Role of Sales Forecasting in Marketing

Sales and marketing are interrelated disciplines that require careful planning and execution. The role of sales forecasting in marketing is important, since marketing is used to create and drive leads into a company's sales pipeline.

Companies use sales forecasting to determine the existing level of demand in the marketplace, as well as future demand for a company’s products or services. Forecasting can be used to predict sales revenue at a company-wide level, as well as for individual business units or product lines.

Sales forecasts directly influence a company’s marketing plan. The marketing department is responsible for how customers and prospects perceive its products and services versus its competitors, and uses the sales forecast to assess how marketing spending can channel demand and increase sales.

It is common for a company to use data from past marketing campaigns to create its sales forecast. For example, an organization may look at the number of responses from an old television ad campaign that helped increase sales during a particular season or month.