The Feedback Loop That Makes Both Teams Better

Most produce companies are sitting on a goldmine of market intelligence, and it doesn’t live in just one place. Anyone who spends time in front of a customer, whether on a call, at a trade show, or on a follow-up visit, can pick up something useful. Sales just happens to hear it the most often.

A buyer conversation, an objection, a comment about what’s moving on the shelf or what a competitor just offered can all be data points. When that information flows back to marketing, it changes what gets created, what gets prioritized, and what gets said. When it doesn’t, marketing keeps creating content in a vacuum.

This feedback loop is a key part of the sales and marketing relationship, but it often gets overlooked. True alignment means more than marketing helping sales prepare for meetings. It also means sales sharing what they learn after those meetings.

This process doesn’t need to be formal. Some of the best insights come from a quick 15-minute chat between a sales rep and a marketing manager after a trade show or customer visit. What excited the buyer? What did they resist? What are their strategic priorities?  These conversations matter because they come directly from the buyer.

For marketing, this feedback is valuable. It shows which messages connect with customers and which ones only sound good in presentations. It also uncovers new ways to position the product that sales teams find by listening and asking thoughtful questions. This kind of feedback can shape your brand’s messaging, so your team uses language that buyers actually respond to, not just what sounds good in meetings. It also helps marketing understand what’s happening in stores, not just what’s in trend reports.

For sales, it makes a difference when they know marketing is listening and acting on their input. When sales reps see their feedback turn into new content or improved presentations, they become more willing to share ideas.

The fresh produce business is built on relationships between buyers and sellers, and that same trust should exist between marketing and sales. When both teams trust each other and share openly, they both improve. The brand becomes stronger, and customers can sense the difference, even if they can’t name it.

How would you rate the level of trust between your sales and marketing teams right now?

Summer Sales & Marketing Series: 

Part 1: Why Sales and Marketing Aren’t as Aligned as You Think

Part 2: What Sales Actually Need from Marketing (And How to Deliver It)

Stay tuned for Part 4, where we’ll discuss closing the sales and marketing divide at tradeshows.