Data That Drives: Aligning Marketing, Sales, and Service Goals (With Examples)

by Kim Garmon Hummel

When I first learned how to make spaghetti I was a college student and my kitchen skills were limited. A dorm-mate told me, “throw it at the wall. If it sticks, it’s done.” While that may be true, it takes a lot of trial and error, and noodles, to get to just right.

Today, I know there’s a more reliable (and less messy) way to test the doneness of my noodles. Pasta that is properly cooked should be al dente, or a "to the tooth" texture. That means that the pasta still has some resistance when you bite through it. So, now I just taste a noodle to know.

As we work with businesses to help them grow and scale better, I’ve realized a lot of businesses are still throwing growth tactics at the wall to see what sticks. Just like my college noodles, there’s a much better and also less messy way. In this article, I’ll guide you through the “how-to” of setting company-wide goals and how to align marketing, sales, and service goals for maximum results.

Put Your Data In The Driver Seat: Align Your Initiatives To Crush Your Growth Goals

Alignment is at the heart of Revenue Operations Optimization, so naturally your departmental goals should move in sync with your company-wide goals for maximum impact. When marketing, sales, and service teams work toward specific goals that contribute to overarching company goals, you’ll create Moments the Matter for your clients and employees. From this work, you can expect compounding organizational and revenue growth.

How do you do this? First, in order to measure your success, you’ll need clear goals and a sturdy data infrastructure to measure them by. Remember, your goals are only as good as your ability to measure them, so let data drive your success.

7 Examples of Aligned Company Goals

Below are several examples of company-wide goals and the departmental measurables that support those overarching company objectives:

These examples demonstrate how departmental KPIs and goals can be closely tied to overarching company objectives, contributing to the overall success of the organization. It's essential to ensure that all efforts are strategically aligned with the company's mission and goals.

1. Company Goal: Increase Revenue

Marketing KPI: Monthly or Quarterly Lead Increase
- Marketing Goal: Increase sales qualified leads by X% over the next quarter through marketing campaigns.
Sales KPI: Quarterly Sales Revenue Growth
- Sales Goal: Close X% more sales in the next quarter by actively following up on all inbound leads within 4 business hours of receiving the leads
Services KPI: Upsell and Cross-sell Opportunities Created
- Services Goal: Achieve X% increase in sales revenue in the next quarter by actively upselling and cross-selling to existing customers.

2. Company Goal: Expand Market Share

Marketing KPI: Market Share Percentage
- Marketing Goal: Grow our market share by X% within the next year by reaching new customer segments.
Sales KPI: Market Segment Expansion Rate
- Sales Goal: Grow our market share by X% within the next year by penetrating new markets.
Services KPI: Market Segment Research and Feedback
- Services Goal: Support the sales and marketing teams in identifying and addressing the unique needs of new customer segments.

3. Company Goal: Improve Customer Retention

Marketing KPI: Churn Rate
- Marketing Goal: Reduce the customer churn rate by X% in the next six months through targeted customer retention campaigns.
Sales KPI: Contract Renewal Rate
- Sales Goal: Increase the number of contract renewals by X% in the next six months by proactively engaging with customers.
Services KPI: Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score
- Services Goal: Enhance customer support and engagement to reduce churn.

4. Company Goal: Boost Website Traffic

Marketing KPI: Website Traffic and Unique Visitors
- Marketing Goal: Increase website traffic by X% within the next six months by optimizing SEO and content marketing strategies.
Sales KPI: Website Conversion Rate
- Sales Goal: Document 10 most common problems customers come to us with and share with Marketing.
Services KPI: Website User Experience Score
- Services Goal: Document 10 most common problems customers come to us with and share with Marketing.

5. Company Goal: Improve Cost Efficiency

Marketing KPI: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
- Marketing Goal: Reduce CAC by X% over the next year by optimizing advertising and lead generation campaigns.
Sales KPI: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
- Sales Goal: Reduce the cost of sales acquisition by shortening the sales cycle by X# of days.
Services KPI: Cost of Customer Retention
- Services Goal: Maintain a record of X# complaints to ensure customer retention is at X%

6. Company Goal: Increase Customer Satisfaction

Marketing KPI: Net Promoter Score (NPS)
- Marketing Goal: Improve NPS by X# points and gather X# of customer testimonials within the next year through customer-focused marketing and service initiatives.
Sales KPI: Upsell Rate Among Satisfied Customers
- Sales Goal: Check in with X# of customers each month about their satisfaction.
Services KPI: Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score
- Services Goal: Deliver exceptional customer service to maintain a CSAT Score of X# or greater.

7. Company Goal: Reduce Operational Costs

Marketing KPI: Marketing Expense Ratio
- Marketing Goal: Decrease the marketing expense ratio by X% within the next quarter by implementing data informed strategies and implementing quarterly rocks for each marketing employee.
Sales KPI: Sales Operational Cost Reduction
- Sales Goal: Implement Lead Scoring so the sales team can focus on the warmest leads, which are closest to a close.
Services KPI: Cost per Support Ticket
- Services Goal: Setup a knowledge base to enable support reps and/or support bot to provide helpful solutions to common problems quickly.

These aligned sales and services goals and KPIs help create a cohesive strategy that ensures the entire organization is working together to achieve the overarching company goals. Regularly measure, monitor, and adjust your metrics to optimize performance and align with evolving business objectives.

Supercharge Your Data-Backed Iterative Improvements

One of the most important benefits of measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) is that it helps businesses make iterative improvements.

Just like alignment is key for RevOps, data-backed iterative improvements are the engine of Growth-Driven Design (GDD) (that’s why when RevOps and GDD work in tandem, you’ve got a seriously powerful revenue-generating machine).

When you collect and analyze data, you can pinpoint areas for improvement and make smart changes. This process means consistent measurement and a willingness to try new things based on your data reporting. Trust the process and the data.

Build Data That Drives Success

Building a sturdy data ecosystem (including setting up the reporting tech-stack, developing the expertise to interpret data, tell a data story, implement iterative improvements, and fine-tune strategy) can take time and a healthy dose of dedication. The good news is when you have a dedicated growth agency at your side, you can maximize your time to value and fast track your data analytics efforts for maximum impact.

Ready to stop throwing noodles at the wall? Book a call with a Growth Guide today to learn if Sauce Agency is the right fit for your business!