What IS the Difference Between Marketing and Sales?

There seems to be a never ending argument among marketing and sales professionals as to what really is the difference between marketing and sales functions. More often than not, both business activity terms are used to describe any business activity that is involved in increasing revenues. For small businesses, with limited resources, there often is no practical difference in marketing and sales functions, all revenue generating activities are typically implemented by the same personnel.

As a company grows in revenues and number of personnel, it typically follows a logical business function progression of "specialization", a process where the lines between more generic, departmental descriptions and functions became much more definitive and associated functional responsibilities become much more focused. Marketing and sales functions are no exception.

Marketing and sales functions are diverse yet very interdependent. Typically "sales" cannot exceed revenue objectives without an effective marketing planning and support, and "marketing" directives ultimately becomes useless without sales to implement the plan.

Like many complex business issues, it is sometimes easier to define something by what it's NOT as it is to define it by what it is. Let's take a closer look at marketing to better define what sales is not.

Simply defining "marketing" as the "Four P's", product, price, place and promotion, based on your Marketing 101 class in college is not practical in today's global markets. In a general sense, marketing is more theoretic than sales, focused on purchase causality and is more prescriptive in purpose than descriptive. Marketing involves micro and macro market analysis focused on strategic intentions where sales is driven more by tactical challenges and customer relations. Let's take a closer look at how marketing is truly different from sales:

Marketing responsibilities are distinct from sales in that marketing:

* Establishes and justifies the company's best competitive position within a market

* Initially creates, helps sustain, and rigorously interprets customer relationships

* Locates and profiles potential markets and key participants within

* Generates quality sales leads

* Develops effective selling tools

* Formally analyzes and tracks competitor's business strategies and tactics

* Defines, prioritizes and justifies new product or service improvements and developments

* Promotes an explicit company product or service image

* Facilitates information transfer from customers to the rest of the company

* Simplifies the customer's product or service procurement process

A full time Marketing Manager would be responsible for the following tasks:

New Product Rollouts:
Strategy development, program incentives, timing and media coverage

Agency Evaluation:
Selection and evaluation of outside marketing contractors

Customer Database Management:
Software selection, training, maintenance of customer contact Information

Market Research:
Market definition, prioritization, project management, data gathering

Pricing Analysis:
Pricing as a marketing tool?initiate and analyze competitor's pricing practices

Product Audits:
Establishment of a formal means to evaluate competitive offerings

Public Relations:
Establishment, guidance and coordination of all areas of public Relations

Trade Shows:
Definition, participation, prioritization and audit for effectiveness of all trade shows

Product Promotions:
Strategy formulation, program composition, premium definition, all media coverage

Marketing Communications:
All printed / electronic communication: brochures, catalogs, price lists, case histories

Media Selection:
Assist in selection and prioritization of all media options: print, broadcast, multimedia

Internal Communications:
Establish and maintain all inter-company corporate communication means

International Marketing:
Establish company presence in targeted international markets, audit for effectiveness

Strategic Planning:
Offer strategic information and alternative insights to corporate management strategies

Board Meeting Participation:
Communicate and reinforce the company marketing priorities, strategies and tactics

Corporate Vision Statement:
Proliferate and reinforce the corporate vision throughout the Organization

Corporate Identity and Image:
Create, maintain, improve and "manage" all corporate images and symbols

To a "pure" marketer, the marketing role in a company is not just a business function, but a business philosophy. An effective marketer truly believes "dominating" their target market is "owning" their market. The more a marketer can do to maintain market leadership the more effective they are perceived within the organization and within the industry.

As customer retention has become more of a business priority in our intensifying competitive markets, the marketing function has evolved from influencing potential customers to involving them the company's business planning and advancement. Effective marketing also has blurred the distinction between product and service and continues to apply more influence on the company's sales representation priorities.

In conclusion, marketing and sales functions are deeply rooted in each other's purpose and revenue growth intentions. There are few functional areas in business that relate more to each other. So the next time you hear someone say the word "sales", when the appropriate description would have been "marketing", or vise versa, think of this article and choose from any one of these documented business functions to make your point of distinction!

