Build your ABM target list
How to use intent data to build your TAL.
Building your target account list is the first step in any good ABM campaign. It shapes everything from the copy and design of your messages to the specific channels used to reach your audience. However, because your messaging is highly specific, it is critical you get your messages in front of the right audience.
As marketers, we often have limited time and resources to work with. Prioritizing accounts based on their interest will allow you to identify in-market buyers and reach out to them at the perfect time in their buying journey.
To illustrate this, let’s imagine that your company sells lead generation software.
Company A matches your ideal customer profile (ICP) but has shown no signs of increased digital activity around lead generation software.
Company B, on the other hand, does not match your ICP as well as Company A, but you can see that individuals at this company have visited your website, downloaded some of your gated assets, looked at your profile on review sites, have shown increased searches for lead generation software, and there is an open job posting at this company for three BDRs.
Which one of these companies would you rather target with your marketing outreach?
Probably Company B, right? Even though they have not filled out an inbound form or engaged with a sales rep, it is relatively safe to assume they are in the market for your products. And because of this, spending ad budget to get your message in front of them makes sense and will likely have a much higher ROI than if you had targeted Company A.
If you’ve run an ABM campaign before, you know how crucial it is to build a well-thought-out ideal customer profile (ICP). You likely already know your target audience’s firmographic profile—company size, industry, revenue range, etc., and have used it to segment and target your audience.
But the fact is, your ICP is just a best guess—how do you know your ICP is accurate? What about the companies that match your ICP but don’t convert? Or those that you may have never thought would find value in your products?Your ICP alone may not tell the full story. However, by looking at a breakdown of the companies showing buying intent on your website, you’ll be able to see which companies are searching for, engaging, and resonating with your content. This will allow you to sanity-check your ICP against the real companies in the market for your products, which will drastically improve your targeting capabilities and the effectiveness of your messaging.
Finding a new market segment for your product is like finding buried treasure.
An intent-based firmographic analysis of your website traffic will show you the companies that match your ICP, but it will also show you companies outside your ICP showing buying intent for your products.
Maybe your ICP is focused on companies in the Aerospace industry, but you start seeing spikes in website traffic, searches, and social media engagement from Automotive Manufacturing companies. Or historically, you have targeted small to medium- sized organizations, but recently you have seen increased interest from enterprise companies. This is a good indication that these previously unknown market segments are in the market for your products. From here, you can create new ABM campaigns that speak directly to how your technology will solve their pain points. //
