Account Based Data
Article | June 29, 2023
Here’s a (somehow) well-kept secret about ABX: it can create immediate wins for your teams.
When you and your teams start laser-focusing on the right prospects and customers — at the right time — it doesn’t take long for the wins to start piling up.
Why?
A winning ABX strategy will leverage an AI-powered customer data platform (CDP) that has an existing database of critical information such as:
What your ideal customer profile (ICP) looks like
Accounts you might not know about that are in-market and ready-to-buy
The websites, keywords, and topics your buyers research most
The signals your buyers give off when they’re ready to buy
When you leverage this historical data, it’s like flipping on a spotlight on your most important accounts and everything they’re doing.
Let’s look at why a CDP is so important for an ABX strategy and how you can switch your thinking from, “When will I start seeing ROI?” to “How will I capitalize on all of these opportunities?”
How CDPs Bolster Your ABX Strategy
Pursuing an ABX strategy means fine-tuning your revenue activities (marketing, sales, operations) to target very specific accounts.
The critical data you need about those accounts comes from your CDP, which houses all of the interactions you have with your prospects and customers.
That information includes:
Web pages they visit
Webinars they attend
Content they download
Calls they have with your sales team
The CDP ingests all of that data and starts to learn what your typical buyer looks like, the patterns they follow, and what signals they give off when they’re ready to buy.
Over time, and with enough data from your interactions, this information becomes very powerful and enables your teams to start honing their strategies. All of your revenue activities become more efficient because you’re reaching the right buyer at the right time.
There’s a problem with traditional standalone CDPs, however. They can’t look backwards.
They can only begin collecting data once implemented, and therefore take some time to start uncovering patterns and delivering results.
But what if you could unlock the CDP-version of a flying DeLorean that empowers you travel into the past and unlock those missing puzzle pieces — without waiting for your CDP to ingest enough data?
Win Fast with a CDP Full of Critical Data
The key to unlocking fast wins for your ABX strategy is to utilize a CDP with historical first-party and third-party data.
Your buyers have searched keywords related to your offerings, attended industry events, and read third-party review sites long before you implement a stand-alone CDP. Why should you have to wait for the platform to catch up and uncover those insights that are hiding in plain sight?
6sense’s embedded CDP grants you instant access to all of the historical data that our AI-powered platform has collected for years.
Previously anonymous accounts that have been researching topics that match your offerings
A detailed ICP based on real, historical data
Insights into which of your prospects are actually in-market and ready-to-buy
Clear evidence on which accounts and buyers should be prioritized
We call uncovering this information lighting up the Dark Funnel™. When you shine a light on your Dark Funnel™ your teams can immediately start reaping the benefits. It won’t take months or even weeks to get your first wins — within days you can see a positive impact on your pipeline.
Your sales team will get leaner and meaner. No need to spend hours trawling through LinkedIn to find the one uncovered gem of a prospect. As soon as you leverage an embedded CDP loaded with historical data, you’ll discover exactly who your next target should be. Your inside sales team can focus on personalizing outreach, not figuring out who to talk to.
Your marketing team will begin improving their engagement numbers without increasing their spend. When a Director of Sales at “Ready-to-Buy Corporation” has been performing some under-the-radar research, the marketing team will receive an alert and can start targeting that person with ads that address their specific pain points.
Software development company PTC is a good example. It has used 6sense to uncover more than 1,500 net new high-intent accounts that have generated $18 million in pipeline.
“With 6sense, our team has driven outbound success by being empowered, motivated, and eager to strategically prospect to the right targets with relevant messaging,” says Brenda Souto, High Velocity Sales Manager at PTC.
Conclusion
Traditional standalone CDPs help you capture the interactions you have with your prospects and customers. All of this data is very useful to build a focused and efficient ABX strategy.
But, a standalone CDP lacks historical data and trends — meaning it can take longer to see wins and ROI.
An embedded CDP with a treasure trove of previous interactions, buying signals, and trend data can instantly prioritize your target accounts. Within days your teams will know much more about your buyers and how to target them with the right message at the right time.
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Buyer Intent Data
Article | March 6, 2023
Many marketers define ABM as good B2B marketing. Targeting the right accounts at the right time with an appropriate message is the golden aim of account-based marketing (ABM). ABM ensures not only reach but also accuracy.
In an interview with Media 7, Ryan Phelan, Marketing Chief / Fractional CMO at Origin Email, talked about the importance of ABM technology and the challenges in marketing after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
"B2B companies should adopt ABM technology to level up their communications and react quickly."
ABM technology enables marketers to hit pipeline and revenue targets swiftly while working alongside sales teams.
Salesforce provides ABM automation to its clients using AI Einstein technology in their Customer Success Platform. But what does Salesforce’s ABM platform look like? How are they finding accounts that need a sophisticated AI-run ABM marketing platform?
How Salesforce Created Its ABM Program
Salesforce considered B2B buyer behavior (purchase intent and engagement) to deliver a solid marketing and sales experience for each of its strategic accounts. Accordingly, it took the following steps to kick-start its ABM program:
Defining ABM
Salesforce ABM marketing team handles campaigns that target 300 or fewer accounts.
An ABM program can have many approaches. It can be 1: Many, 1: Few, or 1:1. The smaller the radius of the process, the more hyper-focused the campaign, content, budget, and customer journeys are.
By simply aligning their approach strategy with defined ABM, Salesforce achieved larger deal sizes, higher sales win rates, higher ROI, and faster revenue growth compared to other marketing strategies. It suitably approached accounts that it thought were high value and showed buyer intent for their products and services.
Choosing a Suitable Account-based Platform
Salesforce was aware that it would have to engage a variety of vendors and platforms to run its ABM program smoothly. It had to go beyond building a foundation for its program. For that, it needed dedicated tools and resources. Without account-based partners that could provide them with these tools and resources,it would be difficult to implement their program. They chose RollWorks as their account-based partner, to set up their ABM program.
Putting Together a Dedicated Team to Ensure ABM Program’s Success
Creating a single team to support and execute the ABM program was crucial before launching the ABM campaigns Salesforce had planned. They had teams who knew what ABM was all about; they even ran campaigns in silos. So, Salesforce pooled its ABM resources and formed a single team to carry out ABM-related operations.
Identifying Strategic Target Accounts
With the support of technology, Salesforce validated the list of target accounts and filtered out accounts that weren’t such a good fit using their first-party data. They made sure they looked at all the possible data they had, including third-party, so there was no scope for error. As a result, they had a list of high-value accounts with an ideal customer profile (ICP).
Engaging the Target Accounts
After the target accounts were identified, Salesforce ran campaigns of highly customized content for each stage of the sales journey to entice prospects. Once the prospects entered the sales pipeline, hyper-personalized messages, ads, and emailers were sent to them using AI.
Using Data for Continued Engagement
Salesforce ABM campaigns used all available data to create new or repurpose existing content assets like customer stories, consultation forms, research reports, and blog posts to nurture the leads at every stage.
Cultivating Customer Relationships
Using a specially created ABM dashboard, Salesforce monitored its campaign results to understand which content its leads engaged with the most. Then, it removed the content that did not generate engagement to streamline engagement with previous unengaged leads. The secret was to create humane content that didn’t have buzzwords, consistently maintain brand voice and tone, and make special content that the leads could resonate with.
Educating and engaging the leads increased the deal sizes and customer lifetime value. Holistic reporting helped them evolve their ABM strategy continuously.
By creating a robust ABM program that took care of its targeting accounts’ evolving needs, pain points, and expectations, Salesforce saw a 24 percent faster revenue growth and an 87 percent higher ROI.
How Salesforce Got a 30 Percent Close Rate by Using ABM Technology
While promoting their Boston World Tour Series, Salesforce used ABM campaigns to get registrations. One out of their fourtarget accounts engaged with their content, and an average of five contacts per account engaged with them. In six weeks, they got in touch with 410 target accounts, of which 110 engaged with them. They achieved a 30 percent close rate for their campaign.
Creating an ABM Program like Salesforce
Salesforce has come a long way by using ABM technology to expand its offerings. It has AI-powered products, tools, and services that provide ABM automation to other companies. For example, their ABM Salesforce Marketing Cloud product has helped brands like Herman Miller achieve a 200% increase in their email revenue.
