Best of LinkedIn: Account-based Marketing CW 40/ 41

00:00:00: provided by Thomas Alguyer and Frennis.

00:00:02: Based on the most relevant posts on LinkedIn about account-based marketing in CW-Forty and Forty-One, Frennis is a B to B market research company working with enterprises to optimize their campaigns with account and executive insights far beyond AI.

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00:00:42: Welcome back, everyone.

00:00:42: We've got some fantastic insights lined up today from B to B Leaders talking to ABM on LinkedIn these past couple of weeks.

00:00:48: Yeah, some really sharp stuff.

00:00:49: Our goal is simple.

00:00:50: Pull together the absolute best thinking on account-based marketing that we've seen.

00:00:54: We're talking strategy, we're talking execution, even the tech that makes it all work.

00:00:59: That's right.

00:00:59: So if you're looking for a deep dive into what mature ABM really looks like moving past those common pitfalls that folks like Sachin Pratap Singh mentioned towards, you know, those sophisticated orchestrated systems that actually win, then you're in the right place.

00:01:15: Let's jump right in.

00:01:16: The first big theme that keeps coming up is this idea that ABM isn't just a tactic, it's a system, a strategy.

00:01:23: Right.

00:01:23: A whole mindset shift.

00:01:25: Exactly.

00:01:26: And that's where a lot of programs seem to stumble, like right out of the gate.

00:01:30: It's not always about doing ABM wrong.

00:01:32: It's about thinking about it wrong.

00:01:34: Amprakash Karupinam pointed this out, treating it like some kind of checklist, you know, a bolt-on campaign.

00:01:40: Instead

00:01:40: of a core strategy.

00:01:41: Precisely.

00:01:42: And when that happens, it just ends up becoming another MQL race, which totally misses the point of being a count-centric in the first place.

00:01:48: And that lack of strategic commitment, it seems, is fatal.

00:01:51: Vincent Plessard mentioned how ABM often dies right in that gap between how sales define success and how marketing defines it.

00:01:58: Mm-hmm.

00:01:58: Different goals.

00:01:59: Totally.

00:02:00: And then you add in like the churn we see in marketing leadership.

00:02:04: That long-term focus just vanishes.

00:02:06: Kelmer-Texara backed this up too, saying that if it doesn't fit the company culture, forget it.

00:02:10: It needs that top-down buy-in.

00:02:12: Yeah, it needs that commitment, which brings up a good point.

00:02:15: If you do see it strategically, but you're, let's say, resource constrained.

00:02:19: How do you scale?

00:02:20: Right.

00:02:21: Scaling sounds expensive.

00:02:22: Well, Dorothea Gosling highlighted this concept called Scenario ABM, referencing Bev Burgess.

00:02:28: It's quite clever, actually.

00:02:29: Scenario ABM.

00:02:30: Okay.

00:02:31: How does that work?

00:02:31: Is it like one point few or something else?

00:02:34: It's sort of a hybrid, I guess.

00:02:36: Yes.

00:02:36: Instead of trying to build these really complex, you know, fully bespoke one point one programs for every single target account, which is just draining.

00:02:44: Yeah,

00:02:44: impossible for most teams.

00:02:46: Right.

00:02:46: So instead, you identify specific high impact challenges or scenarios you want to solve across multiple accounts.

00:02:52: Okay, like what kind of scenario?

00:02:54: Maybe something like, oh, we need to build relationships with executives in accounts where we only have user level contacts, or we need to generate advocacy in key strategic accounts.

00:03:05: Got it.

00:03:05: So you figure out the playbook for that specific problem, the right messages, the right channels, the right people.

00:03:10: Exactly.

00:03:11: You codify that specific set of interventions, and then you deploy that playbook systematically across all the accounts facing that same challenge.

00:03:18: So you're scaling the impact and the intelligence, not necessarily the individual.

00:03:23: one point one complexity.

00:03:25: That makes a lot of sense.

00:03:26: Scaling smartly.

00:03:27: Yeah.

00:03:28: And speaking of complexity, Elrick Legluar talked about the jump to true enterprise prospecting.

00:03:33: That's a whole different ball game.

00:03:34: Oh, absolutely.

00:03:35: It's not just harder SMB selling.

00:03:36: The scale is just.

00:03:37: Oh, you mentioned the source numbers like five hundred accounts a quarter for SMB versus maybe fifty accounts a year for enterprise.

00:03:45: It's that shift from volume to depth.

00:03:47: pure depth.

00:03:48: It's less about how many calls you make and more about, you know, how many hours of research went in, how well is the stakeholder map built out, how truly custom is the insight you're bringing.

00:03:57: And the patients required six to eighteen month cycles.

00:04:00: Right.

