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BEST PRACTICES & STRATEGIES

Linking marketing and sales more closely most frequently on and on which platforms they want to
be addressed. With the help of this knowledge, the
What sounds promising has pitfalls in implementation. freshly generated content can be shown exactly there.
The first hurdle is set up between internal departments:
in many organizations, marketing and sales not only Know and address decision-makers
work side by side, but possibly also against each other.
In ABM, it is particularly important to work hand in hand In addition, it can be assumed that several people in a
because customer profiles are developed with the help company are involved in decisions for large-volume
of both sides and these customers then must be ad- orders. A professional ABM knows these decision-
dressed in unison. Over a short period of time, the in- makers, who are in different places, and therefore may
teraction of the ABM marketing team and the respec- have very different interests. So, it addresses the peo-
tive account manager is therefore a central success ple with different approaches, too. The buyer probably
factor for successful ABM. Marketing depends here on has an eye on an appropriate price-performance ratio,
the knowledge and skills of the sales team. Hence, to while important decision-makers in the respective spe-
be able to address target groups in a targeted manner, cialist area tend to look at the specific benefits and
these two units, which are often understood as oppos- scope of an offer.
ing poles, must be brought together.
To turn to this honey pot, Munich-based Cloudbridge
Modern technologies support, with the help of appropri- Consulting has developed a seven-stage process that
ate automation software, to collect and bundle infor- ranges from the analysis of the existing customer ac-
mation about customers with high potential to develop counts to the identification of the suitable target per-
customized profiles that serve as the basis for targeted sons for these accounts, identifies challenges for the
offers. They are not only developed jointly by sales and target groups, and uses this to develop personalized
marketing but are also constantly updated by them. portfolios that are played out in a targeted manner. The
The information required for this can be obtained from primary goal is not to implement individual projects, but
existing internal sources, but also from the Internet and rather to enable companies to implement ABM in their
social media. own processes over the long term and, above all, effi-
ciently.
Align content precisely to profiles
This method is effective but quite complex, requiring
Anyone who has set up such individual accounts with structures, a coordinated interaction of marketing and
the help of data can use them to develop customer sales technologies as well as clearly defined process-
journeys that do not threaten to come to nothing be- es. Especially when dealing with existing or new major
cause of their general validity, but instead precisely customers, it pays off to take a closer look and tailor
address those challenges customers are currently fac- offers. Valuable and long-term customer relationships
ing. As seen in the example above, the shoes not only are based on individual customer management in
fit perfectly, but also meet the customers’ tastes and which trust and appreciation are of great importance. If
set them apart from others. customers feel understood in their everyday challeng-
es, and if personalized offers are proposed to them,
In addition to the content, it is also important to define this will have a positive effect on the quality of the rela-
the right channels, because the account analysis is al- tionship. ◊
so devoted to the question of where customers are
By Daniela La Marca

14 August 2021: Omnichannel Marketing