To create an effective ABM program like Salesforce, you can use their steps as a blueprint. These steps apply to all kinds of businesses, but if you still don’t know how and where to start, find the answers to the following questions to comprehend what you can do next:
Do you think ABM is right for your business?
Are there any customer accounts that require special attention?
Can your business fund expert consultation for ABM and eventually an ABM program?
Once you find the answers to the above questions, you can take your first step towards building an effective ABM program that can help you scale your business.
Conclusion
ABM technology is revolutionizing B2B marketing by harnessing AI and targeted approaches, personalization, and automation using high-quality intent data. Implementing an effective ABM strategy is crucial to driving ROIs and growth.
FAQ
How does ABM differ from a traditional lead generation marketing strategy?
ABM helps you target high-value accounts with hyper-personalized content, instead of presenting generic content to unclassified accounts.
What is an ABM platform?
An ABM platform is a technology that helps marketers run their ABM programs at scale.
Why is ABM important in your marketing efforts?
With the help of ABM, marketers may be able to shorten their sales cycle, increase their marketing involvement in the sales funnel, and achieve a high ROI.
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Account Based Data
Article | August 19, 2022
Uncover the foremost account-based marketing events of 2023 and embrace the opportunity to attend these essential events, meticulously curated to empower marketers and shape the trajectory of ABM.
Introduction
In the ever-evolving world of account-based marketing (ABM), staying ahead of the curve is paramount for businesses seeking to achieve marketing excellence and drive meaningful results. Attending industry events has become an essential strategy for professionals in the ABM realm to remain competitive and gain a competitive edge.
From thought-provoking conferences to collaborative summits, these carefully selected events offer a unique opportunity to gain invaluable insights, exchange ideas with industry leaders, and stay abreast of the latest trends and strategies in ABM. Businesses can position themselves at the forefront of ABM innovation by prioritizing their attendance at these industry-leading events, resulting in propelling marketing efforts toward unparalleled success.
Go-To-Market Made Simple Roadshow 2023 – Quarter 2
June 23, 2023 | Boston (USA)
The Go-To-Market Made Simple Roadshow 2023 – Quarter 2 presents a compelling opportunity for go-to-market leaders to gain valuable insights and strategies in an ever-evolving landscape. This event acknowledges the rapid evolution of go-to-market design, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach that encompasses sales, marketing, product, and customer success. With the emergence of trends such as product-led growth (PLG), ecosystem, and account-based marketing (ABM), alongside traditional inbound and outbound motions, revenue leaders are seeking a more holistic way to run their businesses. Additionally, this event offers a valuable networking platform, enabling go-to-market leaders to connect with their executive peers and collectively tackle the most pressing challenges in the dynamic business landscape.
Breakthrough 23
October 16–19 | Frisco (USA)
Breakthrough 23 is an exceptional event that brings together marketing and sales leaders to explore breakthrough strategies and techniques in intent-based advertising, prospecting, and accelerating sales. With a lineup of esteemed speakers including Jason Zintak, CEO of 6sense, Latane Conant, CMO of 6sense, and Dylan Schick, Senior Account Development Manager at Exabeam, attendees can expect insightful presentations and valuable insights. Topics covered range from revolutionizing intent-based advertising to leveraging advanced prospecting techniques with 6sense and driving pipeline growth through coordinated campaigns. This conference offers a unique opportunity for networking with over 1,100 industry leaders and features engaging product sessions to stay at the forefront of marketing and sales innovation.
Collision Conference
June 26–29, 2023 | Toronto (Canada)
Collision Conference, renowned as one of the largest global tech conferences, invites professionals to immerse themselves in an exceptional networking and learning experience. Attendees can anticipate engaging with thought leaders and industry experts, including Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services; Sarah Guo, Founder of Conviction; and Dave Rogenmoser, Co-founder and CEO of Jasper, among others, to gain valuable insights and knowledge. With an impressive media presence, including over 1,200 journalists from renowned publications like Bloomberg, Financial Times, Forbes, CNBC, and the Wall Street Journal, Collision Conference provides unparalleled exposure for participants. By participating in the Collision Conference, professionals position themselves at the forefront of innovation, collaboration, and investment opportunities that shape the future of the tech and business landscape.
