In theory it should be simple. An ABM strategy results from a collaborative effort between sales and marketing to identify accounts with the most revenue potential, and how to engage with them, with what content, over what time period, and with what outcome.

A Target Account List is or should be a subset of the ABM accounts selected for a particular campaign. The campaign tactics – media selection, calls to action, landing pages, and so on – must support the overall strategy by pushing accounts as quickly as possible along the path to sales and revenue.

But in my experience of working with clients and agencies there is still too much marketing mud being thrown at impenetrable walls. The same tactics and data are being used for accounts up and down the funnel with little regard for stages in the buyer’s journey. This is particularly problematic with large enterprise accounts – is Shell or BMW or JP Morgan really just one company? There are multiple decision-making units even with country locations in companies of this size.

It is the job of marketing to select data that will form the Target Account List. Here are some points worth bearing in mind.

• Make sure you understand the overarching ABM strategy and select data accordingly rather than based on what you might have to hand or spend good money acquiring. Begin by looking at the ABM criteria but don’t just stop at firmographic or even intent indicators. Consider the buyer’s journey stage, partner or direct channel, account complexity, and anticipated opportunity size.
• This analysis should inform your data selection – or how you extract data. You will likely find you have not one but multiple TALs with not only differences in data but also in tactics.
• For example, if you are targeting large companies at an early stage, you are more likely to engage with multiple contacts as you work to get engagement across a wide spectrum of the business. In time you will be able to narrow down to a smaller group as you move from initial interest to sales readiness.
• Pay particular attention to how you integrate intent data. This can be really insightful on account behavior or lead to a lot of false positives. Don’t just rely on a few key words that you think might be relevant to your business. Someone, somewhere, and probably a lot of people, at a big company is going to be interested in servers, laptops, cloud computing, cybersecurity and so on. Look at trends, specific keywords, competitor names, and your own brands.
• Job titles and even job function selections can sometimes lead you down the wrong path. Not only do titles for the same role change from company to company, but so do responsibilities and that intangible internal “clout.” As you get to know target companies better you will be able to adapt and refine. In the initial stages don’t be afraid to go for a broader approach

Creating, adapting and deploying a TAL, let alone multiple TALs, is not easy. Demand Studio is here to help!

Contact Judith Niederschelp (judith@demand-studio.com) or Robert Howells (robert@demand-studio.com) for more information