Aligning Marketing and Sales Within the Printing Industry

'The Ongoing Alignment Challenge'

For decades, businesses have wrestled with one persistent challenge: aligning marketing and sales. This isn’t new, and it’s not going away anytime soon. Different personalities, departmental cultures, and contrasting mindsets often create friction. Each side has its own responsibilities and goals, yet they inevitably overlap.

In the print industry, this challenge is even more pronounced. Print companies aren’t just selling a product, they’re providing solutions that must adapt to countless industries, each with unique needs and expectations. Getting marketing and sales aligned is no longer optional; it’s essential for growth, retention, and profitability.

The 'Messy Middle' Problem

The greatest point of misalignment often lives in what we call the messy middle.

Here’s why…

• Marketing’s Domain - Generating awareness, driving leads, nurturing prospects.
• Sales’ Domain - Building relationships, closing deals, and managing customer acquisition.
• The Messy Middle - That overlapping space where marketing bleeds into sales. It’s the gray area where both departments feel responsible, or worse, feel ownership, over the same activities.

When marketing tries to move deeper into the sales funnel, or sales attempts to own early-stage engagement, friction arises. Without clarity, the messy middle becomes a battleground instead of a bridge. And because customers move fluidly between marketing and sales touchpoints, the lack of alignment directly impacts results.

Why Print Companies Face Unique Challenges

Print companies operate in a more complex ecosystem than most. Unlike SaaS or product businesses that serve a narrow audience, print serves everyone, from nonprofits to restaurants to universities to retailers. Each vertical has distinct needs, and print solutions must flex accordingly.

As an example:

• Restaurants - The challenge isn’t simply attracting diners at peak hours, it’s filling slow times. A smart print campaign, like direct mail or event flyers, can solve this specific pain point.
• Nonprofits - They care about donor engagement and community visibility. The right print campaign amplifies trust and connection.
• Universities and Community Colleges - Their priorities revolve around enrollment, awareness, and alumni engagement, each demanding a tailored print strategy.
• Retail - In-store signage, seasonal campaigns, and loyalty promotions all play a role in driving measurable outcomes.

For print sales and marketing professionals, this means you can’t simply “know print.” You must understand your own industry and every industry you serve. That’s a higher barrier to alignment than most companies face.

Building a Go-To Resource for Alignment

One of the most effective solutions to misalignment is creating a shared knowledge base. This is not just a generic set of marketing collateral, it’s a living, strategic resource that documents:

• ICPs (Ideal Customer Profiles) - Define target industries and buyer personas.
• Pain Points and Goals - What do these customers truly want? What problems are they trying to solve?
• Industry-Specific Messaging - Clear language and examples for each vertical.

When marketing and sales operate from the same playbook, alignment is natural. Marketing’s campaigns speak the same language that sales uses in conversations. The overlap becomes collaboration rather than conflict.

For example, if a salesperson approaches a restaurant owner, they can confidently position print as a solution to fill non-peak hours. Marketing can reinforce that exact message with campaigns targeted to restaurant operators. This consistency builds credibility and accelerates conversions.

The Role of Leadership in Alignment

Even with the right ICP resource, alignment won’t stick without leadership’s direction. Company leaders must set clear business goals that guide both marketing and sales. These objectives might include:

• Revenue Growth - Prioritizing lead generation and aggressive prospecting.
• Margin Expansion - Focusing on premium products, cross-sells, or upsells.
• Customer Volume - Increasing the sheer number of accounts.
• Retention - Deepening customer loyalty and lifetime value.

Once leadership sets the strategic direction, marketing can design campaigns to support those goals. Sales can then position conversations in a way that reinforces the same priorities. Without this guidance, marketing and sales often end up chasing different outcomes, leading to frustration on both sides.

Defining Clear Handoffs

To eliminate confusion in the messy middle, companies must define clear handoff rules between marketing and sales. These rules remove ambiguity and prevent turf wars.

Consider these approaches:

• Lead Nurture First - A prospect who downloads a resource enters a marketing-driven nurture series. Only after completing that series, or showing buying intent, does sales take over.
• Conditional Triggers - If a prospect raises their hand (e.g., requests a demo or replies to a nurture email), sales takes immediate ownership.
• Closed-Won and Closed-Lost - After the sales process ends, the lead cycles back to marketing for onboarding, retention campaigns, or re-engagement.

By setting conditions and rules, everyone knows exactly who owns which part of the journey. No more infighting. No more wasted opportunities.

Putting Alignment Into Practice

Alignment isn’t easy, it requires deliberate effort. But once the foundation is built, the payoff is significant. Here’s a roadmap for print companies:

1. Create the Shared Resource - Document ICPs, industry messaging, and customer pain points. Make it easily accessible for both teams.
2. Secure Leadership Buy-In - Ensure leadership sets clear, measurable business goals.
3. Define Clear Rules - Build workflows that specify exactly when sales takes over from marketing.
4. Adapt by Industry - Customize messaging for each target vertical, restaurants, nonprofits, education, retail, and beyond.
5. Review and Refine - Regularly revisit alignment to address gaps, new opportunities, or shifting goals.

Why Alignment Pays Off in Print

When marketing and sales are aligned, print companies benefit in several ways:

• Increased Growth - Campaigns resonate more effectively, and deals close faster.
• Higher Retention - Customers feel understood, leading to longer relationships.
• Happier Teams - Reduced conflict between departments improves morale and reduces turnover.
• Smoother Operations - A defined process eliminates chaos in the messy middle.

It takes work to get there, but once achieved, alignment creates long-term momentum. The payoff is not just in revenue, it’s in the culture, stability, and reputation of the company.

The marketing and sales alignment challenge is not new. But in the print industry, the stakes are higher and the complexity greater. By addressing the messy middle, building shared resources, securing leadership direction, and defining clear handoffs, print companies can bridge the divide.

The result? A cycle of collaboration, clarity, and growth that benefits customers, employees, and the business as a whole.

Alignment isn’t a one-time project, it’s a continuous discipline. But once embedded, it unlocks smoother sailing, stronger results, and a healthier business for years to come.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.