The​ surest way for you to increase and sustain revenues for your organization is to attract, recruit, and retain the best talent (People) that can conceive and create the right sales and marketing strategies (Promotion).

In our updated e-book, The 4P's To Revenue Growth, we examine the four levers organizations have to increase revenue. In a previous blog post, we discussed people—and how they will make or break you. In this blog post, we cover promotion: creating and aligning sales and marketing strategies critical to promoting your products/services.

Once ​a product or service is market-ready, it's time to promote it with a well-researched and tested marketing and sales strategy. Whether your organization is in the start-up, ramp-up, expansion, or maturity mode it’s your sales and marketing team's job to execute an aligned strategy to launch, scale, and sustain your revenues.

Therefore, ​having a well-researched and tested sales and marketing strategy is important. If you don’t have one, a good place to start is to reflect on where you’ve been, and look into where you’re going. Could it be that it’s time to revisit or revise your current plans and what you’re planning to do in the next five or more years? Do your sales and marketing strategies need new research to validate and support them? Do you have short- and long-term strategies?

There are several elements to a sales and marketing strategy. The key elements you'll want to research and include are:

TARGET MARKETS

Who’s buying what, for how much? Are your target market(s) saturated or are they still maturing? Are there new markets for your products/services? Are there up-sell and cross-sell opportunities in your existing or potential new markets?

COMPETITION

Who are they and what are they doing? What are the market trends? How’s your market share vs its potential? How do you rank against competitors? What substitutes are there to your products and how much of a threat are they? Why do you lose to competitors?

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Can you increase revenues by adding new distribution channels? Can you add new channel(s) with minimal or no channel conflict? What’s the revenue opportunity versus the cost associated with adding a new distribution channel? How long will it take to launch, ramp up, and gain traction using new channels to penetrate your market?

STRATEGIC PARTNERS

Are there strategic partners you can work with? Can you bundle your products with theirs or vice versa? Ask yourself, why will this partnership succeed for both parties? What are realistic revenue expectations for both parties?

PRODUCT/SERVICE POSITIONING & PRICING

How are your current products/services positioned in feature, functionality, and price when compared to others? Is this the position you want? Should you raise or lower your price point? Are you trying to be "all things to all people," or should you specialize?

INBOUND & OUTBOUND MARKETING

Do you need to change your mix and/or types of inbound and outbound marketing campaigns? Should you outsource some of these functions? How are your competitors marketing their products/services?

DIRECT & INDIRECT SELLING

Are your current and planned products best sold through direct, indirect, or both types of channels? Which channel or combination thereof produces the best margins while optimizing costs, customer service levels, customer retention, and referral opportunities?

CLOSED-END ANALYTICS & REPORTING

What’s your lead-to-close ratio and cost for each lead source? What are your sales cycle proficiency rates for each of your channels? What’s your average sales cycle duration (by stage) and can they be shortened?

This list is just a starting point for developing an effective sales and marketing strategy but it should provide an idea of what needs priority attention. In the end, proof of a cohesive sales and marketing strategy lies in how cost-effectively revenues grow.

To learn about the other P's, download the full e-book or our other 4Ps resources below:

At​ Value Based, we’re focused on maximizing the sales and marketing functions of your organization. When both departments function as one they’re more likely to achieve your revenue goals. It’s the optimization and synergy of these 4Ps within your sales and marketing departments that will make the difference. Contact us via email or call 800.597.1873.

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The Team at Value Based
ValueBased.com