An ABX strategy involves focusing marketing and sales efforts on specific target accounts across their buyer's journey. The document discusses aligning teams around growth objectives, gaining buy-in, and executing and optimizing the strategy. It also covers identifying best opportunity accounts, taking a journey stage approach to engage accounts where they are in the buying process, and measuring key metrics to track engagement, pipeline, and ROI. The goal of an ABX strategy is to orchestrate relevant interactions between marketing and sales to close more deals.

1. Drive Growth with an ABX Strategy
Tracy Kraft
VP, Revenue Marketing- Demandbase

2. © 2020 Demandbase |
✓ What is ABX?
✓ How to focus on your best opportunities
✓ Take a journey stage approach
✓ Lean in on sales + marketing alignment
✓ Measure what matters
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Topics

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✓ Plan and Align
Align on growth objectives with all of your
business partners
✓ Gain Buy-In
Ensure buy-in from the top-down; note
dependencies and needs
✓ Execute and Optimize
Stay the course, optimizing as you go.
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First, a note
on strategy

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Gaining Buy-In Across the Organization
● Outline the need for change
● Show what’s in it for them
● Make the ABX Journey clear
● Commit to shared accountability (and success!)
● Make sure senior executives are in
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Cascading Goals
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Company
Goals
Sales
Goals
Marketing
Goals
Campaign
Goals
Individual
Goals
Strategy Defined - Operating Plan of Record - Marketing OKRs - Roadmap and Plans - Weekly OKR Updates

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What is Account-Based Experience?
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ABX

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A fundamental strategy that spans all your go-to-market efforts; not a simple
campaign or tactic
Account Based Experience
A go-to-market strategy that
uses data and insights to
orchestrate relevant, trust
Marketing and Sales actions
throughout the B2B customer lifecycle.

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Account-Based Experience (ABX) = The Best of ABM + CX
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Traditional ABM Modern ABX
Interruption-based Aligns go-to-market efforts to the account journey using
intelligence and insights to know when and how to
engage and what to say to each account
Marketing only Orchestrated process with Marketing and Sales and
Customer Success
Primarily Pipeline The full B2B customer lifecycle including brand, pipeline,
opportunities, retention/expansion

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The Core ABX Processes
Find
the accounts that drive
your business
Engage
with relevant, personalized
interactions across
channels
Align
Marketing and Sales to
coordinate interactions
and close more deals
Build
your account data
foundation
Measure
account progress

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Identify your best
Opportunities
Focus on Accounts that Matter

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Connect all your data
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For one comprehensive view of the account and the people at them
CRM
Marketing
Automation
Corporate Email
Ad Impressions
Website Visits (Anonymous)
Intent
1st
Party 3rd
Party
Contacts
Deanonymize
Lead-to-Account
Match
Maintain
Validate
Cleanse
Enrich
Deduplicate
Account ID
Firmographics &
Hierarchies
Technographics

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The number of accounts you could pursue
is larger than the number you can pursue
Two key strategies:
1. Defining different styles of ABX
based on account value.
2. Triggering extra focus.
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Source: ITSMA and ABM Leadership Alliance, 2020 ABM Benchmark Study
• Deep dive account research
• Highly-customized programs for each account
• Investment per account: $36,000 - $50,000
• 84% accounts are current customers, 16% new
“Handful” – median 14, mean 39
$2M-$100M++
1:1
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• Micro-clusters of ~20 accounts focused on similar issues
• Deep cluster research
• Highly-focused programs, moderate personalization
• Investment per account: $3,000 - $15,000
• 49% accounts are current customers, 51% new
Source: ITSMA and ABM Leadership Alliance, 2020 ABM Benchmark Study
“Handful” – median 14, mean 39
$2M-$100M++
“Dozens” – median 50, mean 177
$250K – $2M
1:1
1:Few
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• Many account-based programs live here
• Broad programs, light personalization
• More technology including intent data and advertising
• Investment per account: < $1,000 - $3,000
• 72% accounts are NEW customers, 28% current
Source: ITSMA and ABM Leadership Alliance, 2020 ABM Benchmark Study
“Handful” – median 14, mean 39
$2M-$100M++
“Dozens” – median 50, mean 177
$250K – $2M
“Hundreds” – median 500, mean 6,221
$50K – $250K
1:1
1:Many
1:Few
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“Handful” – median 14, mean 39
$2M-$100M++
“Dozens” – median 50, mean 177
$250K – $2M
“Hundreds” – median 500, mean 6,221
$50K – $250K
1:1
Targeted Demand Gen
(ICP)
1:Many
1:Few
“Thousands”
<$50K
Source: ITSMA and ABM Leadership Alliance, 2020 ABM Benchmark Study
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Time to select… Marketing-driven, Sales-owned
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1:1
1:1
1:1
1:Many
1:Few
1:Many
1:Few

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ABX Entitlements Example
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Always On Extra Focus
1:1
• Account plan
• 1:1 workshop
• VIP experiences
• 100% custom content, chat
• Advertising $$$
• Proactive outbound
• Quarterly contact refresh (5)
• $100+ gifting
• Cameo message
• 100% customized response
1:Few
• Mini account plan
• 20% custom content
• Advertising $$
• Proactive outbound
• Quarterly contact refresh (3)
• $75+ gifting
• Highly customized response
1:Many
• Advertising $
• Limited outbound
• Program-based content
• $50+ gifting
• Customized response
ICP
• General demand gen
• No outbound until trigger
• Lightly customized
response

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A Journey Stage Approach
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Meet your accounts where they are

