According to the 2020 ABM Benchmark Survey reportOpens a new window by Demand Gen Report (DGR), about 98% of companies are either currently using or plan to use account-based marketing (ABM) strategies. Several other studies show that ABM programs will only grow in the years to come due to the positive returns of ABM initiatives. Having said that, the success of your ABM program depends on your account mapping process.
Account mapping is the process of selecting and organizing your target accounts and the key people in them for your ABM campaign. This step should immediately follow establishing your account-based marketing goals. Once you have selected and organized the target accounts, you can create a communication and engagement strategy for these accounts.
There are four key steps involved in mapping your accounts efficiently.
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- Identifying key decision-makers and influencers
- Gathering data and critical pain points of these accounts
- Identifying when and how to reach and engage with them
- Developing the content and messaging that aligns with them
Let us explore these steps in detail.
Learn more: Is ABM the Next Opportunity for Marketers in 2021? New Study Reveals 5 ABM Priorities
1. Identify Key Decision-Makers and Influencers
Once you have identified the accounts, the first step is to identify the key decision-makers and stakeholders in those accounts. For example, if you are targeting the marketing team, it is essential to understand whether it is the vice president, CMO, or the director who makes the decisions.
The larger the company and the account, the more difficult it becomes to identify the decision-makers. This is because the department structure is usually complex, and there could be multiple influencers. If it is a smaller company, a single person may have various roles, making it easier to identify the decision-maker. At the same time, people in a department may not have the same standard titles anymore.
Hence, it is crucial to collect the contacts, document their details, and understand their buyer roles and responsibilities. This step may take a significant amount of time but is well worth the effort.
You can internally create buyer role classifications such as decision-maker, buyer, influencer, gatekeeper, budget holder, blocker, and compliance. The various roles and information about them can be acquired using multiple methods such as online research, phone calls, events, and emails. You can also use several tools and platforms such as LinkedInOpens a new window , senseOpens a new window , ZoomInfoOpens a new window , and HubspotOpens a new window to assist you in the account mapping process.
For example, Zoominfo allows you to identify and track companies that fit your intended customer profile. Besides identifying target accounts, you can use the platform’s comprehensive set of products to filter accounts and build your list. You can also obtain in-depth insights about accounts, such as firmographic and technographic information.
Once you have the names and roles of the individuals involved in the decision-making process, you can create a visual map. These visual maps give your marketing and sales team a visual representation they require to collaborate on strategic efforts. Here is a sample template of a graphic account map.
Sample visual account map
Credit: CreatelyOpens a new window
2. Gather Data and Critical Pain Points of These Accounts
Once you have identified the key accounts and the stakeholders in these accounts, it is time to gather more information about their requirements, pain areas, challenges, and frustrations. There are several ways you can get more information about these requirements. You can use discovery calls to gain more information from your target accounts. You can also use search intent, social listening, Google Alerts, and press releases.
For example, through social listening, you can track audience behavior and identify signals to create your marketing strategies. You can track the kind of content and conversations your prospect shares, follows and shows interest in. These posts and content can give you an idea of their interests, pain points, and requirements. If a particular prospect posts about a specific need or comments on a social post about a particular problem you can solve, it is a positive signal that they may become interested in your solution.
Alternatively, their posts may also indicate if they are evaluating different product options. Accordingly, you can guide them to the right resources and influence their decision without appearing intrusive. Several B2B social listening tools are available in the market, including Keyhole, Hubspot Marketing, Mention, and Talkwalker.
Further, you can partner with ABM platforms and solution providersOpens a new window who can provide deep insights into an organization’s entire buying collective. They combine first party and third-party intent data to provide powerful, high-quality, and expansive sets of signals across B2B segments. They further help you reach more accounts and the right people within the accounts. A few well-known platforms include Demandbase, Triblio, and 6sense.
Obtaining information about your prospect’s challenges and requirements requires close collaboration with other departments such as sales, as they can tell you the usual pain points their prospects and customers share with them. Once you have documented these needs and pain points, you can use these insights to create and map your marketing content to provide tailored solutions.
Learn more: 75 Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Statistics Every Marketer Should Know
3. Identify When and How To Reach and Engage Target Accounts
Once you have gathered enough information about your contacts and their pain points, it is time to identify the right channels to target them. An essential part of this step is to identify what communication channels they prefer to consume content. Identify if it is through magazines, social media, blogs, events, or regular peer conversations.
For example, individuals with a hectic schedule may not consume content and engage with you on social media. They may respond to a cleverly crafted email. A few others may spend time on networks such as LinkedIn to connect and engage with people. Hence, it is easier to connect and engage with them on the channel they prefer than using alternative channels.
Besides knowing how to engage with them, it is also essential to know when to engage with them. Identify what time of the day or what days of the week your target contacts prefer to connect and when they are likely to consume content on a particular channel.
In 2020, Netline Corporation released a report of content consumption behaviors by analyzing first-party data collected through actual engagements with B2B content. According to the 2020 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand ReportOpens a new window for Marketers, Tuesdays and Wednesdays were the best time to reach B2B buyers. These were the days when more users requested information compared to other days. Mondays and Thursdays were the next best days.
Most active consumption days
Source: B2B Content Consumption and Demand ReportOpens a new window
Identifying when and where to connect with your contacts helps you improve the chances of engaging your target audience productively.
4. Develop the Content and Messaging That Aligns With B2B Buyers
Now that you have all the information you need to engage your target accounts and audience, it is time to create the content that they will consume. Each person in your target account may consume content differently. For example, a person who decides budgets would prefer to look at your solution from the point of various costs and ROI. On the other hand, the lead practitioner in the department may look at it from the point of benefits, limitations, and ease of implementation. Hence, you need to tailor your content differently for each target individual.
Fortunately, you need not create all the content from scratch. While you will be required to create some content for a specific audience, you can also repurpose your existing content in a more relevant way. Hence, it is good to see what already exists with you and what you need to create afresh. This will save you time, money, and effort. It will also help you utilize your content more effectively.
Learn more: Time To Add Account-Based Podcasting To Your ABM Strategy
Final Thoughts
Account mapping is essential to your ABM program’s successful execution and to stay competitive in today’s market. It helps you understand the various participants in your target account and their role in the decision-making process so that you can develop the right communication strategy and content that resonates with them. Further, it helps you time your ABM campaigns, delineate clusters within your target audience, and increase your campaigns’ success.
Have you used account mapping in your ABM program? We would love to hear about your experience on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .