Being a strategic ABMer is like being a super fan. You need to know everything possible about one icon – or in this case, account. My daughter, for instance, is a mad supporter of reigning pop queens, Little Mix. She even has their collector annual, filled with behind-the-scenes gossip, photos of the fierce female foursome and exhaustive trivia about each member. Whether it’s Jade’s preferred breakfast or Jesy’s childhood nickname: she knows it.
This is similar to strategic ABM. When you’re only marketing to one company, you need to know them inside out, across their different offerings, their structure and their staff – ideally better than they do. But it’s important to err on the side of caution, as you don’t want to seem like a stalker. Super-fans will wax lyrical about the thing they love, which is a great and harmless mindset to have. Doing this in an ABM context can align sales and marketing objectives and keep everyone informed on other people’s workloads. But sending targeted direct mail based on too many consumer interests can appear creepy. Think more posters on your bedroom walls than locked file on your laptop.
Ideally, you want to build a collaborative relationship between marketer and consumer. If in doubt, think back and channel last year’s Glastonbury, when British rapper Dave brought audience member Alex on-stage to sing his song, Thiago Silva, together.
Alex knew that Dave has history of bringing super fans on stage, so he dressed for the occasion.
