Intersection of sales and marketing solves this problem

It’s no secret to B2B marketers that mastering social media is a must. We even dedicated our blog entirely to useful social tactics last month. But amidst the hype, this study from eMarketer reminds us that linking social media to revenue is still difficult. While social has proven great for collecting leads, marketers can’t measure exactly how it helps close the sale.

Sales-marketing alignment is the most effective approach to closing sales with social.

By approaching social media with combined sales and marketing insight, companies can better understand its effect on the bottom line. Salespeople have innate customer knowledge that provides information about where the sales cycle goes after a lead enters from a social network. To complement that, marketers understand how to gain leads initially on social platforms, and they’re experts on analyzing data and using it strategically. Combining these perspectives paves the way for true social optimization – and a deeper understanding of how social leads to sales.

Sales-marketing alignment might pave the way to better data.

Though it doesn’t solve the problem of measuring social’s impact on closing sales, an integrated team might lead to a better understanding of how social generates revenue. Linking the marketers’ social lead generation to the sales team’s nurturing in one cohesive unit is useful. By streamlining and clarifying the process, your company may very well gain a more accurate, complete picture of how social can lead to the point of sale. Social media will certainly hold its place as a favorite top-of-funnel marketing tactic, but eventually, attributing sales to social might get easier. An integrated team will leave you ready.

How do you combine sales and marketing in your social strategy?

Image via (cc) Allen Skyy