Bringing Marketing and Sales Teams Closer Together at Business School Executive Education Department
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Client
A prestigious business school's Executive Education department offers a variety of programs designed for business professionals seeking to advance their skills and knowledge. These programs are categorized into two main types:
- Open Programs: These are standard programs managed and offered directly by the business school. They are typically structured courses aimed at a broad audience.
- Custom Programs: These are specialized programs designed and offered by third parties but branded under the business school. They cater to specific client needs and often involve a more tailored curriculum.
The Executive Education department uses two primary systems to manage these programs:
- Salesforce: Used by the sales team to manage and track the programs, handle client interactions, and facilitate the sales process.
- Hive: Used by the marketing team to manage marketing activities, tasks, and timelines associated with each program.
The Challenge
- The primary issue was the inefficiency and miscommunication between the sales and marketing teams due to their use of different platforms (Salesforce and Hive).
- This disjointed system led to inaccuracies in program marketing, missed deadlines, and confusion over the program schedules and details.
- Marketing employees were often left out of the loop regarding updates or changes made by the sales team in Salesforce.
- This lack of timely information resulted in marketing campaigns being run with outdated or incorrect program details, causing increased stress, last-minute changes, and a general sense of frustration due to the inefficiency of the process.
The Solution
To address these issues, we developed an automation solution using Hive Automate powered by Workato. This solution integrated Salesforce and Hive to ensure seamless communication and data synchronization between the sales and marketing teams.
Here’s how it worked:
- Automation of Data Flow: Any new or updated program information entered into Salesforce by the sales team automatically triggered updates in Hive.
- Creation of Marketing Tasks: New or updated programs in Salesforce would create corresponding projects and tasks in Hive, with due dates aligned to the program schedules.
- Streamlined Communication: This integration ensured that the marketing team always had the latest program information, reducing the risk of errors and missed deadlines.
The Results
- Results the Company Obtained: The company experienced a significant improvement in the coordination between the sales and marketing teams. This led to more accurate and timely marketing campaigns, increased program attendance, and higher overall customer satisfaction due to the professionalism and reliability of the marketing efforts.
- Results the Employee Obtained: Marketing employees benefited from a more streamlined workflow, with reduced errors and less time spent in unnecessary meetings to reconcile program updates. This allowed them to focus on more strategic and creative aspects of their roles, enhancing their job satisfaction and productivity.
Tech Used
- Salesforce for the Sales Team.
- Hive for the Marketing Team.
- Hive Automate to integrate both.
