All of a sudden the world is awash with marketing pronouncements about Account Based Everything; Account Based Marketing, Account Based Targeting, and even Account Based Profitability. It is as if the need to develop long-term relationships with customers has crept up on us, unforeseen and unanticipated. We know that is not so.
Customers are more colorful than black and white data, more textured than market segments, and the relationship you develop with them is deeper than a series of touch-points designed to get their attention. Relationships are based on a trust equation that starts with the first promise you make and ends with the first promise you break.
Account planning and management has been around for decades – particularly among the winning sales organizations that repeatedly outpace their competitors. I wrote about this (including ABM) in my 2013 book Account Planning in Salesforce. We have known for a long time that focus on the customer matters. But now the research is done and the evidence is in.
With participation from 1,034 individuals from 942 companies, the Account Planning Book of Evidence Study includes some fascinating findings. The spoiler: Account planning works for both new and existing customers and can increase win rate by 59 percent and deal size by 14 percent.
While the arrival of account focused marketing tools is very welcome, to accept the premise that an account based focus is new or innovative would be wrong. We would miss the opportunity to learn lessons from those who have been delivering mutual value with their customers, as part of an integrated account planning and management strategy – the essence of which is connected and comprehensive. It is coordinated and collaborative. It is both strategic and tactical. The account team, like an orchestra, is playing in-tune and ‘on tempo’, maintaining rhythm and cohesion between sales, marketing, customer service and yes, most importantly, the customer too.
I worry about the noise in the market. I worry about the fragmentation of thought. I worry about the notion that one part of an account focused activity can be separate or disconnected from a holistic approach to deliver value to your customer; before, during, and after the sales cycle.
The days of sellers waging battle against buyers are gone. The days of treating customers as just market-segments or personas are past. Success comes from partnering with the customer and working toward a win-win outcome. That’s the only path. To survive in a world of supremely educated buyers who are time-poor, hungry for insight and demanding progress, account managers (not just account marketers) must take on their perspective and enrich it with the experience they bring.
72 percent of the participants in the Account Planning Book of Evidence Study cited ‘Increased Understanding of a Customer’s Business’ as one of the key benefits of account planning. It is ranked #2 in overall benefits (‘Better Win Rate’ is #1) and it is joined at #4 by ‘Increased Customer Loyalty’. This is not an accident, and neither #2 nor #4 is the result of an account based marketing program alone.
In Account Planning in Salesforce, I defined the purpose of account planning and management as a process by which you build long-term business relationships that enable you to create, develop, pursue, and win business that delivers mutual value. That remains true, and because it works, account planning and management is now in use by 50 percent of B2B sales organizations – up from 36 percent in 2013.
The benefits that accrue go beyond revenue numbers. Satisfied customers buy more from you without calling your competitors first. Non-competitive deals are easier to win. Customers, who are served well before, during, and after the sale, stay with you. With effective and comprehensive account planning, you understand your customer’s business, sit with them on their side of the table, and strengthen your ability to shape their thinking and business strategies. There is no seat left for the competitor.
It is not about account based everything – it is about customer based everything; and that’s how it has always been.
You can download your copy of the study here.
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Donal Daly is Executive Chairman of Altify having founded the company in 2005. He is author of numerous books and ebooks including the Amazon #1 Best-sellers Account Planning in Salesforce and Tomorrow | Today: How AI Impacts How We Work, Live, and Think. Altify is Donal’s fifth global business enterprise.