PPB October 2018

MARKET SHARE UnitedWe Succeed Is there a disconnect between your sales and marketing teams? Follow these steps to open communication channels and create a cohesive plan. Sales and marketing should be complementary functions, but many times the teams end up in a war of words over which department is more responsible for failing to secure more, or better, business leads. To end the acrimony and help sales and marketing employees recognize their symbiotic relationship, Forbes contributor Jennifer Davis suggests these best practices for bridging the gap. 1 Shadow Sales Teams Marketing professionals should listen to live sales calls, particularly calls that are tied to a specific marketing campaign that requires monitoring and optimization. This allows parties from each team to review calls, determine what works and what doesn’t, and adjust going forward. 2 Combine Team Meetings Inviting sales staff to participate in marketing meetings lets them see what’s involved in developing, executing and measuring the effectiveness of a campaign. The sales staff can also weigh in on those elements they view as most or least important to their sales strategies. 3 Build An A-Team Where operations prevent regular cross-meeting participation, members from sales and marketing can join in an advisory group that can provide consistent feedback and recommendations. 4 Team Up On Customer Visits Marketers who tag along on sales calls and client visits get to see firsthand how sales staff build relationships; they also learn directly from the customer what makes for effective marketing. TECH TALK CanWe Talk? Companies are moving from text messages to rich content systems messaging to improve the customer relationship. If you’ve signed up for text message alerts from companies with which you do frequent business, you’re probably someone who appreciates quick, efficient communication. But text messaging has its limits, which is why more companies are choosing to interact with customers through rich content systems (RCS) messaging instead. RCS, most commonly seen as internet protocol (IP) messaging, allows for an enhanced experience—which explains why it was used more than text messaging in more than half of the 56 global markets examined in the 2016 GSMA Intelligence Consumer Survey. It’s also proven to be more cost-effective than traditional text messaging. The top users of IP messaging were in Asian, Central and South American, and Middle Eastern markets. European and North American markets lagged behind in adopting the more interactive technology. But common IP messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and WeChat have conditioned users to expect feature-rich messaging that enables the integration of gifs, videos and emojis, as well as the ability to see read receipts and typing indicators. So, what are the benefits of IP messaging? To name a few: • Lower operating costs • More data control (telecom companies control SMS data) • More visual creativity within messages • Flexibility in conversations (real-time chats) • Ability to be built into existing apps Whether your company chooses to communicate with customers through existing IP messaging platforms or wants to build an in-app messaging option, the end goal should always be to boost engagement and retention. Jen Alexander is associate editor of PPB. 82 | OCTOBER 2018 | THINK