20. The Buyer’s Journey
Identifying and Defining Stages

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Digital Marketing Campaign Structure
Buyer’s Journey Account Prioritization Channels
Paid Search /
Google Ads
DB1
Advertising
Content
Syndication
Paid Social /
LinkedIn
Digital $$$$ Digital Reach
Awareness
Engaged
MQA
Opportunity
Customer
Expansion Opp
Expansion Won
Qualified
1:FEW
AE TOP ACCTS
1:1
Strategic
1:MANY
DK4K + Subsidiaries
Demandbase ICP
Digital
Reach
Digital
$$$
Reach
$$
$ $

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Content Mapped By Buyer’s Journey

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|
The Right Account
The Right Content
The Right Time
DB1 Advertising
Awareness
Engaged
MQA
Opportunity
Customer
Expansion Opp
Expansion Won
Qualified

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Align the organization
Lean into sales and marketing alignment
“It’s easier to work in silos.
You just don’t make as much money.”
Peter Herber, CMO Mural

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Changing Dynamics for Sales and Marketing
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Old: The Hand-Off New: Orchestration
TOPO: #1 indicator of account-based success is the
coordination between marketing and sales.
Source: TOPO’s 2019 Benchmark survey

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Orchestration
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Automate and Scale Account-Based Processes Across Channels
Retention & Advocacy
Cross-Sell
CDM
Cross-Channel
Automations
Segmentation
Precise Segmentation
Unlimited Automations
Cross-Channel Play
Automation
Customer Data Management
Cross-Sell Plays

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Use Case: Prioritize Engagement
A large global brand with 98% of its revenues from
B2C needed to gain market share and mindshare for
its cloud B2B business from its two largest
competitors.
They went from broad B2B display advertising, to a
targeted account-based advertising strategy.
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68% increase in
closed/won
business
5.5X increase in
ROI on ad
performance

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Use Case: Prove Advertising ROI
A software company was unable to connect their
account and intent- specific advertising to actual
revenue.
Leveraged Demandbase to identify in-market
accounts for advertising while keeping a control
group separate for measuring.
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2x engagement
of accounts
advertised to
$9m difference
in pipeline

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ABX In Action - LinkedIn “I HEART ABM” Winning Play
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No Wasted Spend Double Play with Jennifer Hughes, Director Digital, Demandbase
● LinkedIn + DB1 + ABX Strategy
● Dynamically adapts as
accounts move through
Journey and Sales Cycle
● Right Accounts Play: Target
these people only if they are in
one of these target accounts
● Net New Play: Target these
accounts but do not target
these people

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Measure what Matters
Track Everything

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Account Based Experience Metrics
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• Type Metric Description
Relationship Engagement Am I creating and deepening relationships
with target accounts?
Journey 4 Vs:
Volume, Velocity,
ConVersion, Value
How do accounts move through the buying
journey towards desired outcomes (pipeline,
revenue)?
Attribution ROI
Models:
First, Last,
Multi-Touch, etc.
What is the ROI on my ABX budget?
If we invest $1, what is the expected
Opportunity Value?

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Engagement metrics tell you relationship quality
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Journey Metrics
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• Journey
KPIs
Metric Questions It Will Answer
Volume # of Accounts that move into a stage
Pipeline value of Accounts that move
into a stage
How many MQAs did we create this month?
How many Opportunities did we create over time?
What is the value of the sales pipeline generated?
Value # of Accounts in each stage
$ Value of Accounts in each stage
How Target Accounts are Engaged?
How many Open Opportunities are there?
Do we have enough Pipeline to achieve our bookings targets?
ConVersion
Rate
% of Accounts that move from one
stage to another
What percentage of Target Accounts become Opportunities?
What percentage of MQAs become Customers?
What type of Accounts convert the best?
Velocity Average # of days between two stages How long does it take to move an Account from MQA to
Opportunity?
Do certain types of Accounts move through the funnel faster than
others?
What is the average time spent in each stage?

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Example: What are my top performing channels for MQAs?
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Identify which channels are
sourcing MQAs (First Touch
Model), pushing accounts
to MQA (Last Touch Model),
and the top activities
moving the account to MQA
(Engagement Minutes Model)
Attribution answers this in the MQA Impact Dashboard.

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Quick Steps to Value
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Get Started Fast.

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Think Big, Start Small, Move Quickly
• Pick your accounts: Identify accounts in your ICP,
prioritized by intent.
• Pilot account-based advertising: An easy
on-ramp since most companies already make
brand investments.
• Map leads to accounts: Lead-to-account matching
is the foundation of any ABX initiative.
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Use Case: Top of Funnel Advertising - New Business
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• Products Used:
• Engagement Platform, Advertising
• Recommendation:
• Begin by creating an Account List referencing your TAL
• Include the Journey Stage of Aware to show accounts that
are showing intent but are not showing a high level of
engagement
• Within Advertising, create a New Campaign, and utilize the list
you created to create a personalized campaign to drive
awareness and engagement
As a Digital Marketer, I want to increase site traffic from target accounts who are showing meaningful intent but have low interaction with my brand.
• Take It To The Next Level
❏ Layer on other characteristics, Pipeline
Predict, and/or Qualification Score to
refine account list
❏ Add accounts that have converted
from Top of Funnel ad campaign to
Mid-Funnel ad campaign
❏ Leverage Site Customization to
Personalize Home Page and/or other
high value pages of your website to
ensure consistent messaging

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Clear & Complete Guide
to Account Based Experience
250+ pages of practical advice and best practices
your.demandbase.com/resources
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Market Segmentation Playbook

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Thank You
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You’re the best!