Inbound 2023
September 5–8 | Boston (USA)
A highly anticipated event, Inbound 2023, sets the stage for marketers to explore cutting-edge innovations, develop world-class content, and prepare their strategies for the upcoming AI boom. Embodying an incubator's energy and an accelerator's intelligence, Inbound propels the industry forward for the collective good. It serves as a launchpad for careers, a catalyst for business growth, and a catalyst for positive community transformation. With speakers, including Reese Witherspoon, Founder of Hello Sunshine; Morgan Debaun, Founder and CEO of Blavity Inc.; and Derek Jeter, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist, among others, on the deck, attendees can expect to be immersed in a transformative experience to elevate their marketing endeavors and forge meaningful connections. Inbound 2023 provides exclusive insights that assist marketers thrive, businesses scale, and the collective power of the community to drive positive change.
SaaStr Annual 2023
September 06–08 | San Francisco (USA)
SaaStr Annual 2023, one of the world's largest SaaS community events, unites over 12,500 SaaS executives, founders, and venture capitalists for an immersive experience. This three-day event features 100+ tactical sessions presented by renowned founders, emerging voices, and rising stars in the industry. With representation from 250+ speakers hailing from top SaaS companies worldwide, attendees can expect to gain actionable advice and insights to drive business growth from zero to $100M ARR with reduced stress and increased success. Sponsored by industry-leading organizations such as G2, Google Cloud, Greenhouse, and Vendr, among others, every session at the event will deliver practical insights and actionable strategies.
Outreach Unleash 2023
October 03–05 | Seattle (USA)
Outreach Unleash 2023 is an exclusive event centered around unleashing accelerated growth through a comprehensive RevOps approach. Emphasizing the importance of an abundance mindset, participants will explore how sales professionals can take ownership of their destiny and execute with the precision of a CEO, shaping a future of success. Renowned speakers and industry experts, including Em Falk, Director of Revenue Operations at Reylance.Ai; Donna Sanborn, Senior Leader of Digital Sales Effectiveness at Cisco; and Annie Lewis, Sr. Product Manager at Outreach, among others, share insights across a diverse range of topics, including metric myth-busting through data sharing between Outreach and Snowflake. This will enable attendees to harness the power of GenAI to achieve a competitive advantage. Furthermore, the event will delve into the strategies employed by top-performing sales professionals who approach their craft with passion and consistently provide solutions to executives' most pressing strategic challenges.
Product Marketing Summit
September 21 - 22, 2023 | Oakland (USA)
The Product Marketing Summit, organized by Product Marketing Alliance, brings together the world's largest community of product marketers in a collaborative gathering focused on sharing valuable insights. The industry leaders and experts, including Sudha Ranganathan, Director of Product Marketing at LinkedIn; Emma Stratton, Founder of Punchy; and Apoorva Sharma, Head of Global Cross-Product Solutions at Google, among others, will share valuable insights on navigating complex go-to-market strategies, optimizing product launches, establishing a strong market position, which will leverage ideal customer profiles and segmentation, and others. Product Marketing Summit promises to be a transformative experience, providing attendees with a clear roadmap for professional growth and enabling them to amplify the differentiated value of their products in today's competitive market.
MarketingProfs B2B Forum
October 04–06, 2023 | Boston (USA)
Discover the pinnacle of marketing events at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum, where marketers gather to unlock the strategies that drive growth, elevate brand reputation, prove ROI, and navigate the ever-evolving marketing landscape. B2B Forum is an ideal venue for marketers who want to improve their skills, grow their professional networks, and spark their imagination. It has a carefully chosen lineup of tactical sessions, inspiring keynotes, and memorable networking opportunities. With leading industry speakers on the deck, including Nilofer Merchant, Cofounder of The Intangible Labs; Moni Oloyede, Director of Marketing at Fidelis Cybersecurity; and Michael Brenner, CEO of Marketing Insider Group, among others, the B2B Forum will act as a catalyst for career development, idea generation, and celebration of the art of marketing. Attendees can expect to unlock valuable strategies, expand their professional networks, and be inspired by industry experts.
