The CIM has forecasted that separate sales and marketing departments will disappear over the next ten years. While some have described this has a controversial comment, it’s a discussion point that has caught our eye. Is it a good or bad idea to merge these roles?

Inevitably the two functions go hand in hand, with marketing tactics setting out a route to attract and engage with a target audience and sales ultimately closing and completing the deal. However, they are very much two separate disciplines with different skills and tactics necessary to achieve the aims of each role successfully. Hail the pros and cons:

Pros
· Aligning the two departments will lead to improvements in productivity, while reducing duplication and wastage
 
· The external environment already views marketing and sales as a combined discipline – so why would it be a problem?

· There is a natural synergy between the two functions as they both drive business growth

· It would put an end to simmering conflict and one-upmanship that exists between the two departments

· Each discipline is able to support and help  the other, e.g. sales can use one-to-one meetings to identify and feedback trends to marketing, so that they can fine tune activity

Cons
· Although the two functions have similarities, very different skills and methods are required to successfully perform, e.g. advertising, public relations, brand and viral marketing, as apposed to networking, one-to-one meetings and cold sales

· Combining these interdependent functions may confuse the focus and weaken the output
 
· It  may cause conflict when goal-setting and agreeing to a strategy due to the very different ways each department works (you may be integrating marketing teams with commission-based sales teams)
 
So what do we think? At Trebuchet the jury is out with a 50/50 split either way. Perhaps this debate highlights a different point and that may be more about perfecting the internal process and getting better communication within the teams? Surely, it doesn’t matter how you reach the final destination, as long as everyone knows how each other is travelling. That, at least, gives you the option to travel together if you want to.

 

With heightened advertiser concerns following the News of the World’s phone hacking allegations – the question is, can a brand really be invincible?

The recent phone hacking revelations immediately caused a downhill turn for the News of the World, with Ford, Halifax, Co-op, Vauxhall and Virgin Holidays pulling ads from this weekend's paper. Other major advertisers including Proctor & Gamble, Tesco, Asda, Coca-Cola GB, Orange and Vodafone have voiced their concerns and are reviewing their relationship with the paper.

Ultimately, the chain reaction of advertisers pulling their advertising is down to reputation management, and the need for companies to protect their own brands from association with a ‘troubled’ brand. However, it certainly isn’t the first time a major brand has been on the receiving end of a crisis.

Lost identity: Burberry became a victim of brand ‘hijacking’ and had to change its strategy following an increase in counterfeit clothing and accessories. This led to the development of an association with ‘chavs’, impacting its brand identity and perception.

Bad rebrands: Affecting its brand image - Gap switched its famous logo for a simple logo that contained Helvetica text spelling the word Gap and a blue square. Many called it a branding failure and after one week after its introduction, Gap returned to the original logo.

Misleading advertising: Coca-Cola committed £7m to the marketing of water brand Dasani in the UK, however it was withdrawn after five weeks on the shelves after its marketing wasn’t truthful about the purification process.

PR gone wrong: Dell's marketing approach to promote the Streak went horribly wrong when it was kept secret from the rest of Dell's staff. This resulted in Dell employees panicking, the police being called and company arrests.

Slow development: Ignoring the digital explosion, Kodak - once the leading brand in its space – took a slow transition from chemical film to digital, affecting its position in the market.

Backfired endorsement: H&M, Chanel, Got Milk and Accenture are all brands that have had to protect their reputation by dropping controversial celebrities including Kate Moss, Chris Brown and Tiger Woods.

All of the above outline problems that have needed immediate attention in order to prevent damage to a brand name – and proves no brand is invincible. Without the correct precautions in place, any brand can be built and destroyed in record time.

Things can be done to help though. Strategic planning, brand management and reputation management are vital procedure for brands big or small – and are key in preventing some of the above threats from turning into crises that can cause problems for a company and its brands.

To find out more about brand protection, contact us now.