TLDR:
There is a tendency in ABM to jump in feet-first and begin selecting technology to target accounts. Due to this unfortunate habit, the human component in ABM can often be neglected and replaced by tech. To bring humanity back to ABM, marketers need to build Ideal Customer Profiles (ICP), get to know the industries they’re targeting, get feedback from each account, then approach the buying team with human and automated tactics.
A common habit in ABM is to over-emphasize technology in a strategy. Once human-to-human—ABM goes back for many years—technology is now taking a more commanding role. It’s easy to forget amid the cool gadgets that ABM is and began as a human-to-human process.
But if marketers want to get back to the roots of ABM, they need to bring back a human element. This means knowing the kinds of people who’re best for marketers’ companies—sketching out an ICP, in other words.
Start by defining it with firmographic details. Then, marketers should ask themselves some questions about their audience, such as how much value can they expect to get from one account over another. Which accounts share similar characteristics? Which places are likely to grow?
After marketers learn about the places—the industries—they’re targeting. What are the challenges? The power players? Trends? Once marketers have identified the places they’re targeting, it’s time to learn as much as possible about individual accounts—this will inform their ICP further.
Now that marketers have an ICP, what they don’t know is if a company fills it out. The next logical step is to do research into individual accounts to determine fit. This research can be done either through first or third-party data. In essence, figure out who’s on the buying team.
When the process of finding out is done, and they’ve discovered what makes each individual person on the buying team tick, begin coordinating human and automated account-based tactics. But just because marketers are supposed to provide value, it doesn’t mean that they can dump information on a prospect. Marketers want to nurture accounts until they’re ready to buy.
By getting inside of an account’s “head,” so to speak, marketers can understand how it operates from the viewpoint of an outsider and insider. It’s all about providing value and solving problems.
Original article from Engagio on 11 June 2019.
