Make Magic & Embody Cross-Departmental Collaboration process.st/cross-departmental-collaboration February 25, 2021
Molly Stovold February 25, 2021 Marketing, Sales, Support
This is a guest post written by Kashyap Trivedi. Kashyap is a Project Manager, working with an awesome team at Launch Space. He helps SaaS companies conquer the SERPs with Expert Outreach. When he is not working, you’ll find him playing Table Tennis or Meditating. The Sales, Marketing, and Support teams form the three significant points of a business’ interactions with customers. Because of this, they must work together to create a seamless transition for the customers that are moving from one stage of the buying process to another. When all three teams work together in sync, they can easily help each other to reach organizational goals quickly. This article will show you how these three teams can work together and how your business can benefit from it. To jump to a specific section of the post click the appropriate link below. Let’s start with Sales.
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How the Sales team can help the Marketing & Support teams
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Sales teams face potential customers directly. It’s safe to say they are the closest to prospective customers and are the best placed to understand the psychology of prospects. They can also closely observe the kind of questions prospects ask and use that information to improve the marketing tone of your website and communications. Maybe you are not delivering the message right on your website. Maybe the information is out of date. The sales team can fill these gaps and resolve these issues by notifying the marketing team. Whatsmore, the Sales team are the ones who face questions before the product is sold. The customer support team faces questions after the point of sale The sales team understands why a prospect is opting for your product and what they expect from it. So, if a prospect is signing up for a trial account because they are desperately looking for a particular feature, the salesperson can share this information with the support team so they can build the best help documents for the prospect.
How the Marketing team can help the Sales & Support teams There’s a lot you can do with analytics data. Specifically, marketing data, which can be used to provide insight into the kind of audience you are getting, such as, age, location, gender, and so on. By analyzing this data you can begin to develop buyer personas for your products. Once you develop personas, you can modify your Sales and Support scripts accordingly. For example, if your website receives a young audience then your persona is likely to be that of a young person, you should write with an informal tone. 2/9
Comments on company blogs say a lot about the kind of audience interested in their product. If humorous marketing material is getting a good response, you can safely experiment with the same tone on your own blog. The marketing team can also help reduce the number of queries sent through to the Support team. For instance, this Salesmate CRM article led many people to believe that Salesmate was offering virtual office services. The result: tonnes of inquiries on support channels, but for totally the wrong offering. However, fortunately, the marketing team drastically reduced the inquiries through the use of a simple disclaimer which they added to the site’s content.
How the Support team can help the Marketing & Sales Teams Just like the Sales team, your customer support team can also help simplify your website content for prospects. Support reps know the kind of questions your customers ask after the point of sale. With the right help from the Support folks, marketing copy can be simplified and customers can find quicker, more comprehensive answers to their questions. For example, if the support team is receiving heaps of queries on a particular feature, you can include a “cheat sheet” on your website. At Process Street we have a “knowledge base” where our users can find help articles and answers to FAQs. By integrating a cheat sheet (or knowledge base) every new prospect can find help with features and answers to their queries without contacting the Support team. Support reps can also give suggestions to the marketing team on creating informative blog posts, videos, and so on for your product. Support and Sales are a natural match. Support reps know the customers that really love your product. This information is useful for Sales reps as it presents a solid opportunity to upsell. Since support teams know the kind of questions prospects will ask after converting, They can help sales teams modify their approach accordingly. If in sync, these three teams can build a solid process for your business. In the next section, we’ll dive more deeply into how to make optimize this relationship.
