Marketing is More Than Just Sales

One of my biggest pet peeves when job-hunting is the misunderstanding of my field by companies that should know better.

I double-majored in Marketing and Human Resources, placing a personal focus toward online marketing (both in course electives and studying on my own, working for clients, etc).  Of all the jobs I run across in these and other business fields, Marketing is by far more misunderstood.  At least where I live.

The closest metropolitan area to me is Columbus and I occasionally look there in between freelance gigs to see what’s available.  Because I’m in a rural area, outside a small town that’s over an hour away from C-bus, pretty much all of the decent marketing-related jobs are there.

Unless, of course, you freelance. 

While the same assumptions may exist, it’s much less pervasive in the online market.  Most freelance job posts focus on one type of task anyway (i.e. specifically sales, PPC ad management, social media, copywriting, etc).

But I digress.

If an employer isn’t looking for a (very) experienced marketing professional for their top marketing department positions – the kind that requires 10+ years of specific experience and a ton of stats to qualify you – most of what you’re going to find are the outdoor sales positions, sales-heavy account management jobs, and product demonstration opportunities.

These jobs are largely posted by so-called “marketing” companies…companies who, upon checking them out, specialize solely in sales.

If you’re a great marketer, but not a great salesperson (like me, thanks to social anxiety), you’re kinda screwed on finding quality work locally.

So, how exactly do sales and marketing differ?

In most corporation set-ups, sales and marketing are treated as different departments, because they focus on different tasks.  They’re sometimes even pitted against each other, like rival sports teams.

However, in my opinion, they are related.  To me, sales is only one aspect of marketing and isn’t the end-all, be-all of the marketing field.  Sure, most marketing tasks are designed to result in sales.  But the act of selling is, itself, not the primary task.  There’s so much more to it and real, honest to goodness, marketing agencies know this.

Other, equally important, aspects of the marketing profession include:

• Market Research

  This is the initial and on-going research into your industry and target markets. It helps determine market viability for your intended product, as well as discover your customers’ psychology and demographics, etc. to drive your marketing campaigns.  It can consist of customer surveys, competitor research, and more, so you don’t waste time and money marketing to the wrong audience, or trying to sell a product nobody wants.

• Merchandising

  OK, so here I’m clumping a few tasks into one category, but they relate, so. Here, you might find pricing strategy, product packaging, branding, and the actual merchandising itself (i.e. how to display your product at the store or on your site).  You want to be able to showcase and price the product in a way that customers will react well to, without adversely affecting your profitability.

• Copywriting

  This is mostly what I do as a freelancer. Writing copy and web content for companies looking to make a profit requires more than just the ability to inform readers and put words to a page in a cohesive, grammar-friendly way.  It also requires an ability to understand the audience from a marketing perspective, such as what part of the marketing funnel to address, how to speak their language, and so on.  Often, it branches off into specified writing deliverables, such as technical, SEO, product descriptions, etc.  And, sometimes, grammar rules go right out the window in favor of readability and creativity (fun times! LOL).

• Community Engagement

  This is new territory in some ways, considering social media is a primary method of engagement these days. It ties in with other aspects, like advertising and branding, but is often treated as its own specialization.  It requires a knowledge of current platforms and an ability to engage with customers (potential or actual) in a way that positions your brand favorably.

• Public Relations

  This is similar to building/engaging community but entails appealing to the general public, rather than a target consumer audience. This branch tackles things like press releases, building/maintaining relationships with journalists/bloggers who may cover your brand, reputation management, official press statements, and the like.

• Advertising

  No, this isn’t quite sales but it helps drive sales, so they do relate. The tasks, however, are different.  Advertising refers to the paid placement of ads designed to meet the overall goal of the campaign.  Marketing collateral sometimes falls in this category.  The aim can be building brand awareness, lead nurturing, or the sale itself.  Your campaign’s goals will determine the methods you use and how you measure its success.

• Analytics

  Often, this goes with other aspects (like advertising) but is sometimes treated as its own specialization, especially online. Analytics involves the measuring a marketing campaign’s success by metrics that align with its overall goals and provide data for subsequent campaigns.  For example, an Adwords campaign designed to build awareness will cast a wider ad placement net and measure success by how many site visits the campaign produced through its ads.  If those visits result in sales, all the better, but the initial goal of brand awareness is met.

I’m sure I’ve over-simplified the field and there’s always more to cover.  Perhaps I’ll touch more on these topics in later post.

The truth of the matter is: Sales rely on these other branches of marketing to reach its goals.

After all, if a customer didn’t see that ad, billboard, blogpost, news coverage, etc., how would they be interested enough to seek a salesperson for more information on a new product or brand?  The purpose of sales – good sales anyway – is to provide that 1-on-1 approach to demonstrate the benefits of a product and close the deal in a way that leaves the customer happy to buy again, refer others, etc.

I feel like, if more companies – in Central Ohio or anywhere else it’s an issue – took all this into account in their business (department) structure and hiring practices, they’d benefit by:

• Attracting employees better suited to meet their business goals
• Spend less on recruiting, on-boarding, etc. through smarter hiring practices
• See better results for their businesses overall

Have you ever encountered inconsistencies or misunderstandings in how hiring is handled for your field?  What would you like to see, in terms of improvements?

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