“We’ve seen massive growth lately, which led to the creation of additional product lines and the desire to break out in different regions,” explained Heather Rath, ServiceNow’s Director of Field Marketing West. “There’s a lot of complexity as we look at sales’ needs and priorities, and if we break out a new industry team, they might have different priorities than an existing core team.”

The Problem

Rath’s problem was all in the name: As the company’s Director of Field Marketing West, she didn’t have much expertise or insights into the accounts that would operate out of ServiceNow’s East Coast buying centers. In addition to identifying geographic specificity, Rath also wanted to:

• Enhance the data fueling mid- and post-funnel ABM strategies; and
• Promote stronger collaboration between sales and marketing.

“Ultimately, our priority is to drive new and accelerate open pipeline to close — we’re not looking at loose metrics,” said Heather Rath. “But when we’re delivering interactions, engagements or account insights to sales, we want to make sure we’re delivering the most qualified, sales-ready engagement and the most up to date information and materials to sales to ensure we’re starting that conversation at the right time.”

And, in terms of the Western enterprise’s already existing ~1600 accounts, Rath wanted to ensure her team was focused on post-lead engagement for each account to ensure it was being targeted with the appropriate strategy and messaging. As Rath puts it, “our ultimate goal was to connect marketing awareness to sales readiness.”

“When we talk about post-lead engagement, we want to ensure we have the right programs with the right messages to support those open opportunities and drive them to close,” she continued. “However, we can’t use the same tactics across the full funnel, because messaging will be different dependent upon the industry, persona and intent data we’re receiving.”

She continued that she wanted to build a pathway to connect marketing awareness to sales readiness.

“The handoff, or insights, we deliver to sales is what’s most critical to the campaign — so often we’re executing programs, whether it’s a live event or online program, it’s always important to ask, ‘Why is this important?’ Why are we asking sales to do this?’” explained Rath. “We wanted to make sales more successful as we look across all stages of the funnel and promote that ABM mentality.”

The Solution

ServiceNow adopted MRP Prelytix, an enterprise ABM platform, to leverage its analytic capabilities to synchronize efforts across both field marketing and campaign teams. By leveraging MRP’s insights and orchestration capabilities, Rath was able to seamlessly move top-of-funnel marketing leads into mid- and post-funnel sales leads.

On the geographic side, MRP analytics helped Rath identify what region intent signals were coming from so her team could act accordingly with the right messaging. For example, if the signal’s coming from San Jose, that would indicate a retention play is needed; if it’s originating from Charlotte, that could indicate a new acquisition.

“The great thing about the analytics tool is that we can get laser-focused not only on the geography and region, but also home in on specific accounts that might need additional support,” Rath explained. “We’ve been able to build micro clusters, if you will, that enable us to get very targeted on specific personas, intent, propensity or buying groups to execute successful campaigns.”

She continued that the team is also leveraging “two-touch” campaigns, which wrap a broader, early-stage outreach with a more targeted direct mail campaign. Rath emphasized that campaign follow up is “critical.”

“We collaborate most with extended marketing campaign and product management teams to ensure we have the right messaging, and then we connect with our inside sales and solution sales experts to ensure they’re driving the follow-up,” said Rath.

The Results

To best showcase ServiceNow’s results from the MRP ABM implementation, Rath cited a specific campaign she ran for a vaccine management company that required her team to quickly pivot and leverage insights and data to formulate a success campaign on the fly.

She explained that her team was able to prioritize accounts that were searching for specific keywords based on certain solutions that target personas and accounts ServiceNow did or did not own. As a result of its efforts, the team saw 3X sales-created pipeline.

“Collaboration is so important — not only at the top of the funnel but through the funnel,” explained Rath. “Being able to leverage these intelligent insights and meet accounts where they are is key to our business, in addition to ensuring we’re delivering the most pertinent information at the right time. The more actionable and qualified insights we can deliver to sales is just going to increase that trust and level of partnership. Having everyone on the same page and striving toward the same goal is really important.”

The post ServiceNow Increased Sales-Created Pipeline By 3X appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

This year’s online #B2BMX event – taking place June 7–10, 2021 – will focus on the nuances of account-based strategies, with 50+ sessions that will expand on growing trends to help organizations enter the next level of their account-based strategies and programs.

The event itself will be divided into six separate tracks: ABM Alignment, Campaign Execution, Targeted Content, Strategy & Outcomes, Precision Partnering and Audience Insights. Attendees will learn about the most pressing topics in these account-based areas, including how to build impactful account-based experiences (ABX), the benefits of leveraging intent and signal data, the best ways to create targeted omnichannel content offers and much more.