Designing a perfect process for Sales, Marketing, and Support team sync Let’s imagine you’re thinking about introducing a new feature to your SaaS product. Introducing a new feature means: 1. You’ll cater to your existing customer better. 2. You’ll have the opportunity to gain new customers who are looking for that particular feature. 3. You’ll have the chance to increase revenue. 3/9
All these can be achieved if the Sales, Marketing, and Support teams are in sync. Through ongoing conversations with customers, Support reps can identify feature requests for your product because they exactly know what customers are asking for. At the end of the day, it is the customers (or users) who know where your product is lacking and how it could be improved. The Support team can provide customer personas and demographic data to the Marketing team as they move ahead with the process. Support teams can also take surveys from existing customers to get their views on a new feature Your Marketing team now has proof of demand. Marketers can then do in-depth research and analysis of how the market is reacting to such demands. This might include: Competitor analysis: To see if other players have introduced the same feature as yours and had success with it. Keyword research:To find out what queries prospects are using to reach competitors. Landing page building: Based on the keywords, a dedicated landing page will be built for the feature. Content: Various kinds of content to support the feature such as blogs, ebooks, research papers, and so on. Data collection: Gather customer contact information using newsletter subscriptions, online forms, or surveys. With the collective effort from these steps, the Marketing team has everything they need to start bringing in new qualified prospects with high chances of conversion. If your Sales team does not see the expected results at first, you can play with this process and make necessary adjustments. For example, you might need to tweak your buyer persona(s).
4 ways to get these three teams to work together Sales, Marketing, and Support teams have different targets to hit and interact with the customer at various stages of their buying process. But they will all perform better if they work more closely together. Through some team-building exercises and shared goals, you can get these teams to support one another as they work towards your final goal of driving revenue and keeping your customers happy.
1. Cross-team training Ҫ 4/9
When you work in one team and are chasing your goal for the month, it can be challenging to know what the other teams are doing. Cross-training helps the teams look at the other groups’ challenges and makes them more knowledgeable about how other parts of the organization function. For instance, why not hold a joint exercise where you try to convert an imaginary client? Here, the team will see the hours that other teams have to put in to get a client to the next stage. This way, they can see the big picture, what their mistakes cost the other team, and how they are all parts of one larger system. These shared experiences will also help them communicate better. Why not encourage people from one team to sit in on the other two teams’ process meetings to foster a deeper understanding of their operations?
2. Build inter-team relationships ѯق A study by Clear Company estimates that about 86% of employees think ineffective communications lead to project failures. Inter-team relationships are not all about formal training and company process. Someone in marketing should feel free to reach out to the Sales team with a query when needed. In other words, lines of communication need to be open. Use team communication tools like Slack to start a shared channel. Better communication between teams helps build a healthy office culture. Read this article by Harvard Business Review on ways to build collaborative teams to drive better operations at work.
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A study estimates that productivity in the workplace can jump by 83% if employees feel connected to their teams. The same goes for the bigger office culture that gets a boost when your employees have better communication with other teams. By ensuring constant communication and cross-team training, you can create better coordination and ensure that the teams are aware of the greater process. This will have a direct impact on their productivity in addition to providing a better experience for the consumers.
3. Same goal, different targets ί The teams have the same overall goal: to give your customers the best experience with your business. But each team’s key performance indicators (KPIs) may differ. The sales team needs more closed deals while the marketing teams may want better engagement. However, establishing shared goals like building the best customer experience, driving growth, or creating the best company culture can help the teams rally behind a common goal.
4. Talk about lead sourcing ԍ Your Marketing and Sales teams are the two most influential teams in your sales pipeline. Therefore, they need to be in constant communication about what is working and not working within your process. Make sure that every team understands your lead sourcing process and how leads are generated, passed to the sales team, and converted into customers. Communication between the teams can help streamline the process as it gives constant feedback to treat any urgent glitches in the system. In the next section, we will take a real example to see how Sales, Marketing, and Support teams have used better coordination to deliver results.
7 outstanding benefits of team synchronization When your team works together, they can communicate better and save precious time by avoiding duplication. It also helps them gain valuable feedback on their work. Let us look at some of the benefits of having your teams on the same page.
1. Different teams but one brand ĝ Whether they are communicating with your Sales, Marketing, or Support team, the customer should enjoy a consistent brand experience. Therefore, your team needs to act as one as the buyer moves through the purchase funnel.
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If the teams do not communicate well and work towards common goals in customer experience, the difference in service and culture across teams can be a roadblock to a smooth process.
2. Marketing materials Ұ Marketing collaterals are the greatest asset of the sales team and help them add value to their pitch. Your sales team likely gets the same questions from many customers, which can help inform the marketing communication content that is needed. Keep the content on a shared drive where you can keep the materials updated and incorporate tips from other teams. When your teams work together, they can give you a better idea of what the customer wants. This feedback helps you create a smoother experience for the customer, leading to more closed deals. Of course, another way to test your materials is to A/B test your content. We can discuss A/B tests at length because there is a lot you can do. Every element from subheadings to CTAs can be tested with A/B testing tools and improve the quality of content you deliver to the audience.