00:04:01: It needs, as Alec put it, an orchestra of teams, sales, ABM, field marketing, everyone perfectly synchronized for a really small, high value audience.

00:04:11: That synchronization requires incredible precision.

00:04:15: Which leads nicely into our second theme targeting precision and importantly signals.

00:04:21: Kars Smith Brown basically said the old way pick a hundred accounts blast ads forget it.

00:04:26: It's dead

00:04:27: totally dead.

00:04:28: Yeah modern ABM relies on intelligence and a huge piece of that intelligence is timing.

00:04:34: David Walker Dobson had a great analogy running ABM without monitoring buying signals is like fishing without bait,

00:04:40: huh?

00:04:41: I like that fishing without bait.

00:04:43: Yeah Those signals, maybe they're researching specific topics, maybe there's funding news, maybe key job openings.

00:04:49: that tells you who to talk to, when they might actually be receptive, and what angle might actually resonate.

00:04:54: It's about hitting them at the right moment.

00:04:56: Exactly.

00:04:57: And that precision extends to how you segment.

00:04:59: Justin Rowe had some great advice here.

00:05:01: Stop dressing your ICP based on gut feel.

00:05:04: Look at

00:05:04: the data.

00:05:04: Look at the performance data.

00:05:06: If you're targeting, say, ten industries, but eighty percent of your actual conversions are coming from just three.

00:05:12: Well, that's telling you something important.

00:05:13: You double down on those three.

00:05:15: Right.

00:05:16: Build specific campaigns for those winners.

00:05:18: Customize the creative based on what you know works for them, not what you think might work.

00:05:23: Makes sense.

00:05:24: And what about smaller markets?

00:05:26: where maybe the total pool is limited.

00:05:28: Yeah, Zytide Ali argued that if your total addressable market is, say, under five hundred accounts, you don't need scale.

00:05:35: You need surgical precision.

00:05:36: Your advantage is the ability to go deep, achieve really high penetration, maybe even know every key player.

00:05:42: dominate that niche.

00:05:44: So it's about adapting the approach to the market size.

00:05:47: Absolutely.

00:05:47: And even how you select those target accounts needs to mature.

00:05:51: Tyler Place pointed out that advanced ABM teams shouldn't just base their lists on who they closed last year.

00:05:56: Look forward, not just back.

00:05:57: Precisely.

00:05:59: Align the target account list with where the business wants to go next.

00:06:02: Is it moving up market?

00:06:04: expanding into a new vertical, that ensures ABM is pulling in the same direction as the rest of the go-to-market strategy.

00:06:10: And underpinning all this precision is the data structure.

00:06:14: Wieder-Dielemann made a really helpful distinction.

00:06:17: Yeah,

00:06:17: between lead scoring and intent scoring.

00:06:19: They're different.

00:06:20: Okay, break that down.

00:06:21: So lead scoring, that's typically tracking engagement on your stuff website visits, email clicks, content downloads, often best handled right in your CRM, like HubSpot.

00:06:30: But intent scoring... That's about the external signals.

00:06:33: What are they researching out on the web?

00:06:35: Funding announcements.

00:06:37: Job changes.

00:06:38: That often requires specialized enrichment tools like clay, for example.

00:06:41: And you need both?

00:06:42: You absolutely need both combined.

00:06:44: That's what gives your sales reps the full picture of the actionable intelligence to know who to call, when, and why now.

00:06:50: Okay, so you've got the strategy, the targeting, the signals.

00:06:53: Now, theme three, execution.

00:06:56: making it actually happen and avoiding the traps.

00:06:59: Let's start with content.

00:07:00: Right.

00:07:00: Mason Cosby had a really simple but powerful insight.

00:07:04: The best ABM content.

00:07:06: It doesn't come from marketing brainstorming sessions in a vacuum.

00:07:09: Where does it come from then?

00:07:10: It comes from the front line.

00:07:11: From the actual questions.

00:07:12: customers and prospects are asking sales, asking customer success, asking support, you need shared channels like Slack or Teams, where marketing can actually hear those real world pains and questions, grounding the messaging in reality.

00:07:26: Exactly.

00:07:26: Which makes it relevant.

00:07:28: And that relevance is everything.

00:07:29: Nick Bennett talks about ABM being like dating.

00:07:32: Ah, yes, the dating analogy.

00:07:34: You can't rush it.

00:07:35: You build relevance first through people, your reps, your partners, even happy customers.

00:07:40: The messages have to feel personal, human, not just programmatic.

00:07:45: And the goal of your content, your assets, it's not always to close the deal right then and there.

00:07:49: It's

00:07:50: to start the conversation.

00:07:51: Exactly.

00:07:52: Earn the right to the next conversation.

00:07:54: Yeah.

