Are You Building Another Leaning Tower of Pisa?
Ah, the Leaning Tower of Pisa—an ornate, bell tower that stands—or leans—over 183 feet in the air in Pisa’s Cathedral Square. Several architects have been credited with the design and many experts were involved its development. In 1178, five years into the construction, several builders saw that there were potential problems—but the well-known experts they were following kept telling everyone to keep building…for another 194 years…thus compounding the problem.
Over the last 50 years a number of corrective actions have been applied to try to fix the problem…a multinational task force of engineers, mathematicians, and historians were assembled…hundreds of tons of lead counterweights were added…thousands of cubic feet of soil were removed…cables were cinched and anchored…the bells were removed. In 2001, the Tower was declared stable for another 300 years—but the Tower still leans. In the end, the construction of the Tower of Pisa was flawed from the outset. A shallow foundation set in weak, unstable subsoil and the continual building upon that poor foundation created a well-intentioned endeavor that literally went sideways. Too much time, money, and effort has been spent trying to fix a flawed process.
Is Your ABM Program Framework Foundation Weak or Missing?
I have been to a lot of ABM conferences; read a lot of success tips; and have seen a lot of frameworks, processes, and blueprints over the last few years as an ABM consultant and practitioner. Almost every presentation, document, and blog names “identify accounts” or “account selection” as the first key step. Respectively to the wise and experienced ABM thought leaders who provide this advice and I admire, I disagree. The first step is to develop a strategy and then apply it during your other key steps such as “target accounts.” Strategy is the foundation for your ABM framework. It supports your other key steps and framework. Make it deep and wide. What is your goal—to acquire new customers, to expand key accounts, to nurture strategic prospects? What is your path to achieving that goal? How will you measure progress and success? What channels and resources will you leverage? How will this be different from other initiatives you have planned? How will you budget for this framework? Pour a foundation that can support all of these considerations.
“A vision without a strategy remains an illusion.” Lee Bolman
Over the last few years I have seen too many marketers embrace ABM and jump right into execution. They want to immediately roll out a display ad, email, or sales development rep (SDR) phone campaign. Then when they get questioned on progress or do not see results as expected, their ABM program framework begins to go sideways—or worse yet, crumble. There is no foundation. Whether you want to roll out a pilot or full-blown ABM program, take a breath—and a step back—and invest a little time into planning and strategy. Connect the dots. Make it cohesive and collaborative. Work with a vendor, industry analyst, or consultant.
“You don’t build a strong house without a strong foundation. You don’t build a solid ABM framework without a solid strategy.” Kelly J. Waffle
How Can You Get Started Building Your Strategy?
If you know what accounts you need to target, I would recommend you get Kwanzoo’s free Account Coverage Report and Assessment. It is available to you at no cost or obligation and I think it is a great way to get started with your strategy. Give Kwanzoo your list of targeted accounts and Kwanzoo will provide you actionable information on:
· What ABM tactics to deploy
· Which accounts you can reach globally
· What can you personalize
· What should your budget look like
Even if you don’t know what accounts to target, I would still talk to Kwanzoo—ask for me if you would like—and learn how a list can be built for you will just a few pieces of information such as your competitors, partners, etc. There is no doubt that ABM offers certain organizations great benefits and ROI and that identifying the right accounts is a key step in the process. There are also great ABM thought leaders out there. I just don’t think that “targeting accounts” or “account selection” is the first step in the process or the most important step. Strategy is not only the first step—it is the foundation for all the other steps and needs to start showing up in more ABM frameworks, blueprints, and processes so that better expectations can be set and greater success can be achieved. Once you nail down your strategy please remember this point:
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” Winston Churchill
Photo credit: www.unknownworld.co About Kelly Waffle: As Vice President of Marketing at Kwanzoo, Kelly brings more than 20 years of demand generation, bespoke marketing consulting, and now account-based marketing (ABM) experience. He has been a trusted advisor as a practitioner, consultant, and vendor and has won Marketo’s Revvie Award as well as Eloqua’s Markie Award. He is also a Marketo Champion.