Technology businesses in the UK are losing out on potential revenue because there is a disconnect between their sales and marketing efforts according to new research.
Bridging the Gap, a new study by Champion Communications and Pure Potential in partnership with techUK, found that only 41% of marketing collateral is deemed useful in conversations with prospects.
Key findings:
• Sales and marketing departments continue to work in silos
• Only 41% of marketing collateral is deemed useful in conversations with prospects
• 93% say better alignment would increase their ability to attract clients
• Nine out of ten (89%) believe deals would happen faster and take less effort
According to a survey of more than 200 individuals working in sales and business development roles within their organisations, only 41% of marketing collateral was deemed useful in their efforts to secure new business. The vast majority (93%) of respondents said that they would be able to increase sales if marketing support was optimised with nine out of ten (89%) stating that this would have a beneficial effect on the time and effort it would take to secure new business and would results in securing more lucrative deals (72%).
When asked what would most significantly impact their ability to convert leads to sales, the most common factor cited was increased trust from prospects. Other factors included being able to provide third party proof about their company’s products and services closely followed by the leaders of their company being perceived as experts within their respective fields.
The marketing collateral that was perceived to be useful in instilling trust and credibility in prospective clients was; case studies (97%), earned media (93%), blog posts (83%), eBooks (82%) and awards (76%). Nearly nine out of ten (89%) respondents believe that more earned media coverage would result in more sales with 84% citing more case studies would help with their sales efforts.
Richard Cook, Managing Director at Champion Communications, added: “One of the biggest barriers to B2B sales is that the buyer lacks confidence in their own ability to make the decisions that they are being asked to make. These individuals are often time poor, overloaded with content and have little experience of purchasing new technology solutions.
“In this context trust, validation and credibility are at a premium and our study highlights how sales and business development departments recognise this and are crying out for marketing support to help their sales efforts.”
Neville Merritt, Director at Pure Potential, said: “Sales and marketing teams are working to a common goal – more revenue – but this disconnect is costing them dearly. There is a huge opportunity to realign marketing efforts without increasing marketing costs, and better collaboration between the two departments will results in a win-win for everyone.”
Glyn Hughes, Head of Business Development at techUK, commented: “These results show that there may be a disconnect between sales and marketing departments within UK technology companies which could have a negative impact on bottom lines. The survey highlights the need for a broader discussion within companies as to how they can bring these two entities together. We would like to encourage our members to study the findings of the report, share their experiences and help each other to bridge this gap and drive collective growth”
