8 Biggest Mistakes Account-Based Marketers Make and How to Avoid Them

8 Biggest Mistakes Account-Based Marketers Make and How to Avoid Them

Joe PaoneSr. Manager, SMB Marketing

Vyoma KapurSr. Manager, Enterprise Marketing@vioma

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Housekeeping

A targeted approach to finding, engaging, closing, and growing the accounts that matter for B2B organizations.

Account-based marketing means selecting target accounts and delivering focused and personalized programs, messages and content to them to move them toward your goal—whether that’s an initial sale, cross-sale or upsale, renewal of their contract, or even advocacy.

What is Account-Based Marketing?

Coordinate and Collaborate

ABM Essentials

Target Engage Measure

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

1 ASSUMING ABM IS ONLY AN ENT STRATEGY

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

MarTech Making ABM More Scalable, Feasible

ABM Works for Both ENT and SMB Accounts

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

‒ You don’t have to work for an ENT company to run ABM‒ Improvements in technology have dramatically driven

down the costs‒ ABM can be effective for SMB companies

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

2 POOR ACCOUNT SELECTION METHODOLOGY

Account Selection Process

Account Identification Considerations

HighYield

Product Fit

StrategicImportance

Competitors’Customers

Build An Account Scoring Model

Historical Data- Win rate- Deal Size- Etc.

Firmographic Data- Annual Revenue- Employee Size- Etc.

4K+ Signals- Social Media Activity- Funding- Etc.

Leverage Account Identification ToolsAccount Data: Niche Solution:

Ex. Competitive Data: Account Scoring:

etc.etc.etc.

Account Selection ProcessTop 20 Tier 1 Tier 2

Number of accounts 20 ~1,000 ~1,000

Selection criteria • Sales leadership to provide• Account score = 100• Filtered out some

industries: e.g. Real Estate, Non-profit, etc.

• Accounts from Sales to be added to this tier

• Each rep to pick 20 accounts

Use predictive account score AND rep knowledge to select accounts• Tiers for target accounts• Accounts will be locked for 6

months

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

‒ Multiple different methodologies can be used to select your target accounts

‒ Consider different data point that are most relevant to your business when selecting accounts

‒ A data driven predictive score/account score can help you prioritize accounts

‒ Whichever methodologies you leverage, a tiered approach may also help with prioritization

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

3 NEGLECTING PROFILING AND MAPPING

Account Profiling and MappingBuild a plan to focus on the right part of the organization: Gather research:• Financial health• Business initiatives• Personnel developments• Technologies• Org structure• SWOT analysis• Industry analysis

Acme IndustriesIn-depth Company ReportAugust 2015

Account Profiling and Mapping Example

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

‒ Build a plan to profile your target accounts‒ It’s really important that you expand the contacts within

your target accounts to ensure that you have all the appropriate influencers and decision makers

‒ There are various different ways for you to find and add new contacts for your target accounts

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

4 MISALIGNMENT WITH SALES

Sales and marketing alignment is the process of getting these two departments to effectively work together towards a common goal.

What and Why

Companies that have aligned sales and marketing teams achieve up to 19% faster growth and 15% higher profitability.*

*Source: 2015 B2B Buyer Benchmark Study by SiriusDecisions.

Improves Conversion Rates

Improve AlignmentAccount Selection ProcessPlan togetherDefine common termsDefine revenue funnelSet common goalsUtilize lead scoringCommunicate often

Plan Together, Succeed TogetherWin Rate ASP

Over 40% increase in Win Rate Nearly 50% increase in ASP

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

‒ Better alignment with Sales yields better results‒ Get Sales involved in the process‒ Spend time with Sales‒ Actively engage and solicit feedback

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

5 NOT SETTING A SCALABLE STRATEGY

Focus is good, but scale is needed

To achieve scalability in ABM, adopt:

• A multi-channel strategy• A tiered approach• The right technology

ABM doesn’t mean 1:1

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

A Multi-Channel Strategy

• Use the channels that work for the objective• Take a systematic approach• Coordinate your story across channels• Work closely with Sales

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

Channels Across Funnel Stages

• Web personalization• SDRs• Tradeshows• Low cost direct mail/survey

• Opt-in• Paid programs • Social• Block parties

• Email

Awareness

Engaged

MQL

• High Value Direct Mail

• Webinars

• SDRs• Training

• Onsites• Field Events• Exec Outreach

• Roadshows• Retargeting

TOFU

MOFU

BOFU

• Seminars/on-sites/lunch and learns • Website personalization

Sales Support

• Appt Setting

A Tiered Approach for Accounts

A Tiered Approach for ProgramsPrograms where target accounts are

included

Programs where target accounts are prioritized

Programs designed just for target accounts

Examples

Database sends, nurture programs, webinars, paid advertising programs

Inbound sales follow-ups, calling campaigns, field event invites, tradeshows

Appointment setting, targeted paid ads on LinkedIn, direct mail, contact discovery, opt in programs, onsites

• Consolidated 360-degree account view vs. lead/contact view

• Aggregate engagement, pipeline & revenue

• Ability to target both leads & contacts in an account

The Right Technology

Target. Engage. Measure.

