Christina Scannapiego
Director, Content Marketing
Revenue marketing report 2021 says: Fostering internal relationships boosts business
A survey and report we recently conducted in partnership with revenue marketing automation platform, Outfunnel, shows that marketing and sales teams who play well together can likely see up to a 70% growth in revenue, year over year. It’s not a new tale, but we were curious as to how the relationship between the two fares, in small- to midsize businesses, today — especially after such a tumultuous 2020. We’ve all heard about the many shelter-in-place related breakup stories, divorces, new romances, rekindlings; it was a rough and erratic year for love. Similarly, this exploration of sales and marketing couplings revealed some Venus-versus-Mars discord — as well as some harmony — across the board, and the relationship’s effects on revenue.
Did you know? Communication problems and the inability to resolve conflict are the top two factors that lead to split-ups
In fact, 43% - 65% of mental health experts will back this fact up.¹ It’s worrisome then, that 46% of the marketing and sales respondents we asked rated communication between the two groups only “poor,” “fair” or “good.” What’s more, the confidence level of both parties in the other’s understanding of what’s important to them was not exactly high; they both seem to practice a bit of finger-pointing, which we all know is a significant relationship no-no. “The dysfunctional relationship between sales and marketing is hurting business’ top lines,” says Dennis Fois, CEO of Copper.
Learn your partner’s love language — and appreciate what you both have to offer
In his book, The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts, marriage counselor Dr. Gary Chapman argues that speaking the primary love language of your partner can help increase relationship satisfaction, foster an environment in which conflict resolution comes easier, and allow couples to bring out the best in one another.² Unsurprisingly, we found that revenue growth is remarkably more common among companies where marketing and sales are in sync, with executive buy-in, regular joint meetings, shared KPIs and strategies.
The report also spills the tea on:
- The strategies, tactics and best practices of top-performing companies
- Yearly impacts on revenue amongst teams with alignment and misaligned teams
- The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses and, more specifically, marketing and sales teams
- The satisfaction with and the role that tech plays in the marketing and sales process
Sources
- https://www.yellinlaw.com/blog-articles/lack-of-communication-leading-cause-of-divorce/
- https://www.5lovelanguages.com/book/the-5-love-languages/