“We consistently hear from B2B marketing practitioners that they are trying to advance their ABM programs to be more effective in connecting with targeted buyers and accounts,” said Andrew Gaffney, Editorial Director at Demand Gen Report. “We’re really proud of the extensive program we put together, with a ton of great use case examples and a ‘who’s who’ of thought leaders demonstrating how to better customize messaging, orchestrate programs across marketing channels and ultimately be more relevant and valuable to their buyers.”

ABM-Focused Keynotes Explore Account Alignment, Content, Engagement & More

As with every B2BMX event, Next-Level ABM is packed with keynote presentations from top influencers sharing their experiences and best practices with ABM.

• Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and Strategic Director of Orbit Media, will kickstart the event with a keynote on how research-backed outreach encourages buyers to interact with a website, and the best ways to decided which content form best fits with your ABM program;
• Best-selling author of “microMARKETING” Greg Verdino will take the virtual stage to discuss the importance of catering directly to the buying group the importance of catering directly to the buying group and share some best practices for putting key accounts —  and the people behind them — first in the buying process;
• Demandbase‘s Jon Miller will discuss how marketers can leverage an ABX model to align with buyers at each stage of their  journey. He will also provide tips for data insight implementation to improve marketing and sales actions and further drive ABM success for future account interactions;
• Forrester VP Principal Analysts Nicky Briggs and Phyllis Davidson will highlight custom content’s impact on ABM by sharing pitfalls marketers might face when scaling and managing their ABM content;
• A panel of revenue leaders, including Darryl Prail of VanillaSoft, James Gilbert of CRMNext and Sangram Vajre of Terminus will touch base on the current state of ABM and discuss new ways to evolve future go-to-market strategies;
• In another panel keynote, Christelle Flauhaux of FortressIQ and Karen Sage of Syncron will join Andrew Gaffney to discuss the shifting structures of revenue teams and the current roadmap for building multichannel ABM engagement programs; and
• ON24 Mark Bornstein will discuss how personalized digital experiences and targeted content can build stronger engagement strategies that enhance ABM programs for highly targeted audiences.

Breakout Sessions Analyze What Works To Build Stronger ABM Programs

In addition to the keynotes, attendees could watch 50+ sessions, ranging from case studies, labs, breakouts and lunch & learns, presented by some of the top B2B voices in the industry. In these sessions, B2B experts and practitioners will explore various ABM-centric topics, ranging from unique account engagement strategies to creating account-centric ABM programs.

Rob Leavitt of ITSMA and Gemma Davies of ServiceNow will explore the best ways to bring ABM tactics and strategies into customer-centric organizations. Leavitt and Davies will also discuss how to innovate and expand existing ABM strategies to ensure long-term ABM success.

Corrina Owens and Taylor Young of Profisee will break down how 1:1, 1:few and 1:many ABM programs work, and how each program functions when engaging executive accounts. The duo will also recommend tools and solutions marketers can leverage to scale their ABM programs for the executive stage.

Kelvin Gee of Oracle will tackle the concept of a centralized approach to ABM. Gee will discuss how having a center of excellence can help improve the maturity of ABM programs and share four separate approaches marketers can take to create a centralized hub that supports ABM strategies.

Some other interesting sessions to check out include:

• Building Your Partner Ecosystem & Channel Strategy, where Theresa Maragol of AchieveUnite highlights the critical components for building successful channel strategies that scale; and
• David Bruno of Aptos will explore the harsh reality of content creation for ABM programs in Confessions Of An Overworked Content Marketer: Satisfying The Relentless Demands Of ABM.

Next-Level Activities For Hands-On Learning & Networking

For attendees looking for new hands-on ways to learn and network with peers, #B2BMX Next-Level ABM will host a plethora of workshops designed to help attendees overhaul their ABM strategies, programs and conversations, with many famous B2B faces providing new tactics and best practices for attendees to learn from.

One workshop presented by Pam Didner, titled: ABM Sales Motions: How To Maximize Sales Enablement For Key Account Strategies, will highlight account-specific sales enablement opportunities that can support existing ABM programs. She will also work with attendees to brainstorm creative ways to align with sales teams for stronger account-based plans and engagement.

Jon Russo of B2B Fusion will also host a workshop titled: Using Leads, Piloting ABM — Argh, How Do I Measure Everything?, where he’ll cover the questions marketers should ask, as well as the necessary tools for measuring ABM successfully. Russo will explore the idea of having a separate funnel strictly for leads as a means for measuring account readiness to engage.

