What is Smarketing?

Introduction

If you’re used to working in a company with a structured organization based on tasks and job hierarchy, you probably haven’t heard of smarketing.

Smarketing is the process to integrate the sales and marketing areas in an organization, with the aim that working in an integrated way can achieve common objectives, benefit the generation of leads and ultimately, increase sales possibilities.

Here’s what you need to know about this new way of working.

What will you find on this page?

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01 What is smarketing?

01What is smarketing?Leer más

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02 Targets of the smarketing.

02Targets of the smarketing.Leer más

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03 Benefits of the smarketing.

03Benefits of the smarketing.Leer más

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04 Smarketing in the organizations

04Smarketing in the organizationsLeer más

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05 Additional resources

05Additional resourcesLeer más

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06 Conclusion

06ConclusionLeer más

¿What is Smarketing?

Smarketing: is the union of two departments that every company has: sales + marketing. It is a process that consists of integrating both teams so that they can work together sharing the same objective: to increase lead production which then translates into more business generation.
It is a strategy implemented from the inbound methodology that allows us to optimize resources within an organization. In addition, it manages to minimize possible frictions between both teams (marketing and sales) and multiply efforts to achieve the same goal.
For this collaboration to take place in the best way, both teams must comply with the following premises:

Speak the same language
Determine a service-related agreement
Use the data
Produce reports every given time
Maintain a smooth communication.

Conceptos relacionados

A lo largo de todo este tiempo hemos recopilado una serie de conceptos asociados a la gestión por procesos que te serán de gran ayuda a la hora de comprenderla en su totalidad.

¿Qué es un proceso?

De forma muy general, podemos decir que un proceso es un conjunto de actividades que crean o modifican algo. Todo lo que conocemos está hecho mediante un proceso, ya sea algo abstracto como un servicio o algo tangible como un bien: son todas las tareas que realizamos para llegar a un resultado. Generalmente en los procesos intervienen varias personas o equipos de personas, que trabajan en conjunto para lograr el fin requerido.

Targets of the smarketing

The main objective of smarketing is to achieve teamwork between the sales and marketing areas to achieve better results with respect to the goal of getting more leads. Enhancing the qualities of each team is a result that is achieved from the implementation of this inbound marketing strategy.
Implementing smarketing gives you tools to better nurture the content and actions that you’ll approach your customers. This helps optimize the use of resources, save time and achieve better results.

Beneficios del smarketing.

Adopting the smarketing strategy in your company will be a good plan to work towards common objectives, reducing costs and increasing results. Here are some reasons why implementing this methodology will be beneficial:

Strategies, action criteria and methods are shared between the two teams, which, when combined, will be positive for the objectives.
Two very different points of view are communicated that bring different views and this enriches the exchange.
It allows a more personalized follow-up of customers, which increases sales possibilities.
By the effectiveness of the strategies, both teams increase ROI.
Saving economic resources and saving time.
The objectives motivate the work and are also measurable.
Links between co-workers are strengthened, teamwork is promoted and common results are sought.
This work methodology favors the flow of communication and generates more possibilities for exchange.

Strategies for working with smarketing.

Smarketing requires certain strategies and steps to follow for its implementation. The workplace is one of the factors that influences, since an environment where you can share the space where you work, favors a better assimilation of the strategy, but we know that this factor is often beyond the reach of organizations, such as the provision of other resources.

In order to successfully implement smarketing in any organization, beyond the resources available, you can try the strategies we will mention below:

Facilitate communication between teams

The sales team works from the information they receive in marketing and has been shared by customers before, and in turn, the marketing team nurtures their content based on the feedback they receive from sales. Communication is very important.

Create processes that are aligned

The same tools must be implemented to work together, ideally both teams understand what is being talked about and have access to the tools that are available. Since sharing information and communication is key, we need this done on the right media. In addition, we can create strategies for working together that favor teamwork. We can also implement regular meetings to encourage this exchange.

Focus on the sales funnel

This will allow us to analyze the operation of the funnel to know where we need to move our strategies. Having the marketing team access this information will be helpful so they can strategize from that information.

Employee motivation

Employee motivation is a good point to consider when implementing new strategies in our teams. Having motivated employees is beneficial for our company because a person who works well and happy with the environment in which he is is much more productive than a person who is not. This contributes to a good work climate and to having a team that supports and works towards the same goals.

