Many companies are not adapting to the new reality where the self-reliant digital B2B buyer has blurred the traditional lines for how marketing and sales work. It’s important because companies that align their sales and marketing efforts will get a powerful competitive edge. Engaging buyers more effectively throughout the buying journey will accelerate their win rates and unlock growth.
In an ideal world, marketing and sales would communicate with the same buyers. Marketing primes buyers and fills the pipeline with leads – sales turns those leads into customers like the diagram below left shows.
But in reality, today marketing and sales rarely talk to the same buyers. LinkedIn research reveals a staggeringly small 16% overlap in the audiences targeted by marketing and sales teams.
That’s a waste of effort, time and budget. It’s also a recipe for frustration. This isn’t just a minor operational hiccup – this is your competitive edge being dulled by inefficiency. That’s why this analysis is called “The Circles of Doom.” Instead of one integrated funnel that spans marketing and sales, most companies operate within silos that barely intersect.
What has led to this sub-opimization?
Today’s B2B buyers are younger, more tech-savvy and highly independent in their decision-making processes. Millennials and Gen Z now dominate the B2B buying group, with 2/3 of buyers being under 45. Raised in the digital age, these buyers expect a frictionless, informative and self-directed research process.
What’s more, the average B2B buyer consumes 13 pieces of content before even thinking about speaking to your sales team. And often, buying decisions are made well before any human interaction. According to Forrester, 7 in 10 of B2B buyers reach vendor selection based on digital information only.
The implications for marketers? You’re now the first salesperson. If your ads don’t reach the right buyers – and don’t present solutions for the potential customers – your company isn’t going to make it to the short list.
So how do we break this cycle and move towards making marketing and sales aligned again? In companies that get it right, marketing and sales aren’t just sharing audiences – they’re sharing strategy. Top-performing companies in the Fortune 500 tech space show a 60% overlap between sales and marketing efforts. That’s nearly four times the cross-industry average, and it shows what’s possible when these two teams work together.
The benefits are significant. Gartner research suggests that companies with strong marketing-sales alignment are three times more likely to exceed their customer acquisition goals. Another LinkedIn analysis found that high alignment increased marketing generated revenue by 208% and customer retention by 36%.
So, it’s well worth to change The Circles of Doom to The Circles of Boom.
And if you want to discuss how to drive growth, you are always welcome to contact ulf@sfinxagency.se
