Finding the best ways to market in the noisy B2B world has always been a challenge, but Jon Miller, founder, and CEO of Engagio has found success with an account-based marketing strategy for his company. On this episode of Renegade Thinkers Unite, he explains what account-based marketing is and why it can change the way you approach prospective clients. He shares practical ways you can authentically relate to company CEOs and why account-based marketing strategies are a business process, not a tech stack tool.
Click here to learn all you need to know about account-based marketing.
What You’ll Learn
Why choose an account-based marketing strategy?
Jon describes account-based marketing (ABM) as fishing with a spear vs. fishing with a widely cast net. It’s about identifying which accounts are most likely to work with your company, then putting more energy and resources into securing those accounts. B2B marketing environments are noisy and competitive, and ABM strategies allow you to stand out from the masses and attract the best clients with the highest ROI opportunities.
People seek authentic connection – that’s why they respond to the human touch in ABM
True account-based marketing strategies are multidimensional and go deeper than superficial attraction. CEOs are open to ABM strategies because they’re human and they want to work with people who truly understand them. Jon and his team at Engagio have a 26% meeting rate and a 60% human reply rate, simply because they’re not afraid to personally reach out to every prospect.
Practical ways to implement an account-based marketing strategy into your B2B company
An account-based marketing strategy can be implemented within your company in 3 steps: identify a CEO/company target, assign a team member to interact with them, and personalize your tactics for that specific target. Using face-to-face meetings as much as possible, targeted direct mailings and engaging emails are all useful when starting an ABM approach.
Timeline:
- [1:14] Jon’s Renegade Rapid Fire segment
- [10:39] What is ABM and why should you consider this strategy?
- [15:10] How Jon is using ABM in practical ways at Engagio
- [21:45] People respond to the human touch in account-based marketing strategy
- [27:32] ABM is a business process, not a tech stack tool
- [29:26] Jon’s “two do’s and one don’t” for marketers interested in ABM
Connect With Jon:
- Jon’s website
- Engagio’s website
- Connect with Jon on LinkedIn
- Follow Jon on Twitter
- Follow Engagio on Twitter
- Follow Engagio on Facebook
Resources & People Mentioned
- INTERVIEW: “Turning Marketing into Math”
- Salesforce brand
- 1-1-1 Approach
- Dreamforce conference
- BOOK: “The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business”
- BOOK: “Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty”
- BOOK: “The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation”
- Lingo Live company
- How ABM fits into your overall B2B brand marketing strategy (see special report).
Connect with Drew
- http://renegade.com/
- On LinkedIn
- On Twitter
- On Facebook
- On Instagram
Meet the Guest
Jon Miller has consistently been a driving force in the marketing world as both an entrepreneur and a thought leader. After co-founding Marketo, a major marketing automation platform, Jon went on to found Engagio, a company that produces software to foster successful Account Based Marketing efforts. Additionally, Jon is a speaker and has written multiple books discussing marketing best practices. In 2016, Jon was named one of the 10 Most Influential Tech Marketers in the world by B2B Marketing. Jon holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Harvard College, and has an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Quotes from Jon Miller
- There are really just three jobs for chief executives: set the vision of where the company is going, build the team to make sure you've got the right people, and ensure that the team has the resources they need to execute.
- I was really excited for the opportunity to go back to a small company and really start innovating for marketers by marketers again.
- ABM, to me, is fishing with spears. Finding the big fish and going after them proactively. Putting more resources and more energy into going after the right people, the right accounts.