A question of (purchase) complexity

13th March 2026 |   Professor Nick Lee

A question of (purchase) complexity

In a world where technology has outpaced the theory, how do we define a new operating framework for sales and marketing?

Here is a question that, in my view at least, should not still need asking in 2026: what is the actual difference between marketing and sales? Ask ten senior commercial leaders and you will get ten different answers. Ask ten sales and marketing academics, and you’ll get at least 15! These answers will range from cute aphorisms like “Marketing makes the brand; sales makes the money” to elaborate diagrams that explain everything and clarify virtually nothing. Importantly, the confusion is not merely a question of semantics. In fact, it seems to me that many organisations are routinely structured around a distinction that has never been rigorously defined, and they pay for that imprecision in misaligned teams, duplicated effort, and revenue left on
the table. 

What makes this even more challenging is that the academic literature in sales and marketing tends to circle around the issue as well, without any clarity on the boundaries of these two functions. What we lack is a plainly stated distinction, which would allow us to build a framework around it, and connect it to how organisations should actually be designed. That’s what this article attempts to do.