Expert's Panel

A collection of timely and important topics posed to our panel of experts.

Of the marketing roles and responsibilities we discussed, which fall into inside sales or strategic marketing as opposed to product marketing?

 (ep1093)
1. I am aware that in many of our larger companies we have a lot of different titles. Basically there are sales support people that are either in marketing or in sales and they support the field. Inside sales might be considered more of a sales support activity that relates to marketing in the sense of making sure that the field has the right message, strategy and customer target, etc. Strategic marketing is everyone's responsibility, but it is more on the product marketing side.
2. Inside sales to me is a very strong administrative function to field the calls from the field and run with the ball to make sure questions are answered. They follow up on quotations, promises, and expedite for customers, etc. In contrast, product marketing people are strongly oriented toward the product and its performance in the context of the customer.
3. Product marketing is planning, presentation, management and control. Those are marketing functions and they have to do with the product. If it has to do with the customer and the relationship with the customer in some way, it is a sales thing. Inside sales supports sales—they don't have a lot to do with marketing in my view.