Why Do Most People Call Sales As Marketing In India?

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Why Do Most People Call Sales As Marketing In
India?
Anita Ray
Writer at Marvist consulting, Services of
offshore digital marketing services is
appreciated by SMB clients, has job openings
especially offshore digital marketing company

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Sales and marketing are two essential terms
prevalent in business. Though both the terms are
closely related, these have distinct functions in
business. However, these are often used
interchangeably in any business strategy, leading
to confusion and misconception about their
function and roles. While sales and marketing are
distinct components of business strategy, their
conflation is prevalent for different reasons.
Especially in India, interchangeable usage of
sales and marketing is prevalent traditionally.
Understanding the difference between sales and
marketing is essential for businesses aiming to
maximise growth and profitability. Sales An
introduction Sales is the process of directly
engaging with potential customers to exchange
goods or services in exchange for money. The
process involves activities like prospecting,
contacting leads, making presentations,
negotiating and closing the deals. The ultimate
goal of sales is to generate revenue by
converting leads into customers. Sales
professionals focus on building customer
relationships addressing their needs and
ultimately driving sales for the company. The
primary objective of the sales persons is to
generate immediate transactions and meet the
sales targets.
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An insight into marketing On the other hand,
marketing encompasses a broader set of activities
aimed at promoting and selling products or
services, building brand awareness, and
attracting and retaining customers for the long
term. The process involves market research,
product development, pricing strategies,
advertising, public relations, and digital
marketing efforts. The main objective of
marketing is to create brand awareness, generate
interest among prospective customers and
ultimately drive sales. Through various channels,
marketing professionals strive to meet the
ultimate goals by creating demand for products or
services, creating a brand image, and nurturing
customer relationships. Reasons why most people
in India call sales marketing Sales and marketing
are interconnected and complement each other
within the business ecosystem. The conflation of
sales and marketing is deeply rooted in cultural,
historical and operational contexts in India and
some other regions as well. The phenomenon can be
attributed to various factors.
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Limited understanding of marketing In many
organizations, especially in small-scale
businesses or traditional industries, there may
be a limited understanding of the broader concept
of marketing, which is beyond direct selling or
promotional activities. Ultimately, all the
activities related to generating revenue or
promoting products are referred to as sales
instead of marketing. Historical
context Undeniably, the traditional business
approach is prevalent in India. Historically,
Indian businesses have focused more on sales
activities instead of comprehensive marketing
strategies. Traditional business practices
focused on direct selling and relationship-based
approaches instead of strategic plans for
marketing and brand management. The traditional
approaches emphasize on direct selling,
negotiation and closing deals while overlooking
the broader aspects of marketing like market
research, branding and customer relationship
management.
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Industry practices In many Indian organizations,
especially traditional family-run businesses or
small enterprises, there is a lack of clarity
regarding the differences between sales and
marketing functions. Due to limited resources and
expertise, these businesses often merge sales and
marketing roles into a single department and
assign similar responsibilities to the sales
team. In certain industries, particularly those
that focus strongly on direct selling or
distribution channels, sales activities
overshadow marketing efforts in terms of
visibility and perceived importance. Perception
of marketing as a secondary function Marketing
might be perceived as a secondary function to
sales in some organisations instead of a
strategic driver of business growth. Such
perception may lead to misconceptions between the
two terms. Role of salespersons Salespersons
play a crucial role in generating revenue for the
brands/businesses. Their activities like
prospecting, pitching, and closing deals often
get conflated with marketing.
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Knowledge gap Limited access to formal education
and training programmes in marketing largely
contributes to misconceptions about the
importance of marketing in comparison to
sales. Language and cultural differences India
is socially, culturally and linguistically very
diverse. A variety of languages are spoken across
India and the country boasts thousands of
cultures and traditions. Thus, there may not be a
clear distinction between the terms sales and
marketing leading to confusion between the two
business concepts. Calling sales as marketing
hurts a business Marketing and sales have evolved
much in sophistication, especially over the last
2 decades. On the sales side, there is an
evolution of the professional sales process into
an advanced art and science form. This enables a
salesman to understand the potential customer and
make a close for getting an order quickly without
wasting time on prospects that will be unlikely
to convert to a sale.
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In the same way, marketing has changed much due
to the adoption of the Internet, social media,
and later smartphone adoption with broadband. Now
with changes being brought about by AI, there are
more changes expected. Calling two different
subjects by the same name is equivalent to
calling medicine as engineering or physics as
biology. It prevents an organization from being
able to make use of the developments and such
practices will hurt that business. For all the
reasons above, it is important that now, senior
professionals start differentiating marketing and
sales and call them by the right names.
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About Marvist Marvist Digital Marketing, a 14
years old premium company, has established a
special niche for their high-end professional
service to the small and medium enterprise market
segments in US UK. Over the years, Marvist
served nearly 1000 medium firms with its
expertise and innovative approach that offered
true economic value to the customers.
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