Collaborative Marketing Objectives

Over the years, I've discovered the truth: Game-changing products won't succeed unless they have a unified vision across sales, marketing, and product teams. When these key functions pull in different directions, it's a death knell for go-to-market execution. Without alignment on positioning and buyer messaging, we fail to communicate value and create disjointed experiences. So, how do I foster collaboration across these functions? 1) Set shared goals and incentivize unity towards that North Star metric, be it revenue, activations, or retention. 2) Encourage team members to work closely together, building empathy rather than skepticism of other groups' intentions and contributions. 3) Regularly conduct cross-functional roadmapping sessions to cascade priorities across departments and highlight dependencies. 4) Create an environment where teams can constructively debate assumptions and strategies without politics or blame. 5) Provide clarity for sales on target personas and value propositions to equip them for deal conversations. 6) Involve all functions early in establishing positioning and messaging frameworks. Co-create when possible. By rallying together around customers’ needs, we block and tackle as one team towards product-market fit. The magic truly happens when teams unite towards a shared mission to delight users!

I've managed sales teams with 110+ reps. Here's a mistake CEOs ignore. Many CEOs assume that sales and marketing teams naturally align because they share the same end goal: revenue growth. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, these departments often operate in silos, causing: → Miscommunication → Wasted budgets → Missed revenue opportunities. CEOs often justify this with statements like: “Marketing drives awareness; sales closes deals.” “They should figure it out themselves.” “I don’t have time to babysit two departments.” The reality is that the lack of alignment between sales and marketing isn’t a team issue. ↳ It’s a leadership issue. If you, as a CEO, aren’t actively bridging this gap, you’re leaving growth potential on the table. Here’s a simple plan to close the sales-marketing gap: 1. Define Shared Goals Set clear, measurable KPIs that both sales and marketing own. For example, tie marketing’s success to SQLs, not just impressions or clicks. 2. Implement a Unified Feedback Loop Create regular meetings where sales provides feedback on lead quality and marketing shares insights on campaign performance. This ensures both teams adapt quickly and stay aligned. 3. Centralize Data and Reporting Use a shared CRM or analytics dashboard so both teams work from the same data. Transparency in metrics eliminates guesswork and builds trust. 4. Reward Collaboration Incentivize cross-departmental success. When marketing and sales achieve shared goals, recognize and reward both teams. 5. Appoint a Sales-Marketing Liaison Assign a leader to oversee and coordinate alignment efforts. Their role is to ensure collaboration is consistent and not just reactive. 6. Emphasize Customer Experience Focus both teams on a shared vision: creating a seamless and exceptional customer journey. When the customer wins, everyone wins. Leadership is about removing barriers. Create systems that unite sales and marketing. ↳ Unlock growth. Start building alignment now if you haven’t already. Your teams and your bottom line will thank you. What do you think?

🎯 Taking Steps for B2B 2025 Success: Aligning Teams with Long-Term Company Goals In complex B2B marketing, it’s easy to get lost in short-term deliverables and lose efforts alignment with long-term company goals. Many end-up being overloaded, missing deadlines, addressing last-minute requests, and not achieving their full potential. To drive meaningful growth and personal development, teams need more than tasks. They need ownership and alignment with a clear roadmap. When team members have clear objectives tied to the company’s strategic goals, and build plans 6-12 months ahead, they can better manage distractions and focus on what truly matters. This isn’t about limiting agility; it’s about aligning efforts with long-term objectives, and enabling teams to exceed expectations. In my experience, giving marketing teams clarity on strategic objectives and having forward-thinking plans have enabled them to: 1.      Prepare in advance and avoid any delays by anticipating what’s needed 2.      Prioritize effectively what needs to be done, focusing on high-impact activities 3.      Be more innovative for initiatives, and deliver better-quality outcomes 4.      Collaborate and align better with cross-functional stakeholders 5.      Protect bandwidth for meaningful work, while responding appropriately to unexpected requests A well-thought-out marketing plan lies at the heart of this. Start by crafting plans that extend 6-12 months ahead, detailing key activities, resources, and measurable outcomes. These plans act as a compass, helping teams evaluate opportunities, estimate the impact of last-minute requests, and stay focused every day. As a leader, I prioritize regular check-ins to adjust these plans as markets evolve while ensuring that every team member understands how their efforts contribute to overarching goals. With a clear roadmap in place, teams can confidently align with the company’s vision and long-term impact. In addition, I also implement custom real time dashboards for each team member, aggregating data from multiple systems, so each team member can track their contributions and progress 📊. As we plan for 2025, let’s focus on equipping our teams with the tools, trust, and forward-looking abilities to align their daily efforts with long-term goals. The payoff? Sustainable growth, stronger teams, and meaningful impact 🚀. What additional approaches would you implement to balance short-term execution with long-term strategy? #Leadership #B2BMarketing #TeamEmpowerment