How to implement smarketing?

To implement smarketing we need to adopt new practices and actions that will simplify processes. Whenever the need for change or new management of actions arises, certain reluctance appears to do so, on the part of those who must carry out the implementations and on the part of those who must make the decision to make that happen. That is why we recommend doing it gradually so as not to generate negative impact in any of the areas and a complete adaptation to the changes that arise.
Here are some practices that can help the implementation of smarketing in our organization:
1. To inform all workers of this new form of work.
Training them on the new actions they will carry out or that they will have to coordinate is a very useful option.

2. Provide spaces for meeting and exchanging ideas.
If there is a possibility that at the time of work the physical space between both teams can be shared, it is advisable to take advantage of it.
3. Establish work objectives that are shared by the two areas.
This will help to double efforts to achieve the same goal, and to make the actions implemented more effective.
4. Use a CRM jointly and easily accessible to both parties.
The implementation of tools that allow collaborative work and help with the flow of information that circulates, is another important step that we must do when we join both areas.

Plan SLA para smarketing

Como hemos estado diciendo, la unión entre ventas y marketing es una estrategia que une ambas áreas para lograr el mismo objetivo: generar más clientes. Para poder llegar a ese punto, los dos equipos se encuentran en una constante negociación, donde uno dice lo que necesita y el otro lo que puede conseguir.

En una empresa que esté acostumbrada a trabajar desde la metodología inbound, es común que se de la colaboración entre equipos y que sus empleados estén acostumbrados a compartir información continuamente, pero en una empresa donde la metodología está comenzando a implementarse, es difícil modificar la cultura de los empleados, por lo que tenemos que comenzar de a poco.

Para poder trabajar en una estrategia smarketing que realmente funcione y refleje los esfuerzos de ambos equipos, sobre todo si hasta ese momento había más competitividad que trabajo en equipo, podemos aplicar un acuerdo SLA firmado por los responsables de cada departamento involucrado. En ese documento, se explicita lo que cada equipo se compromete a realizar para que funcione el trabajo realizado en conjunto (sabemos que firmar un acuerdo para trabajar en equipo puede sonar extraño y poco veras, pero en una empresa que recientemente está implementando la metodología y que está acostumbrada a trabajar de la forma antigua, esto será lo más útil para que ningún área quede relegada a largo plazo).

El acuerdo debe contener la especificación de los SQL (deben revisarse con periodicidad para que estén siempre vigentes) que ventas le requirió a marketing y que entre ambos consensuaron como posible; debe incluir también cuántos SQL marketing pasará a ventas y por último debe especificarse cómo ventas va a trabajar con esos SQL (cuándo los contactará, cómo lo hará, el tiempo máximo, entre otras especificaciones que cada empresa puede considerar importantes). En este acuerdo, puede incluirse el uso del CRM por parte de ambos equipos, la forma de uso y los procedimientos a realizar con el mismo, para que quede todo explicitado y si existe algún tipo de problemas o rispidez entre las áreas, no afecte el resultado final.

Como dijimos, el acuerdo que se realiza es una formalidad que sobre todo va a ser utilizada en empresas que estén en la transición de una forma de trabajo a otra. Una vez que la reciprocidad entre equipos y el entendimiento de que lo que una área influirá en la otra y en ella misma, y la competencia deje de ser el eje entre los sectores, posiblemente este acuerdo deje de estar tan presente, y esto será un logro para celebrar.

Conclusion

Cross-area collaboration is a critical part of achieving goals in any organization. The context in which we find ourselves today forces us to be constantly adapted to new technologies and, if we know how to take advantage of them, we can take great advantage of them. The concept of smarketing is part of the innovation in the way companies work and benefits both teams equally and also the company, giving greater possibility of customer conversion and sales.

For organizations it is very important to be able to have flexibility to adapt to changes, otherwise they may become obsolete because they do not know how to go at the pace that the context asks them. Smarketing is a way to start with this adaptability transformation as it does not require too many material resources.

Like any new process to implement, adapting our teams to a new work methodology takes time and dedication, but it can be achieved progressively, giving employees the motivation they need to do so.