• Customer marketing’s wheelhouse historically has been nurturing, loyalty and the creation and activation of references and advocates
  • When organizations seek to expand existing customer accounts, customer marketing should contribute to cross-sell and upsell
  • The marketing organization must align internally, as well as with partners in sales, customer success and account-based marketing to optimize account expansion

When it comes to supporting cross-sell and upsell goals, the relationship between demand marketing and customer marketing reminds me of the classic sibling rivalry. The two share the same DNA (skills and competencies) and have similar relationships with other family members (sales) – yet they are not always aligned.

two angry colleagues over deskDemand marketing and customer marketing each bring to the table important thoughts regarding the role of marketing in driving growth within an existing customer base. And as anyone who has ever gotten into an argument with two brothers knows, when they unite, the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. 

Growth vs. Loyalty? Growth and Loyalty!

The primary responsibilities of customer marketing include nurturing customer loyalty and generating support for new business through references and advocacy. The primary responsibilities of demand marketing include creating opportunities for new business. Demand marketing and customer marketing can create a strong combination of strategy, execution and customer insights to create cross-sell and upsell opportunities. However, clarity on roles is often lacking, and many organizations are not structured to help them make the most of the relationship. Both need to work with account-based marketing (ABM) and the sales team on account growth plans and approaches. It’s a recipe for a tense family reunion.

In our 2019 Summit session “The Cross-Sell Conundrum: Creating the Environment for Loyalty AND Growth in Customer Engagement,” we’ll look closely at the demand marketing and customer marketing relationship, and show how these functions can better align with one another, and with other stakeholders, to drive growth in the customer base without compromising loyalty and advocacy goals. Our presentation will cover the following areas:

  • Signs of stress. What does it look like when the organization is not aligned? Missing cross-sell and upsell goals and finger pointing about who should own those campaigns are among the symptoms.
  • Competencies. Which skills should demand marketing and customer marketing bring to the table? How does this dovetail with ABM and the sales organization? Needs differ depending on the maturity of the organization and the relative importance to the organization of growth from the customer base.
  • Execution. Is there a better way to do it? We’ll review a strategy for understanding and engaging buying groups. Typically applied by the demand marketing team for new business, the demand map also has applications for expansion within an existing account.

Join us at SiriusDecisions Summit on May 5-8 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin!