Category: Blog

Part 1: Cracking the account centric demand gen code – a 4-step process

Given our market focus is on delivering global, account-based marketing solutions for some of the world’s largest and most innovative B2B brands, our customers expect us to be able to build demand generation programs that intelligently identify and target likely buyers for their (often considered purchase) products and solutions.  So far, so good.  But if finding ‘likely buyers’ was straightforward, then there would be no need for the multi-billion dollar market dedicated to marketing technology, customer profiling and data interrogation.

In B2B marketing, there are typically two types of audience to target:

(i)  A defined set of accounts that broadly fulfil the criteria required to be classed as a potential buyer

(ii)  A certain type of economic buyer, or particular job title, that could exist in a significant number of accounts

Each ‘ask’ requires a different approach and in the next two blogs, I’m going to explain how to be successful for each of them.  For this, initial blogpost, I’m going to focus on defining a list of target accounts.  But before we get into describing HOW to pick the right set of accounts, let’s begin by looking at WHY it’s so important to get this right.

As discussed, finding likely buyers is far from straightforward.  Indeed, account list selection is very, very easy to get wrong.  And the problem is, when you get it wrong, it’s extremely difficult to rectify further down the line.  Once campaigns have been activated, if the results don’t come back as expected, there are so many variables to consider in the analysis around those unexpected results, that it becomes a highly complex, near impossible task to find sufficient evidence to point at the account list being the cause.  And, in addition to the complexity, is the time and budget already invested in the campaign which will have been wasted. If you get poor results because you targeted the wrong accounts, this will only become evident when sales have already worked the leads, by which time the programme will likely have finished and the investment fruitless.

So that’s the bad news!  The good news is that there are tools and data available to ensure you focus your time and money on the right audience.  Here is our four step process to selecting, identifying and prioritizing your target account list:

Step 1: Account selection:

Look at the information you have in-house already

Begin by analysing the data you have on existing customers and prospects you’re targeting.  This does not need to be scientific, but can be anecdotal evidence too.  Talk to your Sales and account  teams to get their views and, ultimately, try to turn this information into something that is analysable and searchable. Developing or referencing an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) can be helpful for categorising current customers by size, sector, pain point, and identifying commonalities

Create a list of ‘good’ accounts

Establish what you think ‘good’ looks like.  Once you’ve looked at the information you have available, analyse the profile of your best performing accounts as you begin to build your account list. What are the common features of these accounts? It’s a good idea to have these existing accounts as a benchmark to refer back to. Also consider any significant blockers to progress within existing accounts and whether there are correlations with identifiable characteristics of accounts that could be used as exclusions when building your target account list.

Step 2: Account Identification

This initial list of benchmark accounts can now be extended by cross referencing key characteristics of these accounts with firmographic data, looking for commonalities.  These may include:

• Size: does the account meet the target size criteria?
• Geos – does the account’s geographical presence meet requirements?
• Industry – is the account in an industry that we consider to be suitable for this programme?
• Personas – can we identify relevant stakeholders that could be reached within this account? (more about this in next week’s blog)

Step 3: Account Prioritization:

Adding these accounts to the list of benchmark accounts means you now likely have a significant list of target accounts.  But this list now needs to be honed using further data sources, such as intent data, in order to create a final – yet dynamic – target account list.

Understanding which accounts are demonstrating interest in the subject matter you are dealing with will be useful when looking at the potential value in them as clients and whether they should be included in your campaign. Similarly, data which reveals which accounts are already working with direct competitors or industry partners (which partners, and to what extent?) is valuable.

Once you have your dynamic list of accounts, it’s important to weight the data available in order to prioritize your accounts.  For example, you might have an account that only just meets the numeric criteria, such as company size or revenue, and therefore returns a low score for this category, but is equally showing incredible indicators that it’s the right type of customer in terms of intent. In this instance, your scoring model should elevate this account above one that scores highly on company size and revenue, but is showing no suggestion that it might be right for you at that time.

Step 4: Testing the account list

Before launching full-scale activation of your strategy, carry out an experiment with a small proportion of your budget to assess whether you’re likely to get the results you’re looking for from these accounts. This could involve using multiple channels and tactics to measure general reach and engagement across your target account list. Use this data to identify hard-to-reach accounts and refine your approach to either exclude these accounts to focus on easier-to-reach accounts, or potentially employ different channels to reach them with your messaging.

