Account management – Target Marketing

I heard an arresting comment at the LeadsCon conference in New York in August. The speaker claimed that inside sales has outstripped outside sales in B-to-B, a statistic that both surprised me and got me thinking. Turns out, the statement was based on a recent study showing that inside sales is growing 7.5 percent, compared to field sales at only 0.5 percent, and that as of 2013, 53 percent of the B-to-B sales rep population sells by phone, instead of face-to-face. It strikes me that this development bears enormous implications for B-to-B marketers.

On reflection, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, since phone-based selling is so much more efficient than hitting the road to make face-to-face sales calls. Inside sales has graduated over time from the role of inbound order-taker to a full-fledged territory rep, with a full sales quota, but one who can handle a lot more accounts.

Interestingly, inside sales reps appear to be more effective as well. The same study shows their quota achievement levels at 85 percent, compared to field sales, who only achieve their quotas 81 percent of the time.

Many large enterprises have moved to a tiered selling model, where field sales cover large accounts, inside sales manages the relationship with mid-level accounts, and the smaller, less active customers are served by distributors, catalogs, or e-commerce.

Another common model is pairing up one or more field reps with one inside rep, who handles tasks like appointment setting, and in effect extends the reach of the field reps by keeping in closer contact with their accounts and nurturing the relationship. The efficiencies of both sales coverage models are apparent.

Another driver of this trend is changes in buyer behavior, where business buyers are researching online, and demonstrating buying signals. The first human interaction with these researchers is likely to be over the phone, in a lead development role.

But where does marketing come in to the mix? Very similarly to the traditional field sales model, by providing qualified leads, lead qualification and nurturing programs, sales materials, opportunities for sales contact, like webinars, events and online communities. So, as inside sales takes on the role of account management, marketing needs to provide them with the support known as “sales enablement.”

But there are differences, as well. Marketing needs to recognize the constraints that characterize a phone based relationship, and seek creative ways to overcome them. Here are some ideas:

Digital Contact Tools
Text chat and video chat can supplement the inside salesperson’s traditional phone and email interactions. Also it’s a good idea to provide reps with email templates and robust content libraries so they can easily craft informative email messages.

Video
B-to-B video applications are wide ranging today. For an inside sales rep, video can be an easy and efficient way to deepen customer relationships. Reps can not only create self-introductory videos, but also product reviews, helpful analyses—the possibilities are endless.

Social Selling Tools
IBM, for example, provides social selling tools and training to its inside sales reps. Each rep has a web page, containing a social media feed, a video self-introduction, and links to content, some provided by marketing, and some selected personally by the rep. Reps can also monitor social conversations, to identify trends and opinions. One IBM inside sales rep reported connecting with a CIO through LinkedIn and ending up with a $500k deal.

Community
Phone based sales reps may find online communities a productive environment for interacting with customers, and attracting prospects.

Face to Face Opportunity
Just because the rep is on the phone doesn’t mean there’s never a chance to meet the customer in person. Send your inside sales people to the trade shows where their customers are in attendance. Make sure they book appointments in advance. Organize meeting opportunities at the show, like breakfasts or coffee events.

Reasons to Call
Inside sales reps are always looking for good excuses to contact individuals in their accounts. A steady stream of good quality content is essential to this mission. Also, conduct regular statistical modeling of customer purchase patterns to identify “next best product” ideas. A rep will welcome the chance to call a customer with a relevant suggestion for cross-buying.

Do you have other ideas for how marketing can provide leverage to the inside sales team?

A version of this article appeared in Biznology, the digital marketing blog.

In managing affiliate programs, large online advertisers typically rely on the account management services provided by the leading affiliate networks. Given that such services are often included in network transaction fees, many advertisers incorrectly assume that affiliate networks will deliver tactical and strategic services to boost performance.

Advertisers have another choice when it comes to affiliate program management — break away from the network. Your interactive agency, which manages your search, email, display and social media campaigns, may be the best choice for managing your affiliate program. Usually there aren’t incremental costs associated with transferring the management of an existing affiliate program from a network team to an agency team.

Depending on the contractual terms in place between the advertiser and network, most networks will lower their transaction fees (if given proper notice), enabling the advertiser to pay the difference between the original and new fees to the agency as payment for their management services.

Integrating affiliate program management with the management of your other online channels can boost overall marketing performance while improving efficiency. The first benefit is goal alignment. In cases where you have a long-standing relationship in place with your agency, extending that relationship to the affiliate channel would allow the agency to leverage its knowledge of your marketing goals to align those goals across channels.

When goals are aligned, agencies can provide holistic, cross-channel attribution reporting. This sheds light on your customers’ interactions with each online channel during their paths to conversion. Once you understand how your customers are moving across channels and how each channel influences another, an agency can then provide recommendations for cross-channel budget allocation that lower marketing costs while increasing return on investment.

Efficiencies can also be created through streamlined account management and communication, resulting in cross-channel reporting and fewer calls, meetings and invoices. A holistic approach to affiliate marketing also helps eliminate duplicate transactions. Duplicate transactions across multiple channels, such as search, display and affiliate, can be deduped — i.e., removed from the other channels based on the “last click in.” As a result, you avoid paying multiple times for the same transaction.

Your interactive agency is also in a better position to monitor your affiliate program across channels. While affiliate networks police themselves to identify and remove fraudulent or noncompliant affiliates, they often lack the tools and resources to effectively monitor an individual advertiser’s program. On the flip side, agencies that specialize in search marketing are able to use the proprietary tools and systems they have in place to monitor an advertiser’s affiliate program.

Lastly, your agency is more focused on strategic planning than your network. Full-service interactive agencies often have access to the latest industry research, cutting-edge tools and technologies, and direct experience with emerging online trends and forms of media. As a result, they leverage their expertise to develop and deliver sophisticated strategic guidance backed by the resources to implement those strategies.

Affiliate marketing is a critical component of your overall performance marketing suite and should get the program management attention it deserves. It’s time to stop treating your affiliate program separately from your other online marketing efforts. As your customers increasingly move between channels before purchase — from search to social to email to display to affiliate — successful online advertisers are no longer thinking in silos. Looping affiliate into your cross-channel strategy will not only boost affiliate performance, but holistic performance as well.

Tag: Account management

Why Affiliate Program Success Depends on Breaking Down Silos