Market Study 2023: The Disconnect Between Marketing and Sales in Medium-sized Companies

The strategy consulting Clue One

has in her Market study on the topic ‘Cooperation of marketing and sales’

determines how well the combination of marketing and sales works in everyday life. In focus: medium-sized companies with hybrid sales (field service/digital).

The good news first: almost everyone wants better cooperation between marketing and sales. 40 percent even want the two departments to merge organically. The bad news behind this: There is still a lot of room for improvement because there is a lack of focus on common goals and target groups, and the departments are often not coordinated.

Channels designed and implemented separately

Above all, inconsistent knowledge about the strategic orientation means that market potential is not fully exploited. In more than a third of the companies, the corporate goals are not or hardly anchored in the teams. For more than half, the marketing and sales channels are not planned, controlled and measured in an integrated manner. With the fatal consequence that the majority of marketers hardly know which products work best in acquiring new customers, and therefore too often address different target groups than sales.

Digitization and technology support manageable

Other important facets with a lot of potential for improvement are the digitization of marketing and sales channels as well as technology support. There is a lack of know-how about digital marketing (65 percent of those surveyed) or digital sales (71 percent). Almost 70 percent of the companies, on the other hand, state that above all they need better technology equipment (sales automation, CRM, etc.) for sustainable success – and still invest more in personnel than in automation.

“The problems identified in the study are age-old and are increasingly becoming a real competitive disadvantage as a result of digitization.”says Clue One founder Heiko Willers , who gained his marketing and sales experience at Bertelsmann and Bauer Media, among others. “Solutions are there and are getting better and better thanks to new technologies. However, where you have to start is different.”