Once you have your dynamic list of accounts, you can activate campaigns to measure engagement and impact on a continuous loop.  Which accounts or vertical sectors didn’t respond?  Was the messaging or channel used the right one?  Or was it simply due to these accounts using another solution that they’re happy with? If so, move those accounts out and move other accounts in. As the name dynamic suggests, it’s not a static model and can be assessed and optimized on a regular basis.

Demand generation is the antidote to silos between sales and marketing, but this begins with the intelligent identification and selection of likely buyers of your solution. For further information about how to do this, contact us at hello@agent3.com

Earlier in the year, Agent3 was invited to host a workshop at the B2B Marketing Exchange (B2BMX) event in Scottsdale, AZ, on  Measurement.  Entitled ‘Build Your ABM Measurement Blueprint,’ the workshop was led by me,  Alisa Groocock, and my colleague, Steve O’Neil, SVP of our Technology Unit, and shared some innovative new thinking surrounding ABM measurement that would help practitioners to improve, scale, and grow their accounts.

Suffice to say the session sold out quickly. Why?

Ask any ABM practitioner about the toughest nut that they have to crack when delivering programs, and they will inevitably say ‘measurement.’   Today, most clients struggle to tell a credible story about how they’ve driven the metrics that matter – especially engagement and pipeline.  Clients need a baseline for telling great stories about their ABM efforts – what’s working?  What can we do better?  How do we boost sales/marketing alignment?  And perhaps most importantly, what results have we driven?  This is especially true as we progress from measuring ABM to ABX, reflecting engagement across the entire customer lifecycle.

And yet, ABM measurement is notoriously complex. According to one report, only 54% of marketers are confident that they can measure full-funnel ROI within marketing.  There are many reasons for this, ranging from technology and infrastructure limitations to process and capability gaps.

So it is vital to address this challenge with a credible and effective solution.  With this in mind, it is with great pride that, today, we are announcing the launch of a new measurement approach, the Agent3 Measurement Blueprint.  It’s something we’ve been working on for some time, in collaboration with our clients; we believe the end result contains the latest thinking that clients can use to build a meaningful metrics roadmap.  Demand and ABM leaders now have a new tool for telling credible stories about performance, optimizing what they do and how they do it, ultimately growing their budgetary span of control and organizational influence.

The approach outlined in the Blueprint includes program planning, campaign activity and business results – a PAR model – incorporating the three key pillars of successful ABM measurement:  program readiness, campaign performance and business outcomes.  To learn more about how we approach measurement, and for our latest tips and tricks on how to succeed with ABM measurement, check out our new guide on turning your measurement into a path to value that delivers on business outcomes here.

Our hope and expectation is that this blueprint will help break down the chaos and confusion. We’re incredibly proud of the end result and can’t wait to hear your feedback. To learn more about our approach to ABM measurement, or have an exploratory chat, drop us an email at measurement@agent3.com.

If you need to build confidence, combining quick wins with long-term strategy is often the best way to ensure marketing success.

In a world changed by Covid we’ve noticed that one increasing challenge facing marketers is the growing expectation from their business to demonstrate more directly attributable value. With everything moving online, many marketers understandably feel the need to increase the volume and complexity – to be seen to be doing more – but this obsession with activity isn’t always helpful. It likely doesn’t add long-term value, often introduces confusion and asks too much of prospects. Moreover, it doesn’t mean that increased output will automatically equal increased value.

Here is what some of the people we asked – both practitioners of ABM and demand gen – had to say about the problems they faced when it came to their marketing efforts:

• “We’ve just started doing ABM. We can see how it’s working, but we’re still at the beginning. In future, we’ll need to align more closely with sales.”
• “I’m nervous about the fact that we haven’t been able to get a lot of numbers on the page this year from marketing.
• ‘We have a lot more demand than we know what to do with’
• “Sometimes we generate a lot of leads, but no opportunities come from them.”
• “Sales tend to like merchandise marketing, whereas I’m focussed on digital marketing. Our expectations are very different”.

