VPs of Marketing and Sales should “have a pint”

People who work to generate revenue for companies understand the long-standing friction between marketing and sales departments. Often the relationship is at best cordial, at worst outright subversive. But the growing consensus, at least among top management, is that the two should be inextricably linked to the same accountability, metrics, and goals. 

A few years back I ran a US company that we moved to Dublin, Ireland lock, stock and barrel. We were a brazen Internet start-up with the requisite start-uppity employees; young, smart and passionate. Work was everything to us and, as Americans do, we personalized and internalized our work life.

Our approach to work puzzled our new Irish employees. They did not understand the heated debates and arguments among our American group. I remember hearing ”Why don’t they just go to the pub and have a pint?”

“Having a pint” as communications platform has stuck with me as a great solution to aligning goals and teams. Regular  off-campus one-on-ones do wonders for relationships and results.

Grab a pint and get over it, as they would tell us in Dublin. Perhaps you’ll forge closer relationships with those whose fortunes are so closely linked to your own.

Got an interactive strategy, or just a web site?

Just returned from Houston with a new gig helping companies increase their revenue via innovative digital marketing. Having enjoyed a stint at another interactive firm recently, I’m excited about bringing companies a few leaps forward in their interactive efforts.

First thing I did was go to Fry’s to get a printer for my home office, and after gathering product info about the printer I want, I walked out with nothing. Why? I needed to get to my computer to compare shop, of course.

We live and work (and importantly, shop) digitally.  You should market and sell to match. Methods of reaching customers are changing radically (see my 9/4/08 post ”Please  Come Fire All My Salespeople“). A comprehensive digital marketing strategy is essential for our always-on connected world.

So what’s wrong with traditional marketing approaches? Nothing as part of the mix, but modern marketing should lean quite heavily toward Interactive and digital. All roads lead here. Print and top-down broadcast are simply too slow and static for today’s consumers, and analytics and measurement mean the right money is spent reaching the right audience.

Simply prettying-up your web site won’t cut it. Any real digital effort should involve a holistic strategy, experienced implementation, and disciplined measurement and refinement.

Free advice here so ping me!