Account-Based Everything came from the concept of providing focused marketing efforts for a specific must-win account.
The sales gurus and sales enablement technology vendors have been pushing forward the mantra of Account Based Everything as a way for small and large companies to grow and mature. While we at DSHG Sonic agree to the underlying theme of Account Based Marketing and Account Based Sales and Account Based Enablement the buzz around the topic as well as the plethora of vendors pushing products around the same is making the topic a lot more complicated and obtuse than really warranted within the industry.
What is Account Based Everything
The Account-Based Everything name came in from the concept of providing focused marketing efforts for a specific account and having cross-organizational support across Sales Operations and Customer Service departments. So we’re not just working on one side but rather looking at how our activities impact all areas related to that particular client or customer which means there’s more than enough work when it comes down to landing an important prospect because you can’t just sell them something you have to prove why they need what we offer!
The account-based approach is not about the product. It’s about the customer and how our company can help them succeed. This means that we have to tailor our message, our offerings, and even the way we engage with each client to their specific needs. It can be a lot of work, but it’s worth it when you land that big deal or solidify a long-term relationship with a major player in your industry. So if you’re looking to get started with account-based everything, here are a few things to keep in mind!
First, you need buy-in from everyone on your team. Sales, marketing, customer success – everyone needs to be on board with the plan. This can be a challenge, but it’s essential for success.
Second, you need to define what an “ideal” customer looks like for your company. This will help you determine who to target and how to best engage with them.
Finally, you need to put in the hard work. Account-based everything requires a lot of planning and execution, but it can be incredibly rewarding. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, consider giving account-based everything a try! It just might be the key to success.
How is it different than what organizations have been always doing
Sales on its core have always been for better or for worse driven by an Account-based structure muddled under regional and national structures. So from purely a sales perspective of landing a new client, there is little of a change from the outcome. Marketing for better or worse has always been a spray and pray mentality with gross generalization and hoping it engages the right stakeholders in your targeted clients. So from a marketing perspective of driving awareness and preference, little has changed in the way we think about it. However, when we start thinking about success as a team function and not just an individual one, things start to look different.
In order for an account to be successful, you need sales, you need marketing, but you also need a product delivery/implementation, success management/adoption, and customer success all working together in lockstep. Recognizing that it takes an entire team to make an account successful is the first step in changing how we go to market. And that recognition starts with leadership buy-in and cascades down through the org structure so everyone knows their part to play. It means breaking down silos between departments and teams and making everyone accountable to the same goal success for the customer.
It’s a different way of thinking, but it’s one that more and more organizations are adopting because it just makes sense. If we want our customers to be successful, we need to treat account success as a team sport. And that means changing the way we go to market. With ABM, organizations take a holistic approach to customer success, with every department working together to support the customer. From sales and marketing to product and support, everyone is aligned around the same goal: providing an exceptional experience that helps the customer achieve their desired outcome.
The benefits of this approach are clear. Customers are more likely to be successful when they have a team of people working to help them. And when customers are successful, they’re more likely to stay loyal, advocate for your brand, and purchase additional products and services. In other words, account success is a team sport – and adopting an ABM approach is the best way to ensure that everyone on your team is working towards the same goal.
What are we changing
In the past, marketing has been primarily focused on generating leads and awareness. However, with the rise of account-based marketing, we are beginning to see a shift in priorities. In an account-based approach, the entire marketing team focuses on a limited number of target accounts, rather than casting a wide net. This allows for a more personalized approach, as well as a greater focus on building long-term relationships. In many ways, this is a return to the way marketing was done in the past, before mass media and digital communication made it possible to reach millions of people with a single message. However, account-based marketing also takes advantage of modern technology, using data analysis to identify the best prospects and tailor content specifically for them. As we move forward, we can expect to see more and more companies adopting an account-based approach to marketing.
We are primarily changing marketing into account-based marketing, which means targeting, person-dependent, solution-driven, and focused on solving the stakeholder problem. This is different from earlier because the cross-organizational focus ensures we are not working in silos and all the rowers in the boat (Marketing, Sales, Sales Ops, and Customer Service) are rowing in the same direction. We are also changing the way we measure success. In the past, we would look at leads generated, or marketing-qualified leads (MQLs). Now we will be looking at opportunities created, and how many of those turn into closed/won businesses. This is a more holistic view that includes the entire sales process, not just marketing’s contribution.
As the business landscape becomes more competitive, companies are looking for new ways to gain an edge. One approach that is gaining popularity is account-based marketing (ABM). ABM is a methodology in which businesses focus their marketing and sales efforts on specific accounts that are high-value or have the potential to generate significant revenue. This approach allows businesses to tailor their message and offer to the specific needs of their target client, making it more likely that they will win the business. Additionally, ABM can help businesses to build deeper relationships with their key clients, leading to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth. While ABM requires a higher level of investment than traditional marketing, its ability to drive results makes it an attractive option for many companies.
What is different in the Tech Stack to accomplish this
Where we feel the concept has taken a life of its own is in deciding the Tech Stack to accomplish the above mentioned concept. It has been extremely difficult for clients to comprehend and build a tech stack for Account Based Everything which is okay to experiment with build a proof point and scale organically as the program takes root within an organization. With the plethora of Martech and Sales Technology proliferation all the buzzwords return to make this an unusually complex space and similarly as is the case with digital marketing the same question comes to haunt how can we measure this in ROI terms and what metrics do we actually measure.
So where does DSHG Sonic think the industry is moving and how organizations can think about going Account Based Everything.
• Account Based Marketing needs to think about the target audience as a personalized solution oriented process closely working with the SDR’s.
• Sales enablement and alignment of Sales with the Marketing team needs to be institutional rather than ad-hoc or opportunity based.
• Relationship mapping across the target account engages the entire organization rather than just the sales leader who owns the account relationship.
• Customer Success works hand in hand with all of the others to ensure we make relationship across various levels and dimensions to ensure continuity and cross selling opportunities.
• Opportunity mining is converted into a holistic relationship based consultative selling enabling the sales team to be seen as a trusted advisor.
The primary work which needs to be done before your organization moves towards an Account Based Everything process is to understand and map the existing sales process and technology stack and provide a heat capability map on future process and direction. Once that is done integrating and connecting existing processes and stacks to the new ones will be much easier and decisions based on sound custom solutioning.
If you need advice or help in coming up with such a map please feel free to reach out to us at info@dshgsonic.com or visit us on website at www.dshgsonic.com. Happy Account Based Everything move to everyone out there and here some related sites to the topic The Comprehensive Guide to Account-Based Sales for 2022, The 4 key principles of Account-Based Everything (ABE) and What is Account-Based Everything (ABE) or Account-Based Marketing (ABM).
