“Marketing and sales often work side by side instead of together – the solution lies in joint leadership by a Chief Revenue Officer who connects both areas along the customer journey and thus enables a real customer focus.”
– Philipp Baron Freytag von Loringhoven
Sales and marketing must move closer together! But how?
How can sales and marketing really work together effectively? In his exclusive guest article on the matelso blog, Philipp Baron Freytag von Loringhoven shows why a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is the key to more customer focus and less actionism. He also outlines how matrix structures, hypothesis-driven cultures and new incentive models can unite marketing and sales along the entire customer journey.
Table of contents
- It doesn’t work without customer focus!
- The solution: A Chief Revenue Officer as a connecting executive
- Matrix structures along the customer journey – a new organizational model
- Incorrect incentivization at the heart of the problem
- Allocate resources correctly: The balance between long-term relationships and short-term actions
- The way forward: a new structure for marketing and sales
- Conclusion: Sales and marketing combined: customer focus as a recipe for success
It doesn’t work without customer focus!
We listen too little and too often fall into pure actionism! It’s 2024, we have umpteen data sources and yet we all find it difficult to maintain a genuine customer focus. Marketing and sales often work side by side instead of together, implementing one measure after another without really understanding what resonates with customers.
The solution: A Chief Revenue Officer as a connecting executive
“The Chief Revenue Officer combines marketing and sales and consistently aligns the organization along the customer journey.”
– Philipp Baron Freytag von Loringhoven
The solution lies in joint management by a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), who unites both areas and aligns the organization along the entire customer journey. It is becoming increasingly clear to me that the key aspect here is to understand the organization as a matrix structure along the customer journey, in which teams flexibly combine the necessary skills in every phase of the journey – from analytics to content to sales.
Matrix structures along the customer journey – a new organizational model
This structure enables genuine teamwork and a clear focus on customer needs. At the same time, it requires a hypothesis-oriented culture in which measures are not only implemented, but also continuously tested and evaluated. This turns every customer interaction into a learning opportunity, making the organization more agile and data-driven.
“Matrix structures enable real teamwork and promote the necessary flexibility to act in a customer-oriented manner at every stage of the customer journey.”
– Philipp Baron Freytag von Loringhoven
Incorrect incentivization at the heart of the problem
How did we actually end up here? Clearly: wrong incentivization! Marketing is geared towards lead generation (LeadGen), while Sales is geared towards closing deals – which leads to friction. Instead, both departments should be incentivized along the customer journey in order to create a common goal orientation.
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Allocate resources correctly: The balance between long-term relationships and short-term actions
Keyword: resource allocation! This is about finding a balance between long-term customer relationships (60%) and short-term actions (40%). Brands work! Brands build trust and thus make it easier for sales to close deals. If you want to be really fancy … reserve 25% in each area explicitly for experiments to ensure innovation and continuous learning.
“A balance between long-term customer relationships and short-term actions is crucial – supplemented by room for experimentation to promote innovation.”
– Philipp Baron Freytag von Loringhoven
The way forward: a new structure for marketing and sales
A hypothesis-driven culture, shared incentives and the right balance of long-term and short-term activities create a sustainable structure that truly unites marketing and sales and puts the customer at the center.
Conclusion: Sales and marketing combined: customer focus as a recipe for success
Strong interaction between marketing and sales requires more than good intentions – it needs clear structures, a common focus and a customer-centric culture. A Chief Revenue Officer can act as a unifying force to align both areas along the customer journey. With matrix structures, smart resource allocation and a hypothesis-driven culture, true collaboration is possible, ensuring long-term success. The way forward lies in a genuine customer focus – not in actionism.
The author: Philipp Baron Freytag von Loringhoven
Philipp Baron Freytag von Loringhoven (Team Advertico), also known as ‘Data Baron,’ is a marketing and data expert with over 18 years of experience in building and scaling international marketing & data teams and digital business models.
