Sales and Marketing alignment was also difficult under this methodology simply because they weren’t speaking the same language, and the number of acronyms verged on the unnecessary.įrom Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL’s) to Marketing Qualified Accounts (MQA’s) However, most businesses are more transactional and so this subtler model is needed. MQL’s, SAL’s (and all the other three-letter acronyms) are only really suited to high growth lead generation environments, ones again where the entire Marketing and Sales departments revolve solely around lead generation, much like Sirius themselves. The 2012 model was static, built around set stages and simple but standard definitions. Marketing and Sales are very rarely – if at all – selling to just one person in an organisation, and this model didn’t reflect that. There is also the issue that there are on average 5 people in a decision-making unit, each with their own needs and requisite experiences, ultimately requiring a sophisticated set of varied customer journeys. So naturally their views of the role of marketing were a little limited too. Innovation, Customer stickiness and satisfaction, are just three of these. In fact, at an early Sirius conference they were advocating web to CRM as a fundamental integration, not realising technologies such as Marketing Automation even existed. This aligned with SiriusDecisions' wider thinking, which did indeed see marketing as all about lead generation, and while this is a major role of marketing and helps with top line revenue growth, there are more subtle requirements of marketing too.
The first major revision, the 2012 ‘Rearchitected Waterfall’, was built around this assumption that the whole reason for marketing (and junior sales) existing is purely for lead generation and filling the funnel. SiriusDecisions were a sales oriented consultancy with little understanding of the role of marketing in general, and especially that role outside of high growth tech businesses. Launched in 2002, first revised in 2012, and last revised in 2017, the SiriusDecisions Waterfall has long been an integral part of the methodology surrounding the demand generation process. This is where the SiriusDecisions Waterfall model comes in. Demand Generation models are useful in ensuring this works because they better align Sales and Marketing to the same goals, and in doing so encourage cooperation, as well as signpost accountability. However, alignment isn’t just about process, but about technology and team integration, with data passing seamlessly between all departments in order to create a holistic view of the customer. This makes clear the importance of Sales and Marketing alignment, and indeed Sales, Marketing and Customer Service alignment. In fact, on average, to replace one lost customer, organisations need to find a staggering 30 new ones. Customer retention is now by far the most important revenue stream, yielding far greater successes than those found in customer acquisition. The ways in which we market our products and services is constantly adapting as buyer behaviour changes and new technologies alter how we think and approach our work. Read on to find out more.ĭownload the Marketing Return on Investment Report
You need a configured funnel with processes and language that is relevant to your business goals and vertical. This may mean that the ‘ single pursuit of filling the funnel’ that the Sirius model promotes is not right for your business. Organisations need to coin their own terms and create and validate their own processes. This is essential to Sales and Marketing alignment, as well as proving the value of Marketing to the wider business. However, this is not enough, and organisations must configure their funnel to align with their business goals. The SiriusDecisions Waterfall is slowly catching up to the best in practice methodologies of today, with more of an emphasis on Decision Making Units and Account Based Marketing over just lead generation and management. The way in which we measure and record success also needs to reflect this new reality. The methodologies that support this need to acknowledge that customer experience, lifetime value and customer retention are as essential, if not more so, than demand generation. Modern marketing has evolved beyond just demand generation and filling the funnel.
0 kommentar(er)