00:07:54: Use the asset to build trust and open a door.

00:07:57: I like that.

00:07:57: Earn the right.

00:07:58: Okay, what about events?

00:07:59: Big spend for many ABM teams.

00:08:01: Huge spend.

00:08:02: And Declan Mulkeen, who's actually doing a session with Nick Bennett soon, was really pushing marketers on this.

00:08:07: Stop measuring success by, you know, how many badges you scanned or hands you shook.

00:08:12: Yeah, vanity metrics.

00:08:13: Right.

00:08:13: You have to prove progression.

00:08:15: Show how the event actually moved deals forward, how it contributed to pipeline, connected directly to revenue outcomes.

00:08:21: That's how you turn events from cost centers into actual revenue engines.

00:08:26: better tracking, better follow up.

00:08:27: Definitely.

00:08:29: And sometimes that one point one execution requires some real creativity.

00:08:34: Russell Banzin shared this amazing story.

00:08:36: Oh, yeah.

00:08:37: His team was in a tough RFP battle.

00:08:39: So what did they do?

00:08:40: They bought targeted advertising space in the lobby and elevators of the prospects headquarters building.

00:08:45: Wow,

00:08:46: right.

00:08:47: in their face.

00:08:48: Literally.

00:08:48: Yeah.

00:08:49: Just subtly reminding the decision makers, writers are going about their day, thinking of the decision, that they were the leading platform.

00:08:56: Talk about commitment.

00:08:57: That

00:08:57: is brilliant.

00:08:58: Bold.

00:08:59: Okay, let's switch gears slightly to something very tactical, but crucial.

00:09:03: Budget protection.

00:09:04: Tim Davidson laid out these.

00:09:05: six point five default landmines in LinkedIn ads campaigns.

00:09:09: Oh, these are critical.

00:09:10: Yeah.

00:09:10: So he's had to waste money if you don't know him.

00:09:12: Let's run through them quickly.

00:09:13: What's the first one?

00:09:14: Okay, first.

00:09:15: Don't just accept the default campaign group objective.

00:09:18: It can limit how you optimize later.

00:09:20: Choose the objective that truly matches your goal.

00:09:23: Second, the default accelerate delivery setting.

00:09:26: Turn it off.

00:09:26: Why?

00:09:27: What does accelerate do?

00:09:28: It tells LinkedIn to spend your budget basically as fast as possible, which often sacrifices targeting precision.

00:09:35: Switch it to classic delivery to stay in control.

00:09:38: Got it.

00:09:39: Classic, not accelerate.

00:09:40: Number three.

00:09:41: Location targeting.

00:09:43: It defaults to people temporarily in your target location.

00:09:47: If you want actual employees based there, you need to switch it to permanent.

00:09:51: Okay.

00:09:51: Permanent location.

00:09:52: Number four is the big one.

00:09:53: Huge one.

00:09:54: That little blue checkbox for audience expansion.

00:09:56: Uncheck it immediately.

00:09:58: Unless you really know what you're doing, it just sprays your budget way beyond your carefully selected target audience.

00:10:04: Uncheck audience expansion.

00:10:06: Number five.

00:10:06: The LinkedIn audience network.

00:10:08: Alan, it's often checked by default.

00:10:09: This puts your ads on third-party sites and apps.

00:10:12: Uncheck it for your core ABM campaigns.

00:10:15: If you want display, run it as a separate campaign with its own budget and strategy.

00:10:19: Don't let it dilute your main ABM focus and budget.

00:10:22: Keep it separate.

00:10:23: Okay, number six sounds expensive.

00:10:24: It can be the default maximum delivery bidding.

00:10:27: Like Accelerate delivery, it prioritizes spending fast over efficiently.

00:10:31: Tim mentioned seeing four hundred dollars CPM sometimes.

00:10:34: Ouch.

00:10:34: So switch to

00:10:35: switch to manual bidding.

00:10:37: Set your own price, control your cost.

00:10:39: You might pay a hundred dollars CPM instead of four hundred dollars for the same audience.

00:10:43: Manual bidding.

00:10:44: And the final half mine.

00:10:46: Number six point five.

00:10:47: It's

00:10:47: the ad rotation setting.

00:10:49: It defaults to best performing.

00:10:51: Which sounds good.

00:10:52: But best might just mean cheapest clicks or impressions.

00:10:56: If your goal is deeper engagement or pipeline, those cheap clicks might not be the ads driving real outcomes.

00:11:02: Switch it to rotate ads evenly to give all your creatives a fair shot and see what truly works.

00:11:07: Rotate evenly.

00:11:07: Okay, that's six and a half really practical ways to avoid wasting budget.

00:11:12: Super helpful.

00:11:12: Definitely needed.