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

‒ ABM doesn’t have to be 1:1; scalable ABM needs a strategic 1:few and 1:many approach

‒ A multi-channel strategy enables you to reach target accounts everywhere they are

‒ A tiered approach enables you to plan your programs to scale with limited budget and resources

‒ The right technology would allow you to take ABM to another level!

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

6 RUNNING ABM IN SILOS

You are not an island

ABM requires commitment & collaboration

Organizational silos hinder ABM success

High profile!

High cost

High involvement

High value

Breaking Silos Through Alignment

Cross-functional

• Sales• Product/Segment

Marketing• Corporate Events• Value Consulting• Solutions Consulting

Cross-channel

• Email marketing• Display advertising• Social media marketing• Direct mail• Field events• Webinars

True collaboration, not like

Examples of CollaborationDepartment Initiative ABM Opportunity

Corporate Events

Tradeshow sponsorship in Nashville

• Pre event: Reach out to TAs in the area, invite them to conference

• During event: Flag TAs when they visit booth, prioritize networking with them

• Post event: Host a happy hour for TA leads & contacts in the area.

Content Marketing

Whitepaper launch

• Pre launch: Invite target accounts for early access• Post launch: Prioritize follow ups with TAs who download.

Sales outbounding to unsubscribed contactsField Events Luncheon in

NYC• Pre event: Invite TAs and have lower title threshold (e.g.

managers instead of Directors & above)• Post event: Prioritize follow ups with TAs

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

‒ Look at ABM as a company-wide initiative that you’re spearheading

‒ See all programs and channels as opportunities to prioritize and penetrate target accounts strategically

‒ Foster collaboration with different teams and departments to drive ABM success

Find the Overlap

Slice & Dice Your Account List1. Leverage information available

on account, esp. that gathered during account selection & profiling

2. Determine the best attributes to slice and dice your account list

3. Ensure there is some critical mass for the attributes you have identified

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

Customized Emails Highly customized emails personalized with:• Account’s unique

challenges/objectives

• Marketo’s ability to address challenges/meet objectives

• Relevant case study and metrics

Results:- 30% open rate- Meeting set

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

‒ Personalization provides a better experience to your target accounts

‒ Identify the best attributes through segmentation variables for the accounts on your list

‒ Develop personalized messaging and content to deliver relevant experiences to your target accounts

Site visits

Broad-based Marketing Metrics

Conversions

LeadsMQLs

SQLs

Opportunities

Targets

New namesClick-thru rates

Open rates

1• New Names

2• New Targets

3• Opt ins

Early

1• Call connects

2• # of meetings

3• Marketing qualified leads (MQLs)

Mid

1• # of opportunities

2• Pipeline & ARR

3• Revenue won

Late

Know What To Measure When

• Higher average selling prices of TAs vs. default accountsDeal sizes

• Greater proportion of won opportunities over total• Higher velocity (# of days between opp creation to close)

for TAs vs. default accounts Win rates

• Greater pipeline contribution from TAs vs. default accountsPipeline

ABM Goals

What Success Looks Like

© Marketo, Inc. 05/01/2023

‒ Measuring ABM success is not the same as measuring the success from broad-based marketing

‒ ABM success depends on engaging and building relationships with the right people at the right accounts at different stages

‒ Ultimately, you want the deal sizes, win rate and pipeline from target accounts to be higher than other accounts

1. Assuming ABM is only an Enterprise strategy2. Poor account selection methodology3. Neglecting profiling and mapping4. Misalignment with Sales5. Not setting a scalable strategy6. Running ABM in silos7. Generic messaging without personalization8. Measuring the wrong metrics

8 Biggest Mistakes- Recap

Thank you!Questions?

www.linkedin.com/in/jpaone www.linkedin.com/in/vyomakapur

8 Biggest Mistakes Account-Based Marketers Make and How to Avoid Them

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Transcript of 8 Biggest Mistakes Account-Based Marketers Make and How to Avoid Them