Marketing Play: 5 Strategies to Execute Before the Clock Runs Out

If you played just about any sport growing up, you know how important it is to make a big push at the end to win the game. It’s the same with marketing play. In track, we pour on the juice in the last 10 meters of a 100-meter sprint, push ourselves with every muscle, and lean into the tape at the finish line. In basketball, we might switch defensive schemes to a full-court press, and in football, we run the 2-minute offense with no huddle.

It’s no different when it comes to achieving a revenue goal.

It’s go time.

We all have to hustle to maximize buyer interest and conversions in Q3 and Q4 to drive results so we can not only hit but exceed our quarterly and annual numbers.

Everyone goes on vacation in July and August and is then busy getting kids back in school. Then, buyers should be locked in and focused—but only for a few weeks. Around this time, there are basically four weeks left for marketers to make an impact, given average B2B sales cycles.

If, like most B2B marketers, you’re measured on leads (MQL/SQL), pipeline (opportunity conversion), and contribution to revenue, time could be running out to hit your numbers for the quarter or even the year.

The eye in the sky doesn’t lie

When the year ends, no matter what’s on the scoreboard, everyone will watch the playback (coaches call this the “eye in the sky”) and measure marketing’s contribution to the numbers. Your bonus, your 2023 budget, or even your job may depend on it.

So, heading into the last week of Q3 and the start of Q4, marketers must ask themselves: Am I really doing everything I can to engage potential customers, help move deals through the pipeline, and have a positive impact on revenue?

The actions you take in these next four weeks will determine whether you deliver the necessary results to help the company achieve its next milestone, ace your annual review and avoid any finger-pointing from the sales team over missed goals, and also set yourself up for success in the future by contributing to a strong pipeline for next year.

So what should you do?

Best marketing play to quickly and effectively put more points on the board

Here are five winning plays that will help you generate leads and drive more MQLs/SQLs in less than 2-4 weeks, contribute to the sales pipeline in 1-2 months, and have a positive impact on revenue (depending on your sales cycle) in 3-6 months – all within the horizon of 2023.

1. Leverage B2B intent data to identify in-market accounts using your ABM account list and run a campaign targeted at your target personas, with a Q4 imperative.
2. Run a highly-personalized email marketing campaign targeted at ideal buyer personas in under-engaged and under-penetrated ABM accounts.
3. Work with Sales to run a targeted sales automation and engagement campaign at ideal buyer personas that convert faster in ABM Accounts with sales agreeing to diligently follow up with them via email, social outreach, and phone.
4. Enrich inbound leads and drive tighter lead follow-up SLAs: provides more personalization data points and insight so Sales can truly convert better, and faster.
5. Run pre-event marketing campaigns to drive more leads and ROI from your tradeshows.

And one bonus play to maximize impact: Run custom audience remarketing for ideal buyer personas in target accounts via PPC and social, either standalone or in parallel with the top five plays above.

Leverage Your B2B intent data

B2B intent data refers to the behavioral signals that indicate that a company is actively researching solutions in a particular category or industry. By analyzing this data, businesses can identify accounts that are active in the market for their products or services.

To leverage B2B intent data to identify in-market accounts using your ABM account list, follow these steps:

• Determine your ideal customer profile (ICP) and target personas. Your ICP should be based on the characteristics of your best customers, such as company size, industry, budget, and pain points. Your target personas should be based on the key decision-makers who are involved in the buying process for your solution.
• Build a list of target accounts for your ABM campaign. This list should include companies that match your ICP and have the potential to become high-value customers.
• Use a B2B intent data provider to identify accounts that are actively researching solutions in your category or industry. This data can be gathered from sources such as search engines, social media, industry publications, and other online sources.
• Match the intent data to your ABM account list. This will help you identify which accounts on your list are in-market and ready to engage.
• Develop a targeted campaign for your in-market accounts. This campaign should be tailored to your target personas and include messaging that addresses their pain points and positions your solution as the best fit for their needs.
• Use personalized outreach tactics to engage your in-market accounts. This can include targeted emails, social media ads, personalized content, and other tactics that are designed to resonate with your target personas.

Run personalized email campaigns

Running a highly-personalized email marketing campaign targeted at ideal buyer personas in under-engaged and under-penetrated ABM accounts can be an effective way to increase engagement and drive revenue growth. Here are some steps you can follow to create and execute such a campaign:

• Develop your ideal buyer personas: Identify the key decision-makers in your target accounts and understand their needs, pain points, and motivations. This information will help you create highly personalized content that resonates with them.
• Segment your target accounts: Divide your target accounts into different segments based on their industry, size, revenue, and other relevant factors. This will help you create personalized content that is tailored to the specific needs of each segment.
• Craft your email messaging: Write compelling email subject lines and body copy that clearly communicates the value of your solution to each buyer persona. Make sure to highlight the benefits that are most relevant to each persona’s pain points and motivations.
• Create personalized content: Develop personalized content that speaks to each buyer persona’s unique needs and interests. This can include case studies, white papers, videos, and other types of content that showcase your solution’s capabilities and benefits.
• Use personalization and automation: Use personalization tools and automation software to customize your emails for each recipient. This can include adding the recipient’s name, company, and other relevant information to the email content.
• Track and analyze your results: Monitor your email open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to see how well your campaign is performing. Use this information to adjust your strategy and improve your results over time.