This week, Ellie Wu, CCXP, and I challenged the TechCrunch Disrupt audience to boost their growth and profitability by forming a PACT between their #Marketing and #CustomerSuccess (CS) teams. Here were the takeaways: Growth and profits sunk in 2022. The median B2B SaaS growth rate dropped by 12pp and profit margins by 5pp (1). That’s a 17pp downswing in the Rule of 40. Why does a slumping Rule of 40 hurt? Beyond the indication that business is turning southward, the indicator also foretells a slump in valuations (2). That’s because markets use, in part, Rule of 40 and its component indicators to gauge a company’s health. What are smart companies doing about the malaise? We looked to top performers in our portfolio (and beyond) to find out: Many are tapping their customer base. And they’re doing it with Marketing’s support. We modeled four “benchmark companies,” who were the exact same, save one difference: the Marketing Budget allocated to customers. Our model proved the benefits of expanding customers: it costs less than closing new ones (3). Your company can seize on this comparative efficiency by forming a PACT between your Marketing and CS teams: Pick opportunities. Marketing and CS should profile their customer base, looking for those customers that are “in-market” for expansion and prioritizing them by comparative return. Align to a strategy. With opps prioritized, the joint team should then set a strategy. How will they deliver value to customers beyond the product? Better onboarding? New insights? Whatever strategic value lever they might focus on, Marketing and CS should share in joint objectives and KPIs for it. Collaborate on plays. Marketing and CS must then bring their strategies to life by producing joint plays: integrated tactical executions that “plus-up” various parts of the buying center. We’ve seen some extraordinarily clever ones in our research–Insight portfolio companies can ask me for the playbook. Tune the approach. Finally, the teams must balance these incremental investments with acquisition and opportunity costs. Too much, and you kill profitability. Too little, and you risk turning customers into detractors. Pilot every improvement. There’s more to PACT than that–Insight Partners portfolio companies can reach out to Ellie or me for the full briefing and playbook. It was a privilege to represent Insight Partners at TechCrunch and meet all the extraordinary founders from across the world. (A dream fulfilled, really.) Massive shoutout to my powerduo partner Ellie Wu, CCXP, and all those who helped us along the way! (1) Benchmarkit. B2B SaaS Metrics Benchmark: 2023 Report. n = 690 (2) Insight Partners. Analysis of public SaaS companies 2Q22 – 1Q23. 1. Enterprise Value / NTM Revenue (3) Insight Partners. 1. ScaleUp by The Numbers. 2. Marketing Budgeting & Planning. 2023; The Successful Customer: #SaaS Firms 2015-2019 #TechCrunch

Increasing competition and price-conscious consumers are driving the need for effective joint business planning to optimize advertising budgets and drive success. 📊 Both brands and retailers emphasize the importance of data sharing to understand shopper behavior and improve strategies, with finance and supply chain playing critical roles. 💸 Budget Fluidity: Brands often struggle with unclear budget allocations for retail media and JBP efforts, needing a holistic strategy across trade, shopper, and brand spend. 📌 Have a collective conversation with all budget owners to develop a flexible budget strategy. 🧩 Role Clarity: Both brands and retailers find it challenging to identify and involve the right functions in JBP conversations, leading to misalignment. 📌Start early, define roles clearly, and ensure all relevant functions are up to speed on the broader strategy. 📉 Data Standardization and Sharing: Different measurement standards and reluctance to share data create difficulties in understanding ROI and building cohesive strategies. 📌 Leverage industry standards like those from the IAB, and ensure transparent data sharing between brands and retailers to enhance collaboration 🤝 Misalignment between Merchant and #RetailMedia teams: Internal alignment between merchandising and retail media is often cited as a pain point, with merchants needing to see the value of retail media. 📌 Connect with the merchandising team to showcase the benefits of retail media for growing merchant metrics like sales and margin. Retail media teams should align with merchants around goals and tactics to help reach those goals . Download The Digital Shelf Institute and Microsoft report “Joint Business Planning (JBP) Between Retailers and Brands: Effective Optimization Strategies for Collaborative Growth” https://lnkd.in/eKXKuP9H

I am tired of hearing about sales and marketing alignment. It's an outdated narrative. Here's why: Consider this: Buyers are typically 57% to 80% of the way through their buying process (depending on which study you consult) before they even raise their hands to engage with sales. This statistic alone underscores a critical reality: The Silent Killer in Sales: Overestimating Salesperson Influence Many executive teams believe their sales heroes can close any deal, but here's the reality: Salespeople are closers, not magicians. 🪄 The concept of "alignment" implies separate entities that need to be brought together. In today's complex buying environment, this siloed approach is obsolete. Modern businesses require a seamlessly integrated revenue generation system where sales and marketing function as one cohesive unit. Strong marketing, clear value propositions, and a frictionless buying journey are crucial for success. Think of it like football - Sales is your star running back, but they need a solid offensive line (Marketing) to create opportunities long before the final play. Here's the shift we need: From siloed functions to a collaborative team environment: • Break down walls between Sales & Marketing • Work together on buyer personas, messaging, and content throughout the entire buying journey • Invest in both sides: Equip teams with necessary tools and shared metrics From "closing the deal" to "creating a winning customer experience": 👉🏽 Optimize the entire customer journey: Every touchpoint matters, especially early-stage interactions ️ 👉🏽 Focus on providing value from initial marketing outreach through to ongoing support The benefits of this integrated approach: 👉🏽 Shorter sales cycles: Well-nurtured leads convert faster 👉🏽Higher customer lifetime value: A seamless experience fosters loyalty 👉🏽 Boosted employee morale: When everyone's on the same team, magic happens Let's move beyond "alignment" and embrace true integration. Sales and Marketing are different positions on the same field, working in unison to drive revenue and achieve championship-level results in today's buyer-driven landscape. #sales #b2b #marketing #culture #customerexperience #leadership

Sales and marketing alignment isn’t always easy but it’s the foundation of any successful GTM strategy. Without alignment, sales and marketing often operate in silos, leading to wasted efforts and missed opportunities. A unified approach not only drives revenue but also creates a seamless customer experience. Here are 3 steps that make alignment actionable. 1. Define Shared Objectives: Start with clear, measurable goals that both teams agree on. For example, aligning on a shared revenue goal or pipeline target fosters collaboration. 2. Leverage Data for Targeting: Use tools like 6sense or CRM analytics to identify high-value accounts then ensure both teams are working from the same data and reports. 3. Co-Create Campaigns: Design campaigns with input from both teams, from messaging to follow-up sequences, ensuring consistency throughout the customer journey. — How do you ensure alignment between sales and marketing? I’d love to hear what’s worked for you.