This document discusses building an account-based digital marketing strategy aligned with the buyer's journey. It outlines the stages of the buyer's journey and how to target accounts with the right content at the right stage. It provides examples of how to execute an account-based strategy across different digital channels like LinkedIn, paid search, and content syndication by building audiences segmented by buyer journey stage and targeting them with relevant content. The key is maintaining the integrity of the account-based strategy across all channels by meeting buyers with the right message at the right point in their journey.

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Building an ABX Digital Strategy Aligned
with the Buyer’s Journey
(Or . . . What Luke Skywalker and R2D2 Can Teach Us about ABX)

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Jennifer Hughes
Director of Digital Marketing, Demandbase
jhughes@demandbase.com
linkedin.com/in/jennifersuttonhughes/

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My Journey

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The importance of respecting the Buyer’s Journey - and how it can make (or break) a deal
Understanding the Buyer’s Journey
•Straightforward steps to take when building your ABX digital strategy
•Practical ways to ensure the right account gets the right content at the right time
Building Your Strategy to Align to the Journey
•Proven Techniques on executing on your strategy across all campaigns and channels consistently
•Including Display Advertising, Paid Social, Paid Search & Content Syndication
Your ABX Strategy Across Digital Channels
What We’ll Cover

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The Buyer’s Path

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The Buyer’s Journey
Identifying & Defining Stages

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Account-Based Goals

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Journey
Familiar
World
Hearing
the Call
First
Threshold
Reluctant
Gathering
Info
Prep for
Change
Final
Attempt
Attempt
the Big
Change
Final
Mastery
Dorothy Peter
Parker
Frodo
Luke
Skywalker
Harry
Potter
Moana
Scout
Odysseus
HERO

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The Buyer as Hero
Hero
Buyer

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Account-Based Intersection of the Journeys
Hero
Buyer
Logic
Emotion/Experience
ABX Strategy

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Account-Based Goals

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Luke’s Journey: Right Content, Right Time

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Remember the Buyer’s Path?

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Dorothy’s Path

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Dorothy’s Path
Aware
(Color)
Engaged
MQA
Expansion
Opp
Customer
Opportunity
Meeting
START:
Qualified
(Black &
White)
END:
Expansion
Won

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So how do you do it?
And what does it actually look like?
Building Your ABX Strategy

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Account-Based Strategy

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Right Account

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Right Content

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Right Time

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What’s Next? Audiences.
Account Lists &
Audiences
Building & segmenting
where the data and insights
live ensures the following
across digital channels:
● Consistent messaging
& content
● Scalability
● Agility when needed
● Ease of reporting
● Consistency in
calculating ROI

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Campaign Structure
Use Case: Demandbase One Advertising

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Executing Across Digital Channels

24. © 2020 Demandbase
|
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Executing on Your ABX Strategy in LinkedIn
Awareness
Engaged
MQA
Opportunity
Customer
Expansion Opp
Expansion Won
Qualified
Build & sync dynamic audiences by journey stage

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© 2020 Demandbase
|
LinkedIn Challenges - Account-Based Approach
Requirements & time constraints around building
audiences
Workflow requiring manual upload of target lists and waiting
periods of 3-4 days before use in a campaign (repeat for every
new or updated list)
The LI algorithm and frequency caps can result Users erring on
the side of broader targeting, leading to wasted spend and less
effectiveness
Without Orchestration:
-Right Account
-Wrong ad
-Wrong time
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2
LinkedIn: Account-Based Challenges

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© 2020 Demandbase
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DB1 Value-Add: Account-Based Strategy Now Possible
Can sync dynamic audiences to LI and thus target accounts
as they move from stage to stage without manual update
Segmenting capabilities & available data when building
the audiences mean the strategic work is done before the
campaign is built in LI
Dynamic Audience Sync provides a strategic launching pad
because selectors allow for more sophisticated targeting and
ROI calculation
With Orchestration:
-Right Account
-Right ad
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LinkedIn: Dynamic Audiences Allow for ABX Approach

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© 2020 Demandbase
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Paid Search/SEM - Meet Them Where They Are
Where To Send Them
What They’re Searching
2
7
Users from accounts
in all stages across
the buyer’s journey
Who They Are
Pain points to solve for, questions
needing answers, products & solutions
to help, you and/or your competitors
You let them decide based on
their search terms

28. © 2020 Demandbase
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Content Syndication 101
● Audiences by journey stage
● Consider using suppression lists
● Content is on 3rd party resource sites and available
for download - driving lead generation
● Remember: Results also offer intelligence about
those accounts and most often correlates directly
with intent
● Add to a 3-touch nurture program
● Include valued content offerings by journey
stage to engage & drive them to your website
● Enable & Empower your SDR team in ways to
reach out to optimize engagement
Content in syndication
grouped by Journey Stage
Then nurture them with next
logical content in their journey
Campaign
Structure
Why do it?
What then?
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Content Syndication: Account Based Strategy

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Align with Sales on Account Prioritization
Map Your Content Inventory by Journey Stage
Define Journey Stages Clearly & Deliberately
Build Audiences with Same Data & Insights
Meet the Buyer Where She Is on her Journey
Key Takeaways:
Maintaining the Integrity of the ABX Strategy Across Digital Channels
Be the R2D2 of Marketing!

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Thank you!