First up at Rainmaker 2018, we were delighted to have Andrea Clatworthy, the doyenne of Account-Based Marketing, running through the key building blocks of a successful ABM program.
My takeaways:
- it is a strategic exercise;
- it is crucial that marketing and sales are working together;
- consistency! - to the extent of having ‘transfer windows’ when account marketers are allowed to change their key accounts;
- deep engagement with the issues and needs of your accounts;
- it is all about the insights - see 3 & 4.
But also the big question when looking to launch an ABM program - why bother?
And the answer was that with customers being increasingly well-informed (a process that technology will only continue) it is critical that you reach out to them before they formally engage. If 57% of the sales journey is over before you are even contacted, then engaging (or making yourself known as a player in your space) is absolutely key.
And one final point she made, not an obvious one, is that in an ABM or a ‘Rainmaker’ program, people are more important than process.
A happy ray of light for us humans in the world of machine learning, AR, AI, VR ...
Full video here