About the Author:

Mark Smock is President of http://www.business-buyer-directory.com, the FIRST international business buyer directory of its kind. Business Buyer Directory provides a non-traditional means for proactive business buyers to locate businesses for sale worldwide that meet their exact registered purchase criteria.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Why Cutting Prices Is Like Cutting Your Own Throat

Why cutting your prices is like cutting your own... Read More

Five Mistakes Absolutely Guaranteed to Drive Away Your Best Clients

We all work hard to attract even one paying client.... Read More

Customers: The Key To Successful Marketing

How well do you know your customers?What is the primary... Read More

CRM: Strategic Engine or Just Another Tool?

CRM?strategic engine or just another technology tool? How would you... Read More

Customer Retention with a Personal Touch

Personal contact with customers is a crucial element in the... Read More

Choosing Networking Functions

Time is a concern for all of us. We only... Read More

Six Secrets to Creating Successful Tourism Marketing, Websites, Ads, Tradeshow Booths, & More

If you want to substantially increase your tourism prospects and... Read More

Growing Your Business With Your Marketing Priorities

None of us have enough time in the day to... Read More

AIDA From A Different View - I Call It the 5 Ws

My childhood was my foundation for how I write and... Read More

Dont Think Like A Package Designer - Think Like A Customer

Some of the most successful package introductions have come from... Read More

Dont Let Your Business Cards End Up in the Trash

Business cards are such wonderfully creative little marketing products. Most... Read More

Increase Your Sales By Following-Up

The difference between a successful business and one that just... Read More

The First Rule of CRM for Financial Services

Things have to change. Cross selling is not going to... Read More

Business to Business Direct Mail Offers that Say Free

In direct mail, the offer is the incentive or reward... Read More

Effective Use of Promotional Products and Ad Specialties

1. Determine the goals of your promotional products program. Do... Read More

Top 10 Benefits of Hiring a Marketing Writer to Write Your Marketing Materials

1. It costs less to delegate to a professional than... Read More

Postcard Direct Mail Marketing Tips And Ideas

Postcards are perhaps the least expensive way of reaching a... Read More

Pricing Strategies in Marketing

Price is an often overlooked marketing strategy, as many tend... Read More

5 Tips on Establishing Yourself As An Expert In Your Community

Wondering how to get new patients into your practice? Wondering... Read More

Off the Shelf Small Business Mapping Software

All small businesses can benefit from inexpensive off the shelf... Read More

Hispanic Market Reality and Purchasing Power

How many Hispanic people live in the US currently. Well... Read More

Profitable Marketing Programs (Part 1)

Deciding whether a particular marketing program is profitable to your... Read More

Fern Reisss PublishingGame.com: Achieve Media Attention for Your Business

Do you want to be quoted by the national press... Read More

Marketing to a Critical Mass

In "Developing a Marketing Plan", we covered the first steps... Read More

6 Article Marketing Smarts: How To Get More Reprints And Exposure

Article marketing is the latest buzzword for marketers... Read More

Getting More From Your Customer

We are all customers of one product or another. How... Read More

3 Ways to Gain and KEEP Customers Using Postcards

In today's competitive (sometimes cutthroat) marketplace, savvy business owners need... Read More

How to Set Up & Organize Your Customer Mailing List For Optimum Results

Your list of customers who have previously bought from you... Read More

Find the Goldmine Within Your Business

Doing a current customer breakdown can help you find the... Read More

Spring Cleaning: How To Do It In Your Business To Make More Room For Success

With the arrival of Spring, I decided to get outside... Read More

Marketing Tips- Who Are You Competing With?

Before you can market, you need to know who you... Read More

3 High-Impact Fixes For Your Marketing Woes

How many times has your competitor gotten one over on... Read More

Top 5 Kick Butt Marketing Requirements

Cinch your success with 8-second leaders! Step into the saddle... Read More