What if you knew what your customer was going to purchase, even before they purchased it?
The “Off the Mark” comic by Mark Parisi demonstrates one of the principles of Account Based Marketing (ABM) - using predictive logic to determine the right moment to engage with prospects.
A sneaky cat is giving away his intentions to some observant fish.
How much more successful would you be as a marketer or sales person if you had insight into knowing not only what a prospect is looking for, but when they intend to make the purchase?
I recently saw this capability demonstrated on the ZoomInfo OSMarketing platform to identify prime qualified sales leads by monitoring internet browsing intent through various strategies. By monitoring web browsing, the platform updates hundreds of thousands of accounts on a daily basis, offering up relevant and timely information about personnel changes in companies, buyers profiles (so you can target the decision maker even through times of great change,) and by capturing keywords of actively researched topics.
I am not using the platform - as my needs for client acquisition are relatively small - but I’d be all over this if I was in corporate events sales. Platforms like Zoominfo enable businesses to leverage internet browsing intent to find the right leads at scale, target high-value accounts, trigger timely marketing campaigns, and convert leads into qualified opportunities with the help of data-driven tools and integrations. It can be a gamechanger in enhancing the effectiveness of the demand generation strategy to increase the chances of successful lead conversion and sales closure.
There are higher expectations that marketing investments will generate sales more quickly than in the past.
When asked how the CMO role has changed in the last 2 years, the primary shifts noted by B2B leaders have been that CMOs are expected to be able to demonstrate marketing impact to the bottom line (as cited by 47% of respondents), and that CMOs are taking a more direct role in driving revenue and growth (also cited by 47%). Recent research has also detailed shifting priorities for B2B CMOs, from innovation and integration to growth and improved customer experience. (MarketingCharts.com)
Boiling this down, there is a heightened expectation that marketers will be able to deliver more qualified leads, that can be turned into a qualified sale in a shortened time frame. This collapsing of the marketing to sales process to prove the ROI quickly.
Here is a simplified 5-step ABM process, according to 6sense.com.
Step 1: Identify
Identify your ideal customers and target accounts based on specific criteria and data analysis.
Step 2: Understand
Understand the needs, concerns, and buyer's journey stage of your prospects through data analytics and research.
Step 3: Personalize
Create tailored messages and content that resonate with the prospects' concerns and stage in the buyer's journey.
Step 4: Engage
Timing is crucial in ABM marketing, and data analytics and predictive logic can help determine the right moment to engage with prospects. Provide value during the engagement to encourage prospects to share it with their buying team.
Step 5: Optimize
After completing sales, analyze your business metrics and optimize for continuous improvement. This will refine your ideal customer profiles, increase revenues, and enhance efficiency and success in each sales cycle.
I hope this helps organize your thoughts and processes to delivering the right message to the right people at the right time. And as great as these platforms are, in B2B sales it takes a human to precisely deliver the information and build a winning relationship. The platform can assist in providing timely information.
