In many cases, the goals of an entrepreneur and the way they portray their business align rather well – there is no dissonance between external branding and internal goals. But for some business owners, there is a lack of cohesiveness in what the business is trying to say. These are the businesses that throw lots of money into their marketing, sales, and branding efforts, but get little out of them. Internal organization is just as important as sending a powerful message, and the two must mesh together perfectly if your business is going to succeed.

Depending on how large your business is, your marketing, sales, and branding teams might be distinct entities, or three parts of a single team. Regardless of how they are organized, keeping them on the same page is crucial to keeping the business running smoothly. Internecine conflict and clashing visions will only harm your business in the long term, which is why it’s so important to keep these different parts of your business aligned with one another. Business leaders commonly fail to specify the exact way in which they are supposed to work together, because they lack a clear and defined vision. You don’t want to fall into that trap, because your business will never succeed on its own. Just as an army needs a strong general to lead it, a business needs a leader with a vision and a plan.

As far as your branding efforts are concerned, make sure you know which customers you are appealing to! You can’t expect to win over every single person that walks in your door, because there is simply too much variation in people’s likes and interests. Don’t try to appeal to everybody, because you won’t make anybody happy. Instead, focus your efforts on appealing to a certain demographic. When you know what your customers are going to look like, you can then refine your message and branding towards what they want and what they will likely respond positively to.

Once your branding is set, your marketing team can then begin to sell your business as the preferred choice for your chosen customers. An established branding guideline will enable your marketing team to create targeted advertisements that will appeal to the demographics your business aims to earn the business of. Continuous communication is necessary to ensure that your marketing efforts remain in sync with the branding of your business – you don’t want your marketing team to fall out of step with the changing wants and needs of your customers.

With a sense of identity in place, your sales team can begin to use the tools created by your branding and marketing teams to seal the deal. A sales team can employ persuasive, charismatic people, but without a strong marketing and branding strategy, they will not meet with much success in convincing people to buy from you. Continuous, dedicated research will ensure that your sales team will always remain completely up to date with the newest trends and developments in your industry.

These three parts of your business rely on each other to be effective. No one group is inherently more important than the other – without a sense of cohesion and teamwork, your business will fail from the inside. As the leader of your business, it is YOUR responsibility to provide a clear, defined vision for each of your teams. Once the pieces are in place, they will begin to mesh together like gears in a well-oiled machine. A team that works together always accomplishes more, and it starts with your marketing, branding, and sales.