All about smarketing: sales + marketing = smarketing. It's what you get when sales and marketing work together cooperatively.

• Author: Hubbard, Jack
• Position: Sales and Marketing

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Things have evolved significantly from the time when many of us started our financial services marketing careers. Three decades back, some of our greatest worries involved making certain there were enough dog biscuits at the drive-in, toasters in stock for the premium promotion, and an equitable share of money for each community organization that asked for a donation.

That might be a slight stretch, but we can all agree that the responsibilities of the 2007 marketing professional are a far cry from what they were in the 1970s. Today one key aspect of the job is "smarketing," a term most people chortle at when I bring it up in speeches and schools. Call it what you will. The fact is "marketing" and "sales" must be connected at the customer experience and the wallet--and many banks are still having challenges with that concept.

There are lots of compelling theoretical articles about this subject--most of which are outstanding. This is not going to be a theoretical article. We don't have time for theory. In the current competitive market, chief marketing officers (CMOs) are looking for practical ideas. Here are some that can begin to bridge the "smarketing" gap and start improving your return on investment.

How engaged are you?

This was my 21st consecutive year teaching at ABA's School of Bank Marketing and Management. This year, like every year, I asked the following questions. (How would you answer them?)

* How likely is it that I have intimate knowledge of the bank's overall growth and profit strategies and how does marketing specifically intend to impact those results?

* How do our collateral and other marketing support materials synergize with our branding strategy and the bank's sales process?

* How often do I attend sales meetings, make sales calls with bankers, visit branches to observe banker/ customer dialogue, and make trips to the contact center to hear inbound and outbound calls?

* How likely is it that my department has attended the bank's sales training workshops, and how do we interweave those behaviors into our marketing process?

* When a new campaign is rolled out, how do I interface with key sales-related areas to be certain our materials are integrated with how sales conversations occur?

* How do I educate outside resources such as ad agencies, Web design firms and public relations companies as to the importance of the sales and marketing linkage?

There are lots more questions to ask, but you get the...