The importance of aligning sales and marketing teams cannot be understated. But achieving a symbiotic relationship between the two can be a challenge. At New England Biolabs, this is a major focus. We have found that using data to inform our marketing strategy, and sales targets to focus our marketing and sales teams are key. As a life science marketing department, to be treated with credibility with both scientists and sales teams, focusing on numbers is crucial.
Data-Driven Marketing
Data-driven insights are critical for understanding customer needs and preferences, which in turn can help set goals that will help align your teams. Setting goals is key to achieving success, but it's important to remember that the goal isn't just about getting more sales; it should also be about improving customer experience, increasing brand awareness, and strengthening relationships with existing customers.
To achieve this, we need to know that our choices are based on evidence and not just opinions or assumptions.
Data-driven marketing is the perfect way to accomplish this goal because it allows you to measure the effectiveness of each campaign and adjust accordingly. It also helps you align your internal stakeholders around a single strategy: using data to inform your marketing decision-making and ensure that everyone understands how these strategic decisions are made.
Sales & Marketing: Joined at the Hip
The importance of getting multiple internal stakeholders aligned, particularly getting marketing and sales working together effectively, cannot be overstated. Both teams have unique roles in the customer acquisition process, and when they work in tandem, it can result in increased revenue and customer satisfaction.
When these two teams work together, they can create a seamless customer experience that starts with a well-executed marketing campaign and ends with a satisfied customer. Marketing provides sales with the tools they need to effectively communicate the value of the product or service, while sales provide marketing with valuable feedback about what messaging resonates.
At New England Biolabs, we are continuously optimizing how to best align marketing and sales. As the company continues to grow, it is important that we prioritize this alignment in order to maximize revenue and customer satisfaction. By working together, marketing and sales can create a cohesive customer journey that leads to long-term success for the company. We see data as a crucial element in achieving this alignment.
Winning Over Skeptics
Launching a product successfully requires a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences. This is especially true when working with and selling to scientists, who are often highly analytical and rely on data to make decisions. So as a marketing team that commands respect, we also need to use data to inform our strategy and get our stakeholders on board.
I remember, for example, when a scientist responsible for developing a product was passionate about its potential success. However, when it came to pricing, he believed it should be significantly higher than we believed. To address this, the marketing team used data-driven insights to help with positioning and pricing. We conducted a value mapping exercise to prioritize the benefits of the product and compare them to competitors' offerings. Using a graph, we were able to predict the optimal price range to sell the product, as well as identify the features and benefits to highlight. The scientist was impressed by this evidence-based approach and became fully on board with the marketing strategy.
This anecdote highlights the importance of using data and evidence to win over scientists. By providingevidence to support decisions, scientists can see the value in a product and become more willing to invest in it. Additionally, data-driven insights can help marketers and sales teams better understand customer needs and preferences, resulting in more effective campaigns and higher customer satisfaction.
If you enjoyed this blog, check out the full discussion in the Talk Life Sciences Marketing podcast, and connect with me on LinkedIn to continue the conversation!
