The Customer Journey – Why ABM Matters
I love this diagram! I think it came from Demandbase. It shows the ABM Customer Journey. The diagram is a little bit more linear than the reality. It’s really a much windier road. In this post, I will explain why ABM is so important and how it can help you overcome the challenges of the customer’s meandering journey.
Is There a Typical ABM Customer Journey?
A typical customer journey and a complex sale begin when somebody is appointed by the organization. It might be the VP or the Director of Applications who may be told by the CIO to look for a new communications solution.
Conducting Initial Research
So, off he/she goes with his/her team and starts conducting initial research. This may involve talking to people in their Linkedin network and researching dozens of websites, including yours.
Engaging With You
They then report to the organization’s buying committee on the potential solution sets. At that point, they start stepping forward and engaging with you and your competitors. Typically they will only do that when they feel in control, armed, and ready to do so.
The issue is that we want to reach out to prospects MUCH EARLIER than this point. However, buyers are not ready to engage. We can only reach out to them when they’re ready to put their hand up.
ABM Strategy – Reaching Targets Earlier in the ABM Customer Journey
Gated content is a typical tactic we all use to get interested buyers to put their hands up. But it doesn’t work that well anymore. Why? Because people know the game. They know that as soon as they fill out a form, they will get swarmed by the sales enablement system and a cadence of repetitive emails asking for a meeting.
One of the primary aims of ABM is t overcome this problem.
With an effective ABM strategy, you can reach target prospects earlier in their process. And with early engagement, you’ll have the upper hand in turning prospects into customers while focusing on optimizing your marketing and sales potential. ABM gives you a competitive advantage. That’s why it matters.
Understanding the customer journey is one of the most important things you can spend time on. In future posts, I will go into ways to do that. It’s an important part of our process.
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