Other workshops include:

• Positioning ABM As A Growth Lever In Your Revenue Engine with David Lewis of BDO Digital;
• Precision Demand Marketing: Response To Revenue with Integrate‘s Stephanie Swinyer and Danny McKeever;
• ABM Targeting & Segmentation: A Hands-On Strategy Workshop, with Mark Ogne, ABM Consortorium;
• It’s Complicated: Marketing/Selling To, Through & With Your Channel — An ABM Story with Spark Your Channel‘s Heather Margolis;
• Strengthening Executive Engagement: 5 Keys To ABM Success with ITSMA’s Rob Leavitt; and
• Connecting The Dots On Content & Audience: Building Messaging Strategies That Support Targeted Programs For Specific Buyers & VerticalsConnecting with Lisa Wallace and Kelly Zahoudanis of Content4Demand.

The event will also feature additional hands-on activities for attendees to share their ABM experiences and learn from their peers, including:

• 1:1 “Speed Dating” sessions that allow attendees to network with likeminded individuals, matching people by their preferences and interests for an engaging conversation;
• Roundtable discussions where attendees can discuss specific topics during conversations facilitated by industry experts;
• Certification courses on topics such as ABM Foundations, Digital Experiences and Virtual Events; and
• The chance to connect with sponsors and learn about the top ABM martech tools available.

This only covers a small portion of the information and activities at #B2BMX Next-Level ABM. Check out the website for the full agenda and save your seat today! All sessions will be available on-demand to registrants after they air.

The post #B2BMX Takes ABM To The Next Level With Renewed Focus On Account Targeting & Engagement appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

During his opening keynote, TOPO Founder and CEO Scott Albro put the spotlight on five big ideas his analyst and consulting team believe will make an impact on sales and marketing practices in 2019 and beyond. These themes really set the stage for the rest of the show:

• Customer experience;
• Go-to-market fit;
• B2B brand power;
• The data paradox; and
• People, ideas and technology.

CX Is The Key Differentiator In Today’s Economy

Customer experience is what sets companies apart in this day and age, Albro said. It is the key differentiator because commoditization has changed everything. The abundance of products and information at the hands of buyers is greater than ever before. With more than 7,000 martech vendors on Scott Brinker’s new “Supergraphic” and millions of results on Google when you search for “martech,” the abundance is undeniable.

“The reason this commoditizes a market is because the buyer thinks they have all these options and we’re starting to live in a world with commoditized products,” said Albro. “So, you have to focus on the customer experience — not just for customer support, but also for marketing, sales development, sales and marketing ops, etc.”

To deliver a world-class customer experience, Albro pointed to five key attributes to focus on:

1. Relevant — “Design an experience that’s relevant to a specific customer or segment,” he said. “Experience is different from A accounts to C accounts.”
2. Responsive — “Buyers think B2B vendors are way too slow because they’re thinking in a consumer mindset,” said Albro. “We need our CX to be responsive, fast, easy.”
3. Predictable — “Buyers hate surprises in a B2B world. You want to deliver a CX that’s expected.”
4. High value — “Focus on delivering value to customers in the sales cycle. They want a high-value experience… even from SDRs,” Albro continued.
5. Guided — “How do we take our buyer or customer from status quo to some type of new state? And how do we do that in a way so that the buyer knows we’re proactively managing it?”

Finding Go-To-Market Fit Is The Foundation Of Revenue Growth

Most B2B marketing organizations have their tactics down; they’ve secured the right tech stack and made a lot of correct tactical decisions, according to Albro. But many still lack the right foundation or go-to-market strategy.

He said there are two ways to think about this:

1. Focusing on being primarily “volume and velocity” focused similar to a traditional, inbound demand generation-type model; or
2. Focusing on being account-based.

Albro said that in order to gauge which axis you fall under, you need to think about what your target market looks like. “One question you might ask is are there hundreds of thousands of customers in my market? Or are there hundreds of customers in our market?” he said. “We have clients that have both. RingCentral segmented their market, but they used to only care about the 30M businesses in North America. That was their target market. That’s a volume and velocity model.

“We also have a client and their target market was the eighth largest consumer package goods companies in the world. That’s it, eight companies. You can’t do volume and velocity there, [or else] you’ll wait a long time for a lead to come in there. So, they’re account-based.”

Albro also noted that if you’re selling to, say, 30 million businesses at $10 a month, it must be easy for them to buy and use — that’s volume and velocity. But if you’re selling a $20 million deal to one major company, that’s more complex because you will spend a lot of money and time marketing and selling that.

