marketing and sales, and we put that into practice with our CRM and marketing automation services.
With our CRM and marketing automation services, our team works hands-on with your organization to identify and remove roadblocks, establish seamless data sharing processes among your team, and bring in efficient automation to do more in less time.
Find out about our tailored business development and CRM services today. Get in touch at 800.966.3051 or fill out a simple contact form here.
Sarah Deak is a veteran copywriter and content strategist with NuGrowth Solutions. She likes to look for the unexpected angle and uses her background in education, business development, and marketing to create interesting and informative pieces to equip readers with actionable data