Targeting the Best-Fit Accounts
The following article was originally written by Lattice Engines which was acquired by Dun & Bradstreet in 2019.
The Lattice team is constantly discussing the importance of having a complete understanding of your customer. We believe that having that 360-degree view is the only way companies can create truly targeted outreach that resonates with their customers and prospects. And the only way to get that view is to integrate as much internal and external data as possible into one platform, to get a holistic view of your target accounts and leads.
One of the main ways this helps our clients is that they’re then able to segment their universe into those prospects that are the best fit, and go after those accounts and contacts with targeted, cohesive outreach. Many companies don’t do this, and an article from our partner Bain & Company put it best when they said “many business-to-business companies spread sales targets like jam evenly across accounts, with few taking the trouble to zero-base their opportunities, account by account.”
The problem with this approach is that you’re not maximizing the value of your most important resources – your sales and marketing teams. Think about how much money it costs to hire and maintain those two teams. Shouldn’t they only be focusing their time and efforts on reaching out to the prospects most likely to purchase? If you give them segments of prospects to go after, you’re making your teams more efficient and you’ll get greater returns from the same level of personnel investment.
Once you’ve determined which accounts and leads to focus on, predictive analytics platforms like D&B Lattice can ensure the teams are synced on the messaging to use with each segment of customers or prospects that has been identified. This is done by bringing in enriched data and showing the same information about accounts, such as what kind of technology they have behind the firewall, in both CRM and marketing automation systems. This will help make your messaging cohesive and ensure that both teams are influencing a buying center with the right messaging at the right time.
And how do you know if it’s the right time to reach out? Another data factor that is gathered by predictive analytics platforms is intent – i.e. whether or not an account or lead is actually in the market for your solution right now. This is why the complete customer view is so critical, because it gives you the who to go after by providing details on the fit and firmographics of your targets, and then it also gives you insights about when is the right time to call, such as when there has been new technology adoption or an increase in website traffic.
Platforms such as D&B Lattice help sales and marketing teams to determine the right customers to go after, segment them to create targeted messaging that resonates, and then prioritize outreach to make their activities more efficient.
Are you ready to make the same leap to predictive? If so, contact us here!