One Marketing Stream: Upstream Vs Downstream

The terms “upstream” and “downstream” refer to two different, but equally important, aspects of marketing. We covered the key differences between the two in an article published in 2016 called “Upstream vs Downstream Marketing; Why do so many companies focus solely on downstream marketing?”.

As a quick recap, upstream marketing is focused on strategy and the long-term market situation, while downstream marketing looks at tactics, activity and supporting the company’s sales team with their objectives.

Distinguishing these types of marketing activity can help further develop the connection between marketing and sales teams, benefiting the company’s growth and overall sales potential.

Marketing and Sales Synergy

Developing the right balance between marketing and sales teams is crucial, regardless of industry. A sales team won’t be as successful without input from marketing, while marketing needs the information that sales teams collect daily to build and develop strategy and campaigns.

Without this, there will be a disconnect that could impact revenue. For example, a marketing team could develop an exciting new strategy based on their research, but the sales team may refuse to support it because they view it as nonsense based on theoretical concepts…