This week, we hosted our first Tweet Chat as part of the #FlipMyFunnel Virtual Summit. The theme of the chat was account-based marketing.
There were several points of discussion among the attendees which included these thought leaders:
- Megan Heuer – Vice President and Group Director at SiriusDecisions
- Sean Zinsmeister – Director of Product Marketing at Infer
- Scott Vaughan – Chief Marketing Officer at Integrate
But one point in the discussion stood out to me above all the others: what does it mean to scale account-based marketing?
The question that started this discussion was submitted by Sean Zinsmeister (Thanks Sean!).
Q4: This one comes from special guest @SZinsmeister of @InferInc #FlipMyFunnel pic.twitter.com/kMmk4M2PZh
— FlipMyFunnel (@FlipMyFunnel) September 2, 2015
At first, the definition of scale was not clear. We even had a healthy discussion in the Terminus office about this one and that’s when I realized that there can be many definitions of what it means to scale account-based marketing.
A4: @garymcintire in this case scale = size, growing throughout your organization, #flipmyfunnel
— Sean Zinsmeister (@SZinsmeister) September 2, 2015
I had a slightly different definition because I also consider velocity to be an important factor.
@SZinsmeister @garymcintire Scale can also mean how fast or how many more accounts can you implement #ABM on. #flipmyfunnel
— Sangram Vajre (@sangramvajre) September 2, 2015
And yet… Participant Gary McIntire had an even different approach to the definition that involved customer advocacy (a key part of #FlipMyFunnel).
https://twitter.com/garymcintire/status/639175913448472576
Scott Vaughan reminded us that scale can move in many different directions — not just up.
Scale on #ABM. Remember scale is up AND down (like biz reality). When to go braoder & deeper and when to focus & go narrow. #flipmyfunnel
— Scott Vaughan (@ScottAVaughan) September 2, 2015
I don’t believe there is a right or wrong answer here and scaling account-based marketing clearly has different meanings to different marketers.
Here’s a summary of what attendees of the tweet chat thought it meant to scale account-based marketing:
- Number — How many accounts are you targeting?
- Velocity — Are you exponentially increasing the number of accounts you are targeting with ABM?
- Direction — Are you scaling up and down? Broader and deeper? Focused and narrow?
- Advocacy — Have you reached a level of scale where your customers become your advocates to spread the word about your product or service?
Once we discussed the what it meant to scale account-based marketing, the conversation moved to how to go about doing it.
Sean Zinsmeister offered two great points to think about before you dive into the process of scaling:
A4: Two Q's to ask when scaling #ABM 1) do you have the right talent? 2) is that talent enablement by the right tools #flipmyfunnel
— Sean Zinsmeister (@SZinsmeister) September 2, 2015
Our friends at Momentum ABM suggested to start small, show results and then grow your program from there.
#FlipMyFunnel A4: start small, deliver results to win more budget. Cluster similar accounts and re-use know-how/content
— Momentum, the global growth consultancy (@MomentumABM) September 2, 2015
Megan Heuer built on that suggestion by reminding us of how technology can help when you are scaling your account-based marketing programs. She also brought up a great point of teaching marketers best practices and processes so they can run campaigns effectively.
This is a great answer–plus add process and technology and teach marketers what to do #flipmyfunnel https://t.co/1jVFwEbugD
— Megan Heuer (@megheuer) September 2, 2015
Scott Vaughan offered a gradual strategy of “Crawl, Walk, Run” to build momentum over time.
Crawl, walk, run 4 #ABM or other #MarTech is usally best path. Quick wins, communicate, build knowledge & confidence #flipmyfunnel
— Scott Vaughan (@ScottAVaughan) September 2, 2015
Momentum ABM suggested a focused approach once you have found what works well.
@ScottAVaughan Good point – invest ‘deep’ scale for highest value accounts. ‘Broad’ for horizontal reach. #FlipMyFunnel
— Momentum, the global growth consultancy (@MomentumABM) September 2, 2015
Josh Kristoff offered some great insight on how to stay organized during the process of scaling. He also mentioned the importance of communication so that the team stays aligned and communicates in a way that improves the overall knowledge about target accounts.
@FlipMyFunnel #SalesNavigator provides a great vehicle for acct mgmt. And a simple excel or project mgmt platform can keep things on track.
— Josh Kristoff (@Josh_Kristoff) September 2, 2015
@FlipMyFunnel A4 (con'd): Crucial your team knows your product well AND their acct contacts. Time spent sharing info on accts is not wasted.
— Josh Kristoff (@Josh_Kristoff) September 2, 2015
There were a ton of great points shared on how to scale account-based marketing.
Here are some of my key takeaways from this point:
1) Start Small — Where is the low-hanging fruit? Where can you score quick wins?
2) Find Your Sweet Spot — Once you learn what your target accounts will respond to, go deeper on that to give them more of the valuable content they crave.
2) Let Technology Help — Account-based marketing tools allow you to scale your campaigns and programs in ways that were never possible before.
3) Educate Your Team — As my friend Jill Rowley says, “A fool with a tool is still a fool.” It is important that we equip our teams with the processes and knowledge they need to be successful.
I’ll be honest in saying that I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when my marketing team suggested hosting this tweet chat. Once I was in, I found some of the most interesting conversation around account-based marketing — and particularly how to scale it — that I have seen in quite some time.
Big thanks to everyone who came out to join us. What do you say? Should we host more account-based marketing tweet chats? Tell me in the comments below.