00:11:14: Which brings us to our last theme.

00:11:16: Measurement, alignment, and the tech infrastructure that holds it all together.

00:11:20: Eve Chen talked about something she calls the ABM Mirage.

00:11:23: The ABM Mirage?

00:11:24: What's that?

00:11:25: It's this paradox, right?

00:11:26: We have more data, more tools, more visibility into accounts than ever before.

00:11:29: Yeah, tons of data.

00:11:30: But conversions are stalling anyway.

00:11:33: Why?

00:11:34: Because teams often struggle to connect all that raw signal, all that data, into a coherent, compelling story for the buyer.

00:11:41: The human element gets lost in the dashboards.

00:11:44: Interesting.

00:11:44: So the data's there, but the narrative isn't.

00:11:47: Kind of.

00:11:47: Perfect data doesn't automatically lead to progress if you can't translate it into meaningful conversations.

00:11:53: So how do you measure effectively beyond just vanity metrics to avoid that mirage?

00:12:00: Sam Keenle shared an example of a really smart ABM dashboard.

00:12:04: looked like it was from hockey stack.

00:12:06: It went way beyond just tracking net new revenue.

00:12:09: What

00:12:09: else did it track?

00:12:10: Things like expansion revenue within target accounts, retention rates, how deeply accounts are penetrated by stage in the funnel and crucially tracking the journeys of those high intent accounts.

00:12:19: It gives leaders that true GTM visibility.

00:12:21: That

00:12:21: comprehensive view and getting that view depends on clean data, right?

00:12:25: Yeah.

00:12:25: Absolutely.

00:12:26: Alan C. from ReviOps really hammered this point home.

00:12:29: If you're doing sophisticated ABM, you need real time deduplication across your CRM, your outreach tools, your enrichment sources.

00:12:37: Otherwise, your metrics are garbage and your SDR is waste time chasing duplicates instead of focusing on those genuine high intense signals.

00:12:44: Data hygiene is foundational.

00:12:45: Non-negotiable.

00:12:46: Yeah.

00:12:47: And we're seeing AI step in to help manage the complexity, especially for true one point one ABM.

00:12:52: Katya Terapovskaya outlined a really interesting six pillar tech

00:12:55: framework.

00:12:56: Using HubSpot as the core?

00:12:58: Yeah, HubSpot is the sort of central nervous system, the growth hub.

00:13:01: But then using specialized tools for specific jobs to keep things efficient and control costs.

00:13:06: Like using clay for orchestrating all that complex data gathering and enrichment.

00:13:09: Okay.

00:13:09: Then intelligence tools like MIA by Humantic AI for deep personalization insights.

00:13:14: Dedicated outreach tools like LaGrowth Machine or Warmly.

00:13:18: maybe user-old or metadata for hyper-targeted ads, all connected via integration platforms like Zapier or Make.

00:13:25: So best of breed tools orchestrated together.

00:13:27: Exactly.

00:13:28: Using API smartly to get the power without breaking the bank on consumption costs.

00:13:33: And when that integration works, the results can be pretty staggering.

00:13:38: Mary Joseph Miller shared the Zoom and demand-based partnership story.

00:13:42: That

00:13:42: was impressive.

00:13:42: A six point two five X uplift in opportunities from targeted ABM accounts and a thirty six percent jump in sales conversion rates for those accounts.

00:13:51: Yeah,

00:13:52: that's the kind of transformation you can get when targeting intent data and execution are all perfectly unified.

00:14:00: Which really brings us full circle, doesn't it?

00:14:02: Back to that idea of alignment and strategy.

00:14:04: It really does.

00:14:05: And maybe the perfect closing thought comes from Marta George.

00:14:08: She suggested thinking of ABM not just as a marketing thing, but as the connective tissue for the entire go-to-market machine.

00:14:15: Connective

00:14:15: tissue.

00:14:16: I like that.

00:14:16: Yeah.

00:14:17: Her point was, if your field marketing team, your brand team, your ABM team, if they aren't all aligned working together seamlessly around the account, then you don't really have a marketing problem.

00:14:28: You have a leadership problem.

00:14:29: Wow.

00:14:29: That's a strong final thought.

00:14:30: It all comes back to leadership and alignment.

00:14:33: Something important to think about as you play in your next moves.

00:14:36: Absolutely.

00:14:37: Well, if you enjoyed this episode, new episodes drop every two weeks.

00:14:40: Also, check out our other editions on Field Marketing, Channel and Partner Marketing, AI and B to B, Martech, Go To Market and Social Selling.

00:14:49: Thanks so much for tuning in and diving deep with us on ABM today.

00:14:52: We hope these insights give you some actionable ideas.

00:14:55: Don't forget to subscribe for more.