The relationship between sales and marketing departments has traditionally been fragmented, at best. However, a leading market research firm, the Aberdeen Group, recently published two surveys that strongly indicate that, among “Best in Class” firms, the barriers are beginning to fall – largely as the result of CRM.

The first survey (of over 250 companies) suggested that CRM is encouraging sales and marketing departments to share more information. The survey identified firms that were “Best in Class” based upon objective sales metrics, such as the average amount of time that it takes from the cold call to closing. The survey discovered that approximately three-quarters of these Best in Class companies provide their sales departments with access to a centralized repository of marketing materials.

As a result of this shared content between sales and marketing, Best in Class companies have improved time-to-close rates by nearly one day, compared to the increase of one day in time-to-close rates experienced by other firms. Furthermore, such Best in Class firms are almost twice as likely as their less favored counterparts to rate themselves as “extremely aligned” in the area of branding and messaging.

Such firms typically use the marketing technology segment of CRM heavily, according to the survey. For example, 61 percent of these Best in Class companies utilize sales analytics, 39 percent utilize content feedback solutions, and a little over one-third use closed-loop marketing to ensure that the processes designed to optimize sales win rates are successful, according to Aberdeen research analyst Gretchen Duhaime. “Besides ensuring consistency, automating access to marketing content saves sales time,” she explains “If the sales team does not have collateral readily available, they are burdened to create it or work with marketing to draft it, which either takes sales representatives out of the field or adds to their support staff workload.”

In addition to making marketing content available, Best in Class organizations are finding additional ways to bridge the traditional gap between sales and marketing departments, according to a second Aberdeen survey. It turns out that Best in Class companies are actively integrating sales and marketing technologies to drive performance in annual revenue, Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI), and lead conversion rates.

By integrating essential sales and marketing technologies, such as CRM, marketing automation, email marketing, and Web analytics, Best in Class firms can predict and fulfill customer needs with greater accuracy. The study revealed that 73 percent of Best in Class organizations are currently integrating sales and marketing technologies, creating what Aberdeen calls “a measurable strategic value.”

The renewed focus on integrating the sales and marketing functions results from a growing perception that both departments have important contributions to make to a company’s bottom line, according to Aberdeen. Survey respondents identified the need to increase top-line revenue growth and improve ROMI as the top two pressures. As a result, 79 percent of Best in Class companies currently utilize lead management solutions, 76 percent utilize CRM or SFA solutions, 88 percent are involved in email marketing, and 70 percent are using marketing automation.

More importantly, almost three-quarters of the surveyed firms currently integrate one or more marketing technologies with CRM, according to Aberdeen research analyst Ian Michiels. “The proliferation of marketing and sales channels continues to challenge every organization to identify the most effective, efficient ways to leverage the data that is typically spread across multiple disparate systems,” he explains. “The opportunity to drive top-line revenue and increase return on marketing investment lies in the effective integration between disparate information sources within sales and marketing.”

Aberdeen’s research suggests that there is substantial business value to combining key organizational processes, such as formalized processes for sharing data between sales and marketing, with crucial technology enablers to provide better alignment between the two departments. By standardizing certain performance metrics, such as a shared definition for measuring ROI(ROMI?) on marketing campaigns, Michiels believes that Best in Class companies are able to blend organizational capabilities with technology implementation to create the “perfect storm” of sales and marketing effectiveness.