Hiring For Account Based Marketing: Roles, Responsibilities, And Finding The Right Candidate
Account-based marketing is a new way of looking at the world. It's shifting from broad demographics to targeting specific accounts, contacts, and companies.
This shift is driving changes in how companies hire for account-based marketing positions. Today's ABM marketers need to leverage data strategically for better insights into target accounts and contacts. Moreover, they must be capable of planning and executing campaigns that drive results.
Here, you'll learn what account-based marketing is, the roles of account-based marketers, and how to find the right one.
What is Account-Based Marketing?
Account Based Marketing (ABM) is a customer acquisition strategy focusing on targeting accounts and decision makers of potential customers rather than broad-based targeting of all potential buyers. By approaching potential customers through the proper channels using personalized messaging, account-based marketing can help you improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
The goal of ABM is to drive more value from your existing sales team. It increases your share of wallet with existing customers while simultaneously growing the number of buyers who purchase from you.
Roles and Responsibilities of Account-Based Marketers
Account-based marketers are tasked with identifying the target customer accounts, building relationships with them, and converting them into customers. The role requires strategic thinking, relationship building, analytics, and sales skills.
Account-based marketing roles can vary depending on the company's size and stage in its ABM journey. Here are some of the most common job descriptions for ABM roles:
Head of Account-Based Marketing
The head of ABM is responsible for the overall strategy, planning, and execution of ABM. They should define and articulate the value that ABM brings to the organization, understand the customer journey, and build strategies around it.
Sales/BDRs
Sales reps are responsible for identifying potential accounts, qualifying them, developing relationships, and closing deals. They are usually part of an inside sales team, which works closely with marketing to identify high-value prospects. The BDR role is similar but focuses on building relationships with companies instead of individual contacts within those companies.
Marketing Operations
This role tracks all leads from various sources (e.g., website traffic) to identify qualified prospects and nurture them down the funnel until they become customers. Sales reps follow up on these leads after they've been qualified by marketing operations or another source, such as marketing automation software.
Digital Marketing Manager
The Digital Marketing Manager is responsible for the company's digital efforts (social media, search engine optimization, content marketing, etc.). They are also responsible for understanding the company's brand voice and communicating it in all digital channels.
Field Marketer
The Field Marketer generates leads through outbound sales tactics (cold calling, emailing, and other forms of prospecting). This person will work closely with Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) to ensure their success.
Integrated Campaigns Manager
Account-based marketing requires you to take a more holistic approach to your campaigns than traditional marketing programs. You'll need an Integrated Campaigns Manager who can help you optimize every aspect of your campaign, from lead generation through conversion. This person should help determine what channels convert best, which ones should be scaled back or eliminated, and how much money to spend on each channel based on ROI calculations.
How To Find the Right Marketer To Manage Your ABM Strategy
The most important thing to consider when hiring for account-based marketing is to find the right person for the job. If you haven't already defined your ideal ABM candidate, now is the time.
The following are four key questions to ask yourself when looking for someone to manage your ABM strategy:
Are they strategic?
Do they have experience in this space?
Are they passionate about sales?
Can they influence others?
Let's explore each of the questions:
Are They Strategic?
Account-Based Marketers must be strategic thinkers who can adapt their approach based on market conditions and competition. In addition, they should also have a good understanding of how marketing technology can be used effectively for account-based campaigns.
To find this person, you will want to look for someone who has experience working with multiple types of clients in different industries or verticals. Ideally, they would have worked with other companies at various stages of their growth cycle to understand what makes each company unique.
Are They Passionate About Sales?
The Account Based Marketer should be passionate about sales. They need to understand the value of relationships and building trust with buyers. They must listen, understand and translate buyer needs into actionable strategies that help the company win.
To find this person, you will need to look for people interested in understanding the buyer persona and then take those insights and create strategies around it. The best marketers will identify these insights from various sources such as customer interviews, webinars, social media, and other online channels.
Do They Have Experience in This Space?
If you're hiring an account-based marketer, you'll want them to have experience in the space so they can help your business reach its goals faster. They should have previous experience managing ABM strategies at other companies or brands to understand what works and what doesn't work when engaging with customers via email and social media channels.
Can They Influence Others?
Account-based marketing requires a lot of collaboration with other teams within your organization. There may be times when you will need to work with sales, customer success, and others to ensure that all parties are working together to achieve the same goal. The person you hire should be able to work well with others and influence them when necessary to achieve your goals.
Conclusion
Specialized experience isn't a must, but knowledge and interest in ABM are still vital. The right candidate will understand their role as part of a team, have experience with marketing automation, have some conversion optimization knowledge, and enjoy the social element of promoting a product.
All Account-based marketing candidates should be highly self-motivated and have exceptional communication skills. Depending on your business in ABM, you may need to look beyond your traditional hiring channels to find the right person for the job.
Takeaway: Hiring for account-based marketing requires a strategic mindset.
