Account-based marketing voor de technische sector; hogere conversie met de cilinder strategie
Author
Roland Guijs
Date
December 5, 2022
Reading time
4 minutes
Themes
Within (online) marketing and sales, the funnel is a well-known concept, with many examples and variations. To put it simply: approach as many people as possible, after which paying customers trickle out at the bottom with the right funnel marketing.
For many sectors, this is a tried-and-true method, but for B2B marketing in the technical sector, it usually works differently. Here, a small group of regular clients is often responsible for the majority of the revenue. Therefore, it pays off to focus on a small group of key partners. But what does this mean for the marketing and sales processes of technical companies?
How does a marketing and sales funnel work?
A funnel is an imaginary funnel of a marketing strategy. The top layer is the so-called awareness, where a wide group becomes acquainted with the company, product, or service. Only a part of this will show interest in the product or service, and an even smaller part will actually consider making a purchase. And again here, a portion will drop off, until the final group of buyers remains. The conversion rate, which part of the broad group proceeds to purchase, is an important parameter for both marketing and sales processes. An interesting phenomenon of this approach is that it does not match the physical reality at all. While a funnel is meant to efficiently direct everything that comes in from the top, the funnel assumes that most of what comes in from the top disappears.
The Cylinder
Marketing for the technical industry works differently. Here, networking and relationships are essential. Many technical companies do not work with account managers for nothing; these managers represent the interests of a select group of relationships. And often successfully; usually, a small group of relationships is responsible for a large part of the revenue. Here, too, the famous 80-20 rule applies: 20% of the relationships account for 80% of the revenue.
With this in mind, the tactic of shooting in all directions and pouring everything into a funnel is not very effective for the majority of the technical sector. It's better to focus entirely on a handful of valuable prospects and give these full attention. This approach is also known as Account-based Marketing . Instead of a funnel, it is better to look at the process in a cylinder shape . Companies often know their (potential) relationships and can clearly articulate the target audience. By then directing marketing toward these valuable accounts, which have a high conversion rate, a more successful campaign will often be achieved than by addressing a broad group. In other words, everything that goes in at the top should come out as a customer at the bottom.
4 ways to implement Account-based marketing
Create custom designs and videos. Everyone is sensitive to personal attention. So make sure that the images and videos in a sales presentation are tailored to that specific client. In particular, animation works well here, as it is very easy to create various (color) variations of a product. This way, a representative can bring an image or animation video of the product in the colors and with the logo of the prospect. By recognizing this, at least one barrier will be removed, and it will flatter the ego of the conversation partner.
Position yourself as an expert in a niche. A good name and reputation are crucial, and it is best established by showcasing expertise. By choosing a niche and being the expert in it, everyone in that niche knows who to turn to for specific issues. Building an expert role can be done, for example, through blogs and by giving unsolicited advice, but also the use of video series is a proven way to do this.
Use customer references. A satisfied customer is the best advertising there is. So actively make use of these references. This can be as a quote on the website, but it is even more powerful if the relationship tells it themselves. In a testimonial video a successful project is mentioned, where the client talks about the pleasant collaboration and the good result. By then using this video in proposal processes and on the website, a high degree of reliability is established.
Advertising to a small target group. Invest the available marketing budget in a specific group that has the highest conversion rate and strategically offers the most opportunities. Targeted advertising here will have a greater impact. Spending money on not fully interesting prospects is ultimately wasted money.