B2B Summit APAC 2023
September 19–20, 2023 | Singapore
B2B Summit APAC 2023 is the premier event dedicated to driving business growth and fueling the revenue engine in the Asia-Pacific region. With a focus on Forrester's B2B Customer-Obsessed Growth Engine, this summit delivers groundbreaking research, models, and frameworks tailored to meet the priorities of organizations. Marketing leaders can expect a comprehensive agenda featuring insightful breakouts, hands-on case studies, inspiring keynotes, and valuable peer connections. By attending B2B Summit APAC, Participants will gain the knowledge and strategies necessary to empower their marketing strategies and achieve results that surpass their goals.
B2B Marketing ABM Conference
November 02, 2023 | Austin (USA)
The B2B Marketing ABM Conference is an eagerly anticipated event dedicated exclusively to Account-Based Marketing (ABM). With a thoughtfully curated agenda spread across four stages, this conference offers a high-caliber program designed to cater to a wide range of marketing needs. Through hand-picking the big thinkers from hundreds of 'call for speakers' submissions, Stefano Lacono, Marketing Director of 6Sense; Ryan Almond, Global Vertical Marketing and ABM Director of Henkel; and Rebecca Powell, Senior ABM Marketing Manager at Showpad, among others, will provide attendees with actionable strategies and valuable insights to propel their ABM efforts forward, regardless of their current stage in the journey. From pinpointing areas of improvement to refining ABM strategies, participants will leave the conference armed with the knowledge and tools needed to unlock the true potential of ABM.
Conclusion
Attending account-based marketing events is an essential step in staying ahead of the curve and refining your ABM strategies in today's dynamic marketing landscape. These events provide unparalleled opportunities to gain insights from industry experts, discover emerging trends, and network with like-minded professionals.
By participating in these conferences, marketers can equip themselves with the knowledge, strategies, and tools needed to drive successful ABM campaigns, engage key accounts, and achieve remarkable results. Businesses must capitalize on and be part of these transformative events that are shaping the future of account-based marketing.
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ABM Accounts
Article | March 9, 2022
In 2021, 70% of marketers reported using an account-based marketing campaign. Since 2020, their numbers have gone up by 15%. One of the reasons ABM has become so popular is that it can greatly enhance customer loyalty and revenue by tailoring the buyer's journey for unique clients. ABM tactics can further enrich an ABM strategy.
In an interview with Media 7, Tim Kopp, CEO of Terminus, talked about the account-based marketing process.
“ABM flips the traditional approach of generating leads on its head. It doesn’t adhere to the idea that a full sales funnel will create a trickle-down effect leading to high conversion rates. Instead, ABM enables marketers to refine the criteria by which they identify buyers. While marketers might not have the same amount of leads, each lead is targeted and relevant — and thus more likely to convert.”
Account-based marketing is being implemented confidently by more and more B2B marketers. It is important to find ways to amplify its impact on your revenue through accurate targeting and conversions. Let us take a look at three effective ABM tactics that can help you enhance your account-based marketing strategy.
3 Effective ABM Tactics for B2B Marketers
Improve Your ABM Funnel's Performance
Account-based marketing funnel optimization may be one of the most effective ABM tactics to grow your business.
The following techniques can help you improve your funnel’s overall performance:
Audit Your Content Smartly
Check if your content is personalized according to your target accounts' personas and industry. Does it address the specific needs and pain points of your target accounts? Your content can help you narrow down your list of ideal customers.
Make Good Use of Intent Data
Dynamic ABM targeting is essential. Based on data from your CRM and other platforms, update your list of target accounts. Make sure you have a good idea of what your target audience is looking for. Are there issues with your company, products, or services that you provide? Always use this information to improve your list.
Approach Different Markets Confidently
Run multiple account-based marketing campaigns with varying degrees of customization and investment parallelly. Choose between ABM Lite (targeting a small number of accounts), Programmatic ABM (targeting many accounts), or Strategic ABM (targeting a single account) according to your business goals.