3. More targeted qualified leads ӈ Your teams need to be in constant communication to ensure that they do not waste time on unqualified leads. Regular communication creates a holistic effort where the teams can provide feedback to adjust their lead generation and conversion strategies. The teams can use the lead scoring method that ranks prospects, outlining what each lead means to the organization. The parameters include their level of interest and which industry they belong to: The scoring method should be used by both the Marketing and Sales teams so that they can focus only on qualified leads. With the help of the appropriate software, you can also take it a step further and move to predictive lead scoring. This combines historical and present data to determine which leads are likely to convert.
4. Help outbound lead generation ҡ Your Sales team will always need a constant supply of leads, and a strong email list is the backbone of lead generation. The marketing team can help automate emails to support the sales team as they cultivate relationships, follow up, and close deals. A simple recurring email function can help them stay in touch with prospects and build the relationship. You can use sales funnel software to better leverage your email list.
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The Marketing team can also create engaging collateral, such as newsletters and templates for emails, which can help the Sales team save time.
5. Remarketing Remarketing, or the use of ads to target previous visitors to your site, can also help your Sales team cut down on the gestation time from interest to the sale. A study estimates that about 70% of website visitors are likely to get converted due to remarketing.
6. Better buyer persona Ѥ Who are your customers, and what do they want? Creating robust buyer personas help all your teams as they customize the product, marketing, and support offerings to suit different customers. The Sales team directly interacts with prospective customers and may provide insights into the customer’s motivations and doubts. The same goes for the support teams that deal with your existing clients. The Marketing team knows what the industry at large wants and can segment your customers and prospects appropriately based on industry-wide data. A mix of first-hand experience and market research can help you create stronger buyer personas for your brand, which can then drive sales engagement and help your team close the deal.
7. Line up content marketing with the buying cycle ۍ Each buyer who enters the sales funnel is at a different stage and has different queries. When all the teams are in sync, they can discuss the common questions to develop the right content for each buying step. This combination of first-hand feedback combined with the Marketing team’s research can help you create engaging content that also adds value to the client. Remember that this attention to detail and in-depth knowledge of your audience will ensure that you attract and retain customers. When all your teams work as one, they can pool resources and expertise to drive revenue for the company. However, the most significant benefit of team synchronization is the added value to the customer. Better coordination between the teams makes sure that the whole experience is seamless for the customer, providing excellent service every time.
Using Process Street for synchronized cross-departmental collaboration
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From creating a smoother experience for your customers to ensuring that you use data from other teams to make better decisions, team synchronization and can help you drive growth for your company. Let’s take a look at how we at Process Street ensure smooth crossdepartmental collaboration by using our super-powered checklists. At Process Street we use checklists for all of our processes, which include collaborating with different teams. The following section will introduce you to pre-made templates that are specifically designed for optimizing cross-departmental collaboration. If you are unfamiliar with Process Street (which is free btw), check out the Youtube video below for an introduction to what it is we do, and how it can help you. Or, take a look at our most recent webinar: here.
Sales to Service Handoff Process Having a robust process in place to manage the sales to service handoff is critical to ensuring that you are doing everything you can to satisfy your customers and build fruitful, long-term relationships. This checklist will guide you through the process of completing an effective sales to service handoff so you can focus on growing the account and not get bogged down with easily avoidable issues stemming from poor communication. Click here for the Sales to Service Handoff Process!
Templates for cross-departmental collaboration If you’d like to stay up to date with our new template releases, or if you found this blog post useful, subscribe to the Process Street blog.
Cross-departmental collaboration: Key takeaways While the Sales, Marketing, and Support teams have different roles, they are interconnected and part of the greater sales process. They all rely on each other to create a smooth sales process. Better communication and collaboration between the three teams ensure that they can share their expertise and experiences to better the whole process. Since the teams interact with the client at different stages, a collaboration between the teams can help better the process to attract and retain more customers. It also enables you to build a healthier and more collaborative work culture of strong teams supporting each other. Give it a go – you might be surprised!
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