Genesys partnered with agency MOI to significantly over-achieve its pipeline targets. Here’s how
Summary
Genesys needed to rethink the way it targeted high value accounts and decision-makers. It hired MOI to help develop and deliver a new ABM-based campaign strategy.
The campaign was a precision-targeted, insight-led, account-based marketing programme. The result was a sophisticated and scalable programme that not only achieved its goal of one-to-one dialogue between Genesys and its hottest prospects, but strengthened teamwork between all involved.
The campaign has so far delivered a 400% increase on target pipeline, which was in the millions, and ABM’s share of Genesy’s UK and Ireland marketing budget has gone from zero to 30%.
About
Over 25 years Genesys company has grown to operate in more than 100 countries, serving over 10,000 customers and powering some 25 billion contact centre interactions every year.
Although analysts rate Genesys’ customer experience platform as number one in the world, the company faced three major challenges:
- Strong competition from its targets’ existing incumbents.
- No real insight into decision-makers or understanding of who they were.
- Unsure how to get a “foot in the door” with new prospect organisations.
Campaign objectives
The aim of this one-to-one account-based marketing programme was to identify and convert prospects that were not only the most valuable, but who were actively looking to buy. MOI therefore developed a campaign that would create its own opportunities and to maximise every last one. The approach was to:
1. Raise awareness amongst net, new and existing accounts
2. Increase pipeline with new and maximised engagement opportunities
3. Demonstrate a strategic and efficient use of marketing budget and resource.
The target audience was decision-makers in:
- Customer services IT
- Operations
- Sales and marketing.
Across four verticals:
- Utilities
- Retail
- Telecoms
- FS&I.
(However, targeting would be refined throughout the campaign, segmented into ever smaller datasets then driven through a hyper-relevant user journey)
Onboarding the team
In order to engage and nurture each lead on an increasingly bespoke journey to conversion, the campaign needed deep insight into the target audience and a means to communicate on one-to-one, not corporate-to-one basis. So, as the people on the front line, the involvement and collaboration from sales was vital.
It took dedication, positivity, direction and persuasion to win the co-operation of a skeptical sales team. The first step was a series of sales and marketing workshops to optimise the individual profiles of five key account executives, establish tones of voice and identify initial conversation starters.
Better together
Top quality, original, and hyper-relevant content was essential in helping to engage with prospects. Research was carried out to find the biggest issues faced by the target audience – this enabled the creation of an important opinion-forming hero piece, which was distributed using email, direct mail, social media and social selling. From here, audience respondents would be mapped, segmented and entered into the ABM programme.
The ultimate aim was to engage with the prospects most likely to buy. Collaboration from sales at this point was vital to develop a targeting hierarchy for the ABM. Initial skepticism faded as the programme’s value became ever more apparent. Account execs began to add their own observations, ideas and leads, and next steps were routinely and collectively discussed between sales, marketing and the agency, with daily contact and weekly face-to-face discussion.
Going one-to-one
Phase two saw the introduction of a predictive marketing tool, meaning that previously manual ABM could be scaled, automated and taken to new levels of precision targeting. The tool combined profile information, keywords, digital signals and propensity