Optimize Engaged Accounts
No two engaged accounts can be in the same sales funnel stage. So, optimizing engaged accounts can be difficult. Start by tracking click-through rates, organic website traffic, email open rates, and any other digital interactions with your brand to see how effective your ads are. Your ads must be both informative and visually appealing. Reach engaged accounts through social media, email, and other suitable channels.
Unlock Opportunities
Lead generation strategies based on advertising retargeting allow your sales team to tap into accounts that have previously interacted with your ads with renewed vigour. By working with your sales team to develop an account engagement model that defines an "engaged account," you can streamline the lead generation strategies by limiting the number of accounts that your team is required to manage.
Increase Outreach
Your target account stakeholders' employees should be the focus of your outreach efforts. Target accounts can be contacted via direct mail or in-person meetings. As a result, new pipeline opportunities are now available. You can reach a larger audience by using one-on-one C-level campaigns like phone calls and demos.
Implement Marketing Automation
Artificial intelligence (AI) marketing can help you improve your B2B account-based marketing strategy. It gives you predictive insights and makes your communication more effective.
In your account-based marketing process, marketing automation can run email campaigns that can show you how people interact with your account.
CRM data is used by AI and big data to get information about people from different platforms. This information can help you make your content unique for more ABM targeting. Account-based marketing services give you the ability to run targeted marketing campaigns at scale. As an account-based marketing service, ABM automation aims to target firms with multi-person purchasing committees extensively by utilizing individualized content and engagement to influence their purchase decisions.
The immediate impact of using marketing automation in your B2B marketing strategy is a shorter sales cycle, a free marketing team, better sales and marketing team alignment, and stronger customer retention.
You can start off by creating your ICP. After that, you can set up your target account, integrate your account-based marketing strategy with marketing automation software and your CRM. Then you can create impressive campaigns, personalize content, and offer tailored engagement to your target accounts. You can access the performance of your ABM marketing strategy using marketing automation software’s dashboard and tweak your strategy to make the most of it.
Analyze and Improve Your Strategy
B2B account-based marketing requires regular testing of your ad wording, content, design, and channel aspects to see what works and what doesn't. You can improve the efficiency of your approach by keeping tabs on key performance indicators (KPIs). Instead of abandoning a tactic because it isn't working, improve it by tweaking it. Account-based marketing approaches can succeed only if you assess how they affect your strategy and continually improve its execution.
In an interview with Media 7, Abhi Yadav, Founder & CTO of Zylotech, talked about the importance of customer intelligence in marketing.
“Tracking every point of engagement is critical in delivering a holistic view of where buyers are actively engaged and what’s working.”
Developing an efficient B2B marketing strategy using the ABM approach requires a great deal of trial and error. Optimize your ABM approach by defining and measuring your KPIs. This B2B ABM marketing tactic is crucial to understanding how effectively you are engaging key accounts and moving them forward in the sales funnel.
Couchbase Generated $1.5 Million in Pipeline Opportunities Using ABM
Couchbase, a NoSQL database provider for enterprises, used a data-based ABM strategy to determine the interests of their target customers. They then combined real-world behavior with system-generated social personas of their customers, which helped them generate $1.5 million in pipeline opportunities.
Conclusion
These account-based marketing tactics can help you optimize your ABM marketing strategy. Concentrating on your funnel metrics and KPI and constantly improving your strategy can help you get the best results.
FAQ
What are funnel metrics?
Velocity (time spent in days by a prospect in each stage of the funnel), conversion rates (percentage of leads that move from stage to stage in the funnel), and volume (number of leads passing through any stage of the funnel) are funnel metrics. Improving them is a great B2B ABM marketing tactic.
What are the benefits of account-based marketing automation?
ABM automation is a great account-based marketing tactic. It allows you to set up a marketing process at once and then scale it across different campaigns. With the help of automation, tasks like media buying, modeling, upselling, and ad targeting are carried out efficiently.
How can you develop an effective ABM strategy?
Start by identifying key accounts. You can then map their decision-makers, create targeted campaigns to get their engagement, decide on the best channels to approach them, execute your marketing campaigns, and finally measure the results of your ABM strategy.
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