Difference Between Sales vs Marketing

Any number of services or goods, sold in a time period can be referred to as Sales. Possession of a product can be transferred from manufacturer to distributor, distributor to wholesaler, wholesaler to the retailer and eventually from retailer to the end customer in exchange of either money or any equivalent consideration. The motive behind the sale process is to increase the revenues. Any ownership transfer occurs after the settlement of price of the item, which is under consideration. Often, payment process becomes an obligation before the seller would execute the sale process. There could be an indirect sale process i.e. an interaction in which any individual who sells goods or services on behalf of the owner, is known as salesperson or salesman. For any sale transaction, buying and selling are two sides of the same coin i.e. both are inevitable in nature.

Buying cannot be executed without selling and vice-versa. Thus, to consummate the exchange of values, a negotiation process is triggered by the seller and buyer, which is a part of any standard sales process. At the same time, there are some set of rules provided by the governing bodies, which must be followed from the selling process. It is assumed that the selling process would occur in an ethical manner, thus ending up with a reward for the buyer as well as the seller. Any agent in the sale process can represent either buyer or seller, the sales representative is the traditional salesman representing a company or a person on the selling end. Buyer on the other end of the transaction act as a consumer of the purchase.

Every Marketing strategy in the business is the counterpart of a sale process. Marketing comprises the process, in which the requirement of the customer is gathered first, and then accordingly, the product would be sold to the customer or customer is lured toward buying the product. It can be called a pull strategy, which is one of the key concepts of any marketing strategy. Unlike a sale process, marketing involves more of a media orientation activity, in which news agency, advertisement plays a key role in publishing the feature of a product. Marketing involves a relationship which is one-to-many which is again, unlike sales in which there is the one-to-one relationship. From a marketing perspective, one person may have to handle multiple public groups and that’s where the role of media comes in very handy and intuitive. Customers requirement are analyzed, the market is being understood by a list of experts and then eventually, buyers are enticed toward buying a product.

Marketing strategies are based on facts like the customer will purchase the product of a superior quality, this effective approach makes the marketing team do an analysis of the market, eventually understanding the competitor’s product and customer’s needs. Thus, product orientation becomes a matter of concern for any effective marketing orientation. It is a customer-centric approach, where any firm would create their marketing strategies and program around the product, which fit the customer requirement. Extensive and thorough market research is being performed to gauge customer desire, this involves having an R & D team as well, to come up with a product, which is akin to the customer-centric data. Afterward, promotion techniques are deployed so that the customer remain aware of the product’s existence and benefits. Thus, any marketing decision involves around 4 Ps i.e. product, price, promotion, and place. Every ‘P’ has a key role in deciding the marketing strategy, to meet the customer requirement and deliver a product accordingly.

Sales vs Marketing Infographics

Below are the top 6 difference between Sales vs Marketing

Key Differences between Sales vs Marketing

Both Sales vs Marketing are popular choices in the market; let us discuss some of the major difference between Sales vs Marketing:

1. Any transfer of ownership of a product from one person to another is defined as sales whereas, with marketing, one would analyze the market and eventually understand the requirement of the customer.
2. Sale process focuses on the selling part of the product i.e. a specific approach whereas marketing has an integrated approach, ranging from customer requirement gathering to providing the desired product.
3. During a sale process, goods are exchanged for monetary considerations whereas marketing revolves around identifying the requirement of customer and then satisfying them.
4. In any sale process, a product might be forced on to the customer whereas marketing involves enticing the customer toward making a purchase.
5. Sales focus on direct interaction with the customer and persuading them to do a purchase whereas marketing involves generating the value of a product and then attract the customer toward it.
6. Any sale would focus on the company or person needs, which is the priority whereas marketing strategy focuses on the requirement of the market, identifying the requirement of the end customer.
7. Any sale process consists of interpersonal interactions i.e. one-on-one interaction with a customer whereas marketing process involves one-to-many interactions, with a public group.
8. The sale process is intended toward closing the sale and eventually get a signed contract or agreement whereas marketing is all about reaching and persuading the customer to meet the prospects.
9. Sale process methods are driven by people-centric activities whereas marketing involves media-centric activities since the one-to-many relationship needs to be fulfilled.
10. For the sale, a product is created first and then sold to the customer whereas with marketing, the requirement of the customer is gathered first, and accordingly, the product is being sold to the customer or entice the customer toward the desired product.

Head to Head Comparisons between Sales vs Marketing

Below is the topmost comparisons between Sales vs Marketing

Conclusion – Sales vs Marketing

With so many difference between sales vs marketing strategies, they are incomplete without each other. They are not contradictory in nature, they complement each other. Any business survival requires the understanding of sale process and marketing. The salesperson should be equipped with proper training since a typical sale process is a human-oriented function and hence training becomes mandatory. With marketing, the customer is being lured toward buying a product, hence requirement gathering from the customer perspective needs to be collected. Media and advertisement agencies play a crucial role in understanding the nature of customer’s requirement. Thus, any marketing strategy is media-oriented, whose sole aim is to persuade the customer toward buying a product. At the end of the day, sales vs marketing are the pillars of any business strategy, two sides of the same coin.

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