Mastering the Art of Internal Account-Based Strategies

About the Guest

Jessica Woodside has a diverse educational background, holding a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in Literature and Dance, and an MBA in Marketing from J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

She has been a creative problem-solver in the marketing industry for over 14 years, working with both B2C and B2B brands. She specializes in marketing strategies that integrate both digital and traditional tactics, creating engaging content, and producing measurable, tangible results. When she’s not working or honing her marketing skills, Jessica is a voracious reader, hiking fiend, decidedly non-professional dancer, hot yoga enthusiast, and over-protective cat mom.

Connect with Jessica Woodside

Key Takeaways

• Strategic focus areas are essential when approaching multiple markets in account-based strategies.
• Collaboration and alignment with cross-functional teams are crucial for success.
• Meaningful metrics and reporting are necessary to demonstrate the impact of marketing efforts.
• Celebrating success and maintaining work-life balance is important for overall well-being.
• Failing forward and taking risks are key components of successful account-based strategies.
• Personalized content and leveraging brand recognition can enhance visitor engagement.
• Creating a dedicated workspace and setting boundaries contribute to work-life balance.
• Enjoying personal passions outside of work enhances fulfillment and productivity.
• Success in account-based strategies often comes from laser-focused targeting.
• Understanding intrinsic motivation is crucial for effective marketing.
• Balancing candor and trust within teams fosters a healthy work environment.
• Embracing failure and learning from it is an integral part of growth and improvement.
• Leveraging input from stakeholders can provide valuable insights and perspectives.
• Find the people in your organization who already understand the value of marketing.
• Report out on metrics that matter to the organization and are meaningful. 
• Connect what you’re reporting to actual ROI. 
• Focus on case studies for specific problems solved for end users. 
• Celebrate small wins and find traction with account-based marketing strategies

Quote

“Ultimately, you’ve only got one life, and you should enjoy what you do. You should be fulfilled by what you do, but it shouldn’t be all that you do.” – Jessica Woodside

Highlights from the Episode

Can you tell everyone more about what your world looks like?

Jessica explained that their company sells into multiple markets, each requiring a different approach. Instead of overwhelming themselves with a full ABM strategy for every market, they identified strategic focus areas with input from their corporate office and local teams. They create evergreen thought leadership content that can be repurposed across markets, minimizing the need for market-specific content.

How do you go about building alignment and collaboration with cross-functional teams?

Jessica emphasized the importance of working with stakeholders, even if it slows down the process. She acknowledged that she could answer some questions herself but believes in involving others to ensure alignment. Stakeholders, such as the sales team and product managers, have valuable industry-specific knowledge that contributes to marketing strategies.

How do you use the momentum from one group of experts and sales staff to propel you into the next group?

Jessica highlights the shift in thinking she has observed among her colleagues as they embrace account-based marketing. As their strategies have expanded, she has noticed colleagues from product management and sales approaching her with potential opportunities. This signifies a recognition of the value of marketing and a desire for collaboration to leverage the intel gathered from end users and channel partners. By working together, they can align their efforts and create a unified approach that maximizes the impact of their marketing strategies. This collaborative mindset has led to incremental business growth for their organization.

How do you manage the overlap across products or business units with different go-to-market strategies?

Managing overlap across products or business units with different go-to-market strategies requires a thoughtful approach. Jessica explains that they focus on creating case studies that address specific problems solved for end users in different markets. This allows them to showcase their expertise and success stories, demonstrating their capabilities to potential customers. Additionally, they create higher-funnel content that covers more general topics related to their industry, products, or services. By combining market-specific case studies with broader content, they effectively communicate the breadth and depth of their product or service portfolio, catering to different target audiences and markets.

How do you make a piece of content or strategy more applicable to overlapping products?

Jessica highlighted their approach to personalization by leveraging their company’s legacy. Despite being known for mechanical pressure gauges, they have expanded into various industrial instrumentation and services. They personalize experiences on high-traffic pages by industry or target account list, linking out to relevant sections of their website to broaden visitors’ understanding of their offerings. This approach has yielded positive results, increasing average session duration on personalized content.

What are some of the aha moments your colleagues have experienced as they’ve embraced account-based marketing?

Jessica shares the aha moments her colleagues have experienced as they embrace account-based marketing. With an expanded focus on this approach, colleagues from product management and sales have started recognizing the value of marketing and actively bringing potential opportunities to Jessica’s attention. This shift in mindset indicates that they now understand how marketing can contribute to business growth and are more open to collaboration. By involving these colleagues in the marketing process and leveraging their industry knowledge, they create a more integrated and effective approach to capturing new business opportunities.

How do you approach personalization and customization in targeted account-based marketing?

Personalization is a key aspect of their account-based marketing strategy. Jessica explains that they leverage their company’s legacy as a renowned mechanical pressure gauge provider and personalize experiences on high-traffic pages associated with this product. They create customized content that caters to specific industries or target accounts, ensuring relevance and capturing the interest of visitors. This personalized content not only addresses their immediate needs but also links to other sections of their website where they can explore a wider range of products and services. By providing a personalized and informative experience, they increase engagement and help visitors understand the breadth of their offerings, ultimately driving business growth.

How do you celebrate success?

Jessica explained that her team, being small but cohesive, has several ways to celebrate success. They organize team activities, outings, and events for special occasions like birthdays and work anniversaries. Although these celebrations are not specifically tied to success, they serve as opportunities to acknowledge and appreciate each team member’s contributions. The advantage of having a smaller team is that they can personalize the celebrations and make them more meaningful for each individual. Additionally, during their biweekly team meetings, they have a practice called “one rose and one thorn” where everyone shares their recent successes and challenges, allowing the team to celebrate achievements collectively.

How do you personally recharge and find your work-life balance?

According to Jessica, maintaining a work-life balance is crucial for her well-being and productivity. She mentioned that work is never truly finished or perfect, so she recognizes the importance of setting boundaries. While she could potentially work seven days a week given the amount of work to be done, she has found that having boundaries makes her happier, healthier, and more productive. She highlighted the significance of enjoying life beyond work and finding activities that fulfill the outside of her professional responsibilities. For Jessica, dancing is one such activity that she has continued to pursue since her college days. Living in Atlanta provides her with opportunities to engage in the dance world as a non-professional adult. By prioritizing activities that bring her joy and setting specific boundaries, she has been able to strike a healthier work-life balance.

What would you say to those who are hesitant to start account-based strategies?

Jessica offered words of encouragement to those who may feel hesitant about implementing account-based strategies. She acknowledged that overthinking and the fear of making mistakes can often lead to “paralysis by analysis.” Her advice was to embrace failure as a part of the learning process and to adopt a mindset of “failing forward.” Trying different strategies, evaluating their success, and adjusting accordingly is essential. She also reassured listeners that in the field of marketing, it is acceptable to make mistakes since the stakes are not as high as in performing brain surgery. Furthermore, Jessica emphasized the advantages of account-based strategies, highlighting that they allow for a laser focus on target accounts, effective communication, and optimized resource allocation. By concentrating efforts on specific accounts and tailoring approaches, companies can achieve better results compared to more traditional, broad-reaching B2B approaches.

Is there a book, blog, newsletter, website, or video that you would recommend to our listeners?

Books

• Drive by Daniel H. Pink
• To Sell is Human by Daniel H. Pink
• Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Shout-out

Dave Gerhardt – Founder at Exit Five