Integration of sales and marketing: case studies of two
Swedish companies
Abstract: In a world where markets are characterized by ever increasing competition,
companies have to focus all of their marketing and sales activities in the
same direction in order to survive. Recent research has shown
that for a company to be successful, the marketing and sales functions need
to be coordinated. A company with separated marketing and sales departments
will have problems competing in today’s market.
Marketing and sales functions need to be integrated to some extent in all
companies. There are a number of factors identified by researchers as
affecting the integration of the two functions. There are also ways to
improve the integration by enhancing communication or by physically
integrating them.
The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the
integration of the marketing and sales functions in a company. Two major
companies in the refined steel industry situated in Luleå, Sweden, were
studied.
The findings confirm most of the established theories and describe how
sales influence the strategic choices made by the marketing department. It
also shows that the integration of the two functions may differ between
companies. If the marketing department is well developed, it is more
separated from the sales department but also in constant collaboration with
them. If the marketing department is smaller, they are more dependent on
the sales department and are therefore naturally integrated.
The findings further shows that companies that have people with marketing
background in their sales department have it easier communicating between
departments and prevent conflicts due to misunderstandings.
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