What is sales and marketing alignment and why does it matter?
How unprecedented change in the automotive sector is making this a priority…
Sales and marketing alignment has been a business priority for many years, but in my experience, it’s rarely achieved.
That said, in the automotive space, I’ve witnessed an increased desire and investment from brands hoping to make this alignment a reality.
This growing appetite for sales and marketing alignment is being driven by wider changes in the automotive industry. A 150-year old business model is being flipped on its head, with the future of this space centred on CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric). Brands realise they must act now to meet rapidly changing customer expectations.
In this article, I’ll explain what sales and marketing alignment is, why it's important and dive into the trends accelerating this move in the automotive sector.
What is sales and marketing alignment?
Traditionally, marketing has always focused on the top of the funnel, with sales concentrating on the bottom. But this linear, one-dimensional approach is outdated.
In simple terms, sales and marketing alignment aims to achieve two things.
To improve customer experience – reducing friction in the customer journey, creating a seamless, engaging and hassle-free experience.
To ensure the efficient and effective deployment of resources – maximising sales by allocating sales and marketing investment where the greatest return lies.
Align these traditionally siloed – but interdependent departments – and sales and marketing become one team, working hand in hand to drive sales, revenue and growth.
The increased focus on optimising revenue – rather than sales resulting from disconnected sales and marketing activity – is why the alignment of these two departments has had a ‘Silicon Valley’ style rebrand recently. You’ll now hear it referred to as ‘RevOps’ (Revenue Operations) – an apt description of their combined focus.
Why does alignment matter?
The influence of digital experiences has made the customer journey more complex and fragmented, but also more data-driven.
The lines between sales and marketing are blurring. For instance, the growth in e-Commerce sales calls into question the traditional marketing and sales roles.
All the while, customer expectations are changing. People want more flexibility and ease, at the same time demanding a more personalised service.
This means the role of marketing has moved further down the funnel, towards sales. Increasingly, marketing supports the sales and aftersales experience. Similarly, sales input is needed further up the funnel, with marketing departments requiring the contribution of sales teams to build trust and develop personal connections with customers.
Without a strategy in place to align these two departments, they will forever trip over each other. It’s why businesses must consider people, processes and platforms when developing this plan – something I’ll cover in more detail later on in this series.
What’s driving sales and marketing alignment in the automotive sector?
The automotive industry will change more in the next decade than it has in its 150-year history. And it is the pace and nature of change which is forcing brands to think carefully about the quality of their customer experience.
Electrification and the connected vehicle.
The product is changing. We are in the middle of a rapid transition to electrification. Alongside this, vehicles are now connected devices, offering functionality that we expect from our phones, not our cars.
And so a manufacturer’s relationship with the customer must evolve. The good news is that these brands have access to a wealth of data and the ability to change and improve the driver’s experience in real-time.
Today, customers can personalise their vehicles too. Want LED headlights for winter but don’t need them in summer? No problem – just head to the app store. Many brands have developed their own Apple-style ‘stores’, where customers can pay a monthly subscription to add and remove features and functionality as and when they want.
It means the traditional linear sales process – targeting a one-off vehicle sale – is no longer relevant. The model is being disrupted and manufacturers, finance companies and dealers must shift their focus from selling vehicles to offering a service and experience, which will maximise revenue throughout the lifespan of that vehicle.
Sales and marketing alignment enables a structured approach to marketing, helping brands communicate with customers after the sale has been made. And with a customer’s value extending well beyond the initial purchase, it’s essential sales and marketing work together to grow lifetime value.
Agency and direct sales.
The first car dealership opened its doors in 1897. Since then, the car showroom has been a constant. Sure, technology has evolved but the general format and approach haven't.
We are now seeing a revolution. Manufacturers are implementing agency models, changing the role of the dealer. In its most simple guise, the dealer will no longer purchase cars from the manufacturer and sell them to customers at a margin. Dealers will become franchised sales intermediaries – receiving a fee for providing a local presence and facilitating the purchase, preparation and delivery of the vehicle.
With buyers spending an increasing proportion of the car-buying customer journey online, automotive manufacturers, finance companies and dealers are developing digital and D2C (direct-to-customer) channels to virtualise the sales process. As a result, virtual sales and account management teams – in addition to e-Commerce platforms – will ultimately replace the role of the traditional face-to-face sale.
But is the industry ready for this? Yes and no. The automotive landscape is complex, with multiple stakeholders involved in the sale of a vehicle. For this to work, brands need to make drastic improvements to the purchasing process and create a single end-to-end solution. They need aligned sales and marketing strategies to make this a seamless and personalised service.
Mobility and subscriptions.
In the past 20 years, the number of drivers and businesses financing or leasing vehicles – as opposed to owning them – has grown.
In the next 10 years, we will see an increased demand for vehicle usage and subscription models. This is happening in other sectors, where customers want flexibility and the option to subscribe and unsubscribe from services as and when they please. Like it or not, this change is coming to the automotive space.
Alongside this, the rise of mobility solutions now offers businesses and drivers simplicity and choice when travelling. Looking ahead, it will no longer be a binary choice between getting the train or driving. Greater interconnectivity between different modes of transport will mean people find faster, more convenient and greener ways to get to their destination.
Why is this relevant? Well, mass adoption of mobility will spell the end of the ‘traditional car sale’. It puts pressure on automotive brands to not only sell their service but keep people coming back based on the quality of their experience.
Imagine for a moment that siloed sales and marketing teams both attempted to acquire customers for a car subscription service. Without any alignment it would be chaos – the customer would receive duplicate communications, conflicting information and multiple disconnected contacts. Only through alignment can sales and marketing structure these contacts into a consistent and manageable process – one that’s optimised to deliver the highest conversion rate.
A final thought.
The rapidly evolving automotive landscape means a step-change in customer experience is needed. Sales and marketing alignment should be seen as mission-critical. It holds the key to navigating this new environment.
In my opinion, I see sales moving towards an account management function, which helps deliver personalised service and build trust with the customer. Meanwhile, marketing will prioritise maintaining awareness and making sure the customer comes back into the funnel.
Next week, I’ll explore the benefits seen by businesses that have implemented a successful sales and marketing strategy.
Interested in learning how aligned your sales and marketing teams are? Take our sales and marketing alignment benchmarking quiz and see how you measure up to businesses in your space.
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