Sales & Marketing- Same or Different?
Hello Professionals,
In reference to my last blog “Career Opportunities for Pharma Students”, I understand that by now you must have got a certain level
of clarity to decide about future career prospects. I believe that the
information I have shared might have helped you to some level.
At times some of you must have wondered
1. Is Sales & Marketing same?
3. What is Marketing?
4. How they are Similar or different?
5. Am I working in Sales or Marketing?
6. What should I choose Sales or Marketing?
7. Can these words be used interchangeably?
Here is the simple answer to complex questions, but before
we go ahead let’s understand a few facts of life.
Once we complete our formal education, we are expected to
start our professional life as soon as possible. Means we start looking towards
the goal of settling ourselves into the financial & social settings of
society – this further means financial independence. In nutshell we have to
start work to earn money. Here work means 2 things either starting a Job or
starting an own business. Whether in Job
or in own business, you have to deal with either a tangible product or a
service. If you look holistically you are selling something. In Job you are
selling your services / competencies /skills to the employer for a sum of money
and in business you are selling a product or a service to your customer or
client, but definitely a Sale is
taking place. Therefore, it is
appropriate to say that everyone is selling something in exchange of something
in general Money. It can be
different things or services for different people like Skills, Services or
Products etc. but finally it’s a Sale.
I often come across Young & Experienced Professionals (at
times Freshers & Experienced both), who use the terms Sales & Marketing
interchangeably, means in place of each other. Or in other words these terms
are used in an incorrect place. To me both the terms Sales & Marketing are
very important and are the two sides of same coin but do have clear different meanings.
It is absolutely imperative to mention here that both are incomplete without
each other.
So the question is What is
the difference? As per definition (with
due credit & reference to American
Marketing Association):-
Marketing
“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions and
processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that
have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”
As per my experience & in simple terms Marketing can be simplified as:-
1. Ascertaining, Assessing, Creating the Needs and /or
dissatisfaction for or of the customers for a Product or Service.
2. Formulating strategies to meet those unmet needs/ dissatisfaction
areas.
3. Simply, Marketing is big
activity or a process to Decide & Plan:
What to Sell
|
Identification of Product or Service
|
Why to Sell
|
Purpose or Objective
|
Where to Sell
|
Identification of Location or market area
|
When to Sell
|
Identification of Time/ Season etc.
|
How to Sell
|
Advertisements, Branding, Look & Feel, Perceived Value
Features, Advantages & Benefits.
|
Whom to Sell
|
Identification of Targeted Customers
|
For How much to Sell
|
Revenues Cost, Pricing, Profit Margin etc.
|
Sales
It’s purely an Action Arena.
In most simple terms, Sales is
an activity or set of activities used to execute & implement the Marketing
Strategies designed by Marketing or Product Management Dept. This execution
happens at ground level means at Point of Sale, Distributor, Stockiest, Shop on
thru any channel or location called Marketplace.
As I mentioned above that everyone is selling something, but
even though Sales & Marketing is
a separate & one of the most important business function besides other
business functions like Planning, Research, Strategy, Business Development,
Finance & Accounts, Human Resources, Training, IT, QA, QC, Purchase, Manufacturing,
Supply Chain & Legal etc.
Here we can say that everyone who is doing Marketing is for
sure selling something but anyone who is selling something is not marketing it
always, but both are incomplete without each other.
As I
mentioned in chart in my last blog “Career
Opportunities for Pharma Students” whether you have opted for R&D, QA/QC,
Production or Teaching you are definitely selling your Professional Skills as
services to your employer or organization. If you opt for joining Sales
function you are expected to sell the company’s Product or Services thru your
Professional Skills, for which you will be paid like in other functions also.
Again Sales is taking place. Here in Pharma Sales, sales in not a direct sales
or a cold call, but done thru devised strategies.
Hope by now you have got some clarity on the difference in between Marketing & Sales.
The former is more of designing, thinking, planning & the latter one is
implementing those plans on the ground with the customer with synchronization with
the first one for the best realization.
Please check my video on the same topic here
Please refer the complete video play list here The Pharma Sales Professionals
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLPRqMlui--GlXGbfmwkTrGFu9IXrACmP
In case you are not able to decide about your career prospects or wish to know more details about Sales & Marketing in Pharma sector, please feel free to contact me thru e-mail.
If you feel above information is useful then please comment
below, share your views, hit like, follow my blog its Free & share with
your friends as “A Friend in Need is
a Friend Indeed”.
Regards
Amit Bhatia
The Pharma Sales Professionals
PharmaSalesProfessional@gmail.com
Blog https://pharmasalespro.blogspot.com/
Image Credits:- To original creators/ copyright holders
Blog https://pharmasalespro.blogspot.com/
Image Credits:- To original creators/ copyright holders
Next Blog:-How
Pharmaceutical Sales is different than other industries.