With that in mind we took these concerns into consideration, and actioned them into 3 main solutions to follow when looking to improve your marketing efforts.

1.Talk to your stakeholders and reframe what success looks like

In this newly shifting landscape, marketers often are trying to run before they can walk. This is something only made worse when success in the eyes of stakeholders is based around volume metrics. Yet panic spending on initiatives that don’t work is not only a waste of time and money, but proves to be a scattershot, less focused approach which won’t help marketers gain traction or impact in the long-term.

Instead, to overcome this need to prove worth and show what you’re doing is successful, move the goalposts and reframe what you’re doing. Ask questions. Where does this ideal number of leads come from? Why do stakeholders expect it? Encourage your stakeholders to take stock, and consider why these numbers are used, and to think smarter about generating leads.

2. Value over volume

Since you’ve questioned ‘why’ you’re measuring your marketing activities, now is the time to scrutinise ‘what’ you’re doing. We’ve talked about quality over quantity before with lead generation strategy, and the same logic applies here. With many B2B marketers fighting to be heard in an increasingly crowded, noisy digital landscape, don’t add to the volume with activity that is simply pushed out for the sake of having something to show. New tactics may also need new KPIs.

Instead, look at the value of what you’re doing. Does it provide a solution to your audience’s challenges? Add a unique twist to a common topic? The number of leads might well be lower, but the pay-off with higher engagement rates is worth it in the long-term, and better for boosting brand awareness that will benefit your marketing efforts.

3. Best of both: quick wins and long term strategy

We all know that enacting sudden radical change with a snap of our fingers cannot happen when it comes to your marketing strategy and expectations. A blended, sensitive approach to reframing your success is best, one that brings in your sales and business stakeholders along for the journey.

Combine quick wins – such as ad impressions, clicks, email opens and form fills – with activities that move the needle, particularly engagement with influencers, and decision makers at accounts that matter to you. Doing this not only builds engagement with your audience, but also satisfies sales, and doesn’t prevent you from delivering on more long-term strategic outcomes over time.

Keep on reading…

Interested to see how else we can help B2B marketers improve their practices? Download the full Account-centric Demand Generation report to learn more about how this account-centric approach can help you find solutions to some more tough marketing challenges, such as:

• Matching the right ABM approach to suit your business
  Measuring your marketing programs correctly
  Maximizing the progression and conversion rates of your content

Late last year we published “Account-centric Demand Gen: the Cross Discipline Opportunity” The inspiration for researching and writing that report was the growing number of conversations with prospects and new customers about both Demand Generation and Account Based Marketing and more specifically, how we employ the tactics commonly associated with both disciplines in campaigns.

To understand why ABM and Demand Gen continue to be growth areas for B2B marketing, it’s useful to consider that being successful in modern B2B marketing starts with two simple points: 1. having something interesting to say and 2. identifying and having the permission to speak to an audience that will be interested. Simple, right?

Triggering interest in your target audience, delivering a value exchange and starting a conversation sets you on the path to a commercially successful engagement. True ABM offers the ultimate in audience identification, understanding and need mapping. Data-led identification of target accounts should always result in better ROI, while deep account and audience insights can be used to identify interest and need, and therefore content that will better meet audience expectations. Demand tactics can reach that audience, put the right content in front of it and gain consent to market.

While scaling up can impact the ultimate accuracy of your data, many of the benefits associated with ABM planning and Demand tactics remain. Consider for a moment the downsides of ignoring either of these tools. All too often we find prospects talking to us about the need to generate thousands of leads without a clear understanding of what will engage potential leads or a view of the value of that engagement. Even if you gain marketing opt-ins from a campaign, with poorly targeted content you miss the opportunity to add value to a lead’s journey and risk creating a negative brand impression. Similarly, we see well researched and planned ABM programs that are the executional equivalent of shouting in the street. Without a clearly identified (and ideally opted in) audience, the brand’s ability to engage, influence and, ultimately, convert will always be limited.

While there are very few truly new approaches to B2B marketing, the intelligent combining of ABM and Demand Generation is without doubt a winning one.

If you want to find out more, please get in contact at hello@agent3.com.