Dear Liz,

What's more important in a service business - sales or marketing?

Julie

Dear Julie,

That's a very hard question to answer! You've got no business unless you have paying clients. But most sales processes rely on great marketing ("air support") to create leads and build awareness. If your business is very small, sales and marketing may merge together to a great extent - you may have little or no marketing beyond what the salespeople (or even the business owner) are doing. As you grow, you'll find it advantageous to think of marketing as the set of activities that  research and define your target market, establish your brand, create awareness of your organization, refine the product to meet customer needs - and go a long way toward eventually selling your services. In short, both activities are vital!  However, in a small company, any marketing activity that isn't tied directly to sales effectiveness is probably a luxury you can't afford.

Regards,
Liz

Every week Liz Ryan, founder of WorldWIT, will answer questions readers have about their career paths, jobs, balancing work with their families and any other life issues pertinent to women.  If you have a question you would like Liz to answer in a future issue of Thinking Aloud please write to Lauren Calkins, Thinking Aloud's Editor at laurenc@worldwit.org.