“There are big differences in these go-to-market models and it’s important to understand which one your dominant go-to-market strategy is,” said Albro. “You do need to identify your dominant go-to-market strategy, but you also need to make sure you’re willing to potentially borrow from the other strategy and create a hybrid model. You have to be aware of what we call the ‘either or’ trap.”

He pointed to two TOPO customers that have figured out how to grow along both of these axes:

The first was ServiceNow, a provider of digital workflows for enterprise. “They started in the enterprise and have been masters at driving really high lifetime value on a per account basis,” said Albro. “If you look at their brand and marketing, it is all about helping individual users. There’s a clear decision to move further along the ‘number of customers’ axis. They’re really focused on usability. So, they said they’ve done great in terms of maximizing CLV and we will continue to maximize that. But were really interested in acquiring more customers and more users.”

The second was Twilio, a cloud communications platform provider. “They signed up 1.6 million developers to use their platform,” Albro continued. “What they’re doing now is focusing on adding quota capacity — adding account executives/quota-carrying reps to go monetize the developer base. They’ve done a great job in terms of starting out with number of customers/users, and now they’re focused on moving that economic axis, [including] ACV and LTV.”

Your Brand Is More Important Than Ever

Maintaining a strong brand presence is critical in today’s saturated market, yet, according to Albro, many organizations under-appreciate the importance of brand. “There is a strong correlation between strong brands and stock market success,” he said. “Strong brands drive growth.”

A strong brand is not just important for the awareness stage of the customer journey. “Brand can help you in so many different ways,” said Albro. “Break down the siloed thinking and ask how else the brand can help in the customer journey.”

He continued to break down some key benefits of how brand can help organizations enhance every stage of the customer journey:

• Awareness — clear positioning, differentiation, consideration set;
• Consideration — trust, vendor viability, assumed expertise;
• Purchase — short sales cycle, negotiating power, price integrity; and
• Customer — internal referrals, customer advocacy.

Furthermore, Albro shared a quick framework for building up a B2B brand, which simply involves asking three questions:

• Confidence — Does the buyer believe what you say? Do you inspire confidence?
• Competence — Does the buyer believe you have the skills/expertise to do what you say?
• Commitment — Does the buyer believe you are acting on their behalf?

“If you can positively answer those three questions, in B2B, that’s a strong brand. That’s what buyers want,” said Albro.

Balancing The Abundance Of Data With Quality And Usefulness

Marketing and sales professionals these days have a lot of data at their disposal, which, according to Albro, can be a blessing and a curse.

“The more data we acquire, the less useful it is,” he said. “So, how do we balance an abundance of data with quality and usefulness? As we acquire more data, how do you make that data usable and actionable?”

“It’s really hard… We have more and more data available to us. First, we had internal data — that was manageable. Then we had external data, like intent data, which is really powerful if you know how to use it. Now, we have these new forms of data that are coming, like a lot of the stuff around analyzing what’s happening on sales calls is really exciting. Again, if you know how to use it. I think of this as the data paradox.”

Albro continued to share a TOPO framework that can help distinguish between leaders and laggards when it comes to data:

• Data — What data do you have access to?
• Insights — How do you get true customer insights? Do you know your customer?
• Activation — Most importantly, how do you activate the data?

“The problem we all have with data now is that we have it, we look at it, we think we get an insight and then we don’t do anything with it,” said Albro. “There are some cool things happening around data activation. Imagine a world where you get some intent data from a third-party website and engagement data from your own website. That creates a score — that score tells you to do certain things and you have systems and tech in place that do those things for you.”

People, Ideas And Technology — In That Order

Finally, the importance of people in sales and marketing has been underemphasized the last few years, according to Albro. He referenced a quote from Air Force Colonel John Boyd, who said “People, ideas and technology — in that order,” which he said is a powerful way of thinking about your sales and marketing organization.

“As we think about teams and culture in sales and marketing organizations, we think there’s a useful tool to help you think about designing your organization,” said Albro. “Start with leadership — all things on top are important strategic things like do we have a shared purpose? Do we have value? Do the sales and marketing professionals value open communication? Do we have goals that are measurable? How do I translate the goals into an organizational design that allows me to hit them?”

“Finally, we get to the employee lifecycle — how do I hire the right people, onboard and enable them and advance them so they become leaders?”

The post TOPO CEO Spotlights CX, Brand Power, Data & People At Summit 2019 appeared first on Demand Gen Report.