Sales & Marketing- Same or Different?

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?

2.    If not then, what is Sales?

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

Next Blog:-How Pharmaceutical Sales is different than other industries.