Smarketing is a newer term on the scene that conveys the importance of combining sales and marketing activities so that these groups are aligned on the same goals. The general idea is that marketing owns the top of the opportunity funnel (ToFU) and sales owns the bottom (BoFU) and both are going after a shared revenue target. Teams need to be aligned on what a qualified lead is so that prospects are shuffled continuously and seamlessly through the buyer’s journey.
What about the product team?
Product teams often suffer from having incomplete views of buyer personas and get market feedback way too late, if at all. They’re left to rely on their own assumptions and worldviews far too often when deciding on which features to develop. When they are done, they wonder why only THEY think the product is cool. (Tip: it’s because they really don't understand what the customers need.)
The smarketing team would certainly agree that when they have an awesome product, their job gets much easier. What’s more awesome is that their interactions with people in the market grant them access to exactly the rich information that will help the product team develop the right products. Think about the bliss when the sales, marketing, and product teams share a common vision and understanding of the target customer.
So, don’t stop with smarketing and make sure to include the third leg of the stool. The entire commercial team needs to be aligned or the stool falls over. The big question is what to call this. Sparketing, perhaps?
If you have a better name or just need help aligning your commercial team …