Work closely with your sales team

Running a targeted sales automation and engagement campaign at ideal buyer personas that convert faster in ABM accounts can be an effective way to drive revenue growth. Here are some steps you can follow to create and execute such a campaign in collaboration with your sales team:

• Identify your ideal buyer personas: Work with your sales team to identify the key decision-makers in your target accounts and understand their needs, pain points, and motivations. This information will help you create highly personalized content that resonates with them.
• Segment your target accounts: Divide your target accounts into different segments based on their industry, size, revenue, and other relevant factors. This will help you create personalized content that is tailored to the specific needs of each segment.
• Develop your sales automation and engagement campaign: Use a sales automation tool to create a targeted campaign that includes email, social outreach, and phone calls. Your campaign should be designed to engage your ideal buyer personas with highly personalized content that speaks to their unique needs and interests.
• Align with sales: Work closely with your sales team to ensure they are on board with the campaign and agree to diligently follow up with the leads generated through the campaign via email, social outreach, and phone calls.
• Track and analyze your results: Monitor your campaign’s performance by tracking your lead conversion rates, sales engagement rates, and other relevant metrics. Use this information to optimize your campaign over time.

Enrich your inbound leads 

Enriching inbound leads can provide more personalized data points and insights that can help sales teams convert leads faster and more effectively. Here are some steps you can take to enrich inbound leads and drive tighter lead follow-up SLAs:

• Gather information about your inbound leads: Start by collecting as much information as possible about your inbound leads. This can include basic contact information, company size, industry, job title, and other relevant details.
• Use a lead enrichment tool: Use a lead enrichment tool to gather additional information about your leads, such as their social media profiles, job history, and other data points that can help sales teams personalize their outreach.
• Segment your leads: Segment your leads based on their industry, company size, job title, and other relevant factors. This will help you create personalized outreach that speaks to each lead’s unique needs and interests.
• Develop personalized outreach: Use the enriched data to develop highly personalized outreach that speaks to each lead’s specific pain points and motivations. This can include targeted email messaging, social media outreach, and phone calls.
• Set up lead follow-up SLAs: Establish lead follow-up service level agreements (SLAs) with your sales team to ensure that leads are followed up with in a timely manner. This can help improve conversion rates and reduce the likelihood of leads going cold.
• Monitor and optimize your approach: Continuously monitor your results and adjust your approach based on what works best. This can help you refine your outreach strategy over time and generate more leads that convert into customers.

Run pre-event marketing campaigns 

Running pre-event marketing campaigns can be an effective way to drive more leads and ROI from your tradeshows. Here are some steps you can take to create and execute a successful pre-event marketing campaign:

• Identify your target audience: Determine who you want to target with your pre-event marketing campaign. This could include current customers, prospects, or industry influencers.
• Develop your messaging: Create messaging that resonates with your target audience and highlights the value of attending your fall tradeshows. This could include showcasing keynote speakers, sessions, product launches, or other exciting features of the event.
• Choose your marketing channels: Select the marketing channels that you will use to promote your event. This could include email, social media, paid advertising, content marketing, or other channels that are effective in reaching your target audience.
• Create your marketing assets: Develop marketing assets such as landing pages, email templates, social media graphics, and other materials that promote your event and encourage sign-ups.
• Launch your pre-event marketing campaign: Launch your campaign at least several weeks before the event to give your target audience enough time to plan and register for the event. Use your chosen marketing channels to distribute your messaging and assets.
• Monitor your results: Track the performance of your pre-event marketing campaign and adjust your approach as needed to optimize for lead generation and ROI.

Is your team prepared to run the winning marketing play?

Executing multi-channel, personalized campaigns like these at scale requires complete, accurate contact and account data for all the target buyers in your CRM and marketing automation system. Fortunately, there are solutions that can quickly analyze your CRM data health to identify gaps as well as inaccurate, obsolete data, and then perform on-demand data enrichment and contact discovery for ideal buyers in your ABM/target accounts to fill those gaps, so you’ll be ready to run these plays in hours.

Win the MVP award from Sales at their kick-off in January

Now is the time to make an impact and work closely with Sales to reach your company’s annual revenue goal. Take a good hard look at your CRM and marketing automation system and evaluate whether you have the complete, accurate data you need to run the kinds of marketing and sales plays that can carry you across the finish line.

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Learn more about Marketing Strategies

• DealSignal vs Apollo.io: Choose the Right B2B Data Provider to Accelerate Pipeline Generation
• B2B Marketing Channels with the Best ROI
• B2B Email Marketing: Best Practices and Essential Tips for 2023
• Demand Generation vs. Lead Generation: Key Differences and Strategies
• How Data Accuracy Impacts Sales and Marketing Performance and Costs
• The Road to ABM: Small Steps Not Leaps