Cambridge, Mass.—Only 8% of b2b companies surveyed by Forrester Research said they have tight alignment between sales and marketing, according to a new report.
The report, “B2B Sales and Marketing Alignment Starts With the Customer,” was based on an online survey of 66 b2b sales and marketing leaders, conducted in October and November.
When asked to rank the level of collaboration between sales and marketing on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 representing no collaboration and 5 representing tight alignment), 45% of respondents gave their organizations a score of 3; 24% gave a score of 4; 21% gave a score of 2; and 2% gave a score of 1.
The greatest obstacles to achieving tighter alignment between sales and marketing are long-term thinking by marketing vs. short-term thinking by sales (58% said this was an important factor); different goals and measurements (46%); and not enough time (45%). (Respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer.)
