Backed by 6sense data, Cumulus Networks went from traditional Account Based Marketing (ABM) methods like static target account lists to a hyper-targeted, account engagement approach focused on the best accounts that are in-market, and therefore, more likely to close.
With this approach:
- account click-through rate on advertising rose 53%
- the team layered 6sense with Google Analytics to gain global visibility
- marketing-qualified leads became data-qualified leads
The Challenge
Cumulus Networks was already on board with ABM, but they were reliant on traditional ABM methods like static target account lists and marketing-qualified leads (MQL).
Without information on whether those target accounts were even in an in-market stage, the sales team was spending their time pursuing accounts that were unlikely to close.
And because today’s buying journey is often spread across a team, they didn’t have information to contact all the personas who might be involved in the decision-making.
They needed a better way.
Selling With Science
With the help of 6sense, the Cumulus Networks team moved to a hyper-targeted, focused approach, driven by – as Ari Capogeannis, Senior Director of Marketing at Cumulus Networks said — science and data.
The account-based approach began with the sales team, which curated a target account list.
Once that list was finalized, marketing leveraged 6sense predictive analytics to unveil which accounts were in-market for their solutions and who was displaying various research behaviors in the different buying stages.
Using that information, the team ramped up digital marketing spend for those in-market accounts, creating hyper-targeted campaigns that are personalized based on intent clusters by keyword.
And those efforts paid off – with personalization, account advertising click-through rate rose 53%.
From MQLs to AQLs
Standard marketing teams are focused on generating as many MQLs as possible. But Capogeannis and the marketing team at Cumulus have developed a lead classification model based heavily on 6sense data, combining account buying stage and profile fit with lead strength based on intent and recency.
These leads are known as Automation Qualified Leads (AQLs).
Basing prospecting on the relevant, real-time data in AQLs allowed Cumulus Networks SDRs to efficiently target the best accounts. And the level of detail meant SDRs could measure immediate shifts in account engagement levels within their target account lists.
On a larger scale, the management team could see the full picture by taking a snapshot of their target account list on a quarterly basis. This view of how awareness and engagement shifted throughout their global list allowed them to quantify and measure the output of their team.
Seeking out the Buyers
“You can’t force someone to have a need for you, but you can get much more targeted in your tactics,” Capogeannis said, explaining their persona targeting work.
The Cumulus team recognized that in the mid-market space and beyond, the decision-making unit has varying roles and personas; in other words, today’s buying journey is fragmented.
In order to combat this common issue, sales leveraged the 6sense Sales Intelligence persona map to see who else in the account they should be engaging — and if there were other personas showing intent sales has not reached out to.
Even Deeper Reporting
The Cumulus team was able to dig another layer deeper into the data by leveraging the 6sense API to push segment data into custom Google Analytics (GA) dimensions, taking reporting to a new level of granularity.
With that approach, they could — on a global scale —see the mix of visitors on their website by region or sub-region in the past day, week, and/or month, as well as other key information through 6sense.
That combination of 6sense and GA allowed the team to see who was “raising their hand,” who was researching (and what) on the Cumulus website or elsewhere, and which accounts were in-market for their solutions. And with that level of account insight, they created plays to warm up those accounts through digital campaigns and capture them in a targeted manner.
The Results
Shifting their ABM strategy required rethinking many of Cumulus Network’s practices, but breaking their old habits by using 6sense allowed them to experience impressive success.
- Account click-through rate on advertising rose 53%.
- 6sense paired Google Analytics offered the team global visibility into accounts.
- Outdated marketing-qualified leads became high-potential data-qualified leads.
