Do you know the “A – account” of your ABM so well that you’re confident your ABM initiatives will drive significant results? After all, no matter how much of effort you put in, if you do now know the account well enough, how will you lay the foundation of ABM to win that account?
Account Insight forms an important foundation of your overall Account Based Marketing Strategy as it is vital at the earlier stages of your Account Based Marketing efforts. Again, since a key part of your ABM involves selecting which accounts to go after, the selection has to be a well thought out process. So, should you not know your target account very well?
An Account Based approach demands high level of data and insight which implies overall, that data and insight are the foundation to your overall ABM Strategy:-
So, what should you learn about your ABM Accounts in advance?
Business Priorities of your target ABM Accounts
The Business Priorities of your target ABM Account would include the strategies that they are adopting and the strategic priorities they have as a business. Through customised research, you will be able to unearth the business priorities of your target ABM Account which allows you to align your services towards those priorities. Once you know their goals, it is more meaningful to tell them how your services can help them achieve their goals. That is what great sales people call hyper-personalization!
Business Challenges that your ABM Accounts are facing
Not just priorities, you surely want to know the challenges they are facing. Their pain-points and hurdles that are keeping them from reaching their strategic objectives and are acting against the company. An in-depth and thorough research as to the challenges that your ABM Accounts are facing enables the structuring of your marketing efforts towards solving those problems. Once you have showcased how your solution eliminates their pain-points is when you’re winning a sale.
How well your ABM Accounts are doing financially
Financial performance of your target ABM Account is of great importance in terms of understanding as it gives you guideline as to the performance of your target ABM Account. Your solution might be their dream come true, but if they cannot buy, would you still want to pour marketing budget to win them?
Anything that gives the CEO and C-suite sleepless nights
What is it that gives the CEO and C-suite executives of your target ABM Accounts sleepless nights? It could be about a pain point that they are experiencing, or a business challenge they are facing or a transformation journey that is ongoing. An understanding of such insights will surely help you drive forward performance of your targeted marketing program.
Conclusion
An understanding of key aspects such as the business priorities, business challenges and financial information of your target ABM accounts helps you in understanding the ‘A’ of your ABM and will ensure that your ABM will drive real business results. Above all, understanding your target ABM Accounts is or paramount importance for any Account Based Marketing initiative and a research program should be in place to support this process.
Separation is in the preparation !