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What is the difference between sales and marketing?

The primary objective of sales is to match the expectations of the customers. Marketing involves a range of activities from selling to distributing. Its main objective is to sell a company's goods and services. The main focus is to increase sales and maximise revenue.

emeritus.org - Sales vs. Marketing: Understanding the Difference Between Them

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Sales and marketing are crucial pillars of every business. They are closely linked and act as a catalyst for generating revenue (profit). While marketing is about building awareness about a brand and organization, sales turn that viewership into profits by converting the potential customers into actual customers. Continue reading to closely understand about sales and marketing and the differences between them in detail.

What is Marketing?

While the Oxford dictionary defines marketing as “The action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising”, Philip Kotler, known as ‘The Father of Modern Marketing’, defines marketing as an ‘administrative and social process through which individuals obtain what they need or desire’. Business functions like selling, advertising, and logistics are a part of marketing. The marketing department of a company ensures that the right information regarding the products or services are available to the customer while ensuring the delivery and good quality of the products or services.

Steps to Creating a Successful Marketing Strategy

Now that you know what marketing is, it’ll be easier for you to understand and follow the steps to devise successful marketing strategies. A successful marketing strategy is directly correlated to the revenue generated. Therefore, the profits of a company are largely credited to a well-implemented marketing strategy. Here are the common steps that businesses undertake to develop a marketing strategy for their product or services.

Market Research

Conducting extensive market research helps gauge the wants and needs of the customers. Through market research, a company collects information about the buying behaviours, patterns, cultural beliefs, and others of customers, which then can be translated into the product.

Recognizing Target Customers

Every product or service has a target customer base. For instance, face tints will only be used by urban women in their early-20s or late 30s. This understanding will help in devising a marketing strategy that caters to the target audience. Top courses in sales and marketing can help you understand the importance of target audience in the best way.

Identifying Unique Selling Proposition

USP or unique selling proposition is the factor that makes a product or service stand out. It is crucial for businesses to recognise the USP of their products and services and communicate the same to their target audience through marketing campaigns.

Developing a Brand

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A brand is defined as – a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name. A brand is unique to a product, and it distinguishes one brand’s product from the other.

Choosing Right Marketing Channels

A marketing channel is a medium through which the customers learn about a new product. It can be a print advertisement, a TV commercial or a Facebook ad. Depending on the target audience and type of product, it is important to choose the right marketing channel.

Exceptional After-Sales Services

Marketing is an ongoing business activity. It does not merely encapsulate selling products, but it also involves after-sales services. Communicating with the customers is the key to customer loyalty.

Monitoring and Reviewing

Marketing strategies require constant monitoring and reviewing. It allows businesses to make effective changes. Now that we have gotten an idea about marketing and creating marketing strategies, it is important to have a thorough understanding of sales. Let’s delve deeper into understanding what is sales and how to increase the same.

What is Sales?

A sale takes place when a buyer purchases tangible or intangible commodities from a seller. It involves the passing of ownership from the seller to the buyer and relies mainly on the trust that the latter has in the former. Sales is a competitive activity and may involve middlemen like salespeople, retailers, wholesalers, etc. It can either be a contract between a buyer and seller or a process in which a salesperson sells different products.

How to Increase Sales?

Besides marketing, boosting sales is a crucial function for any organisation. However, the degree of difficulty in increasing sales may vary across different industries and companies. Here are some of the ways in which companies can boost their sales. Setting Goals: During the incubation of a product, setting a specific goal will help in maximising investments. It is imperative to set business goals that are achievable. Analyse Previous Sales: Analysing past sales records helps gauge the company’s performance. It also helps in evaluating gaps and mistakes made in the past that can be corrected in the future. Evaluating Target Audience: Understanding the target audience is one of the most important steps of the selling process. Evaluating the likes and dislikes of the customers and implementing them in the products boosts sales. It also increases customer satisfaction, which leads to customer loyalty. Implementing Marketing Strategies: A proper marketing strategy boosts the visibility of the business. Marketing is a business function that educates the buyers about products. Therefore, a good marketing strategy can increase sales.

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Sales vs. Marketing: Understanding the Real Difference

Items Sales Marketing Definition “The exchange of commodities for money; the action of selling something.” That’s how the Oxford Dictionary defines sales. “The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, exchanging offerings that have value for customers.” That’s how the American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing. Objective The primary objective of sales is to match the expectations of the customers. Marketing involves a range of activities from selling to distributing. Its main objective is to sell a company’s goods and services. Focus The main focus is to increase sales and maximise revenue. Marketing’s primary focus is to increase customer satisfaction. It also aims at promoting goods and services, pricing them, and making them available to customers. It also focuses on after-sales services. Duration Short-term process. Long-term and continuous process. Cost Sales involve a substantial investment. Interestingly, sales is the business process that generates revenue for the business. Marketing is cost-intensive. From advertising to logistics, every marketing function is costly. These were the key differences between sales and marketing. However, though there are numerous differences between sales and marketing, they have a few similarities too. They have a common goal, focus, and ultimate objective of boosting and sustaining the company’s revenue in the long run.

Pursuing a Career in Sales and Marketing

With the fierce competition amongst brands to woo customers with their products and services and attract as many customers as they can, the importance of marketing is rising. And this is further giving rise to ample job opportunities in sales and marketing. To help you give that required boost to your career and bridge the gap between your current skill set and the skills you need to acquire to excel in marketing, Emeritus India offers various courses in sales and marketing.

Enrol yourself in the best sales and marketing course today!

emeritus.org - Sales vs. Marketing: Understanding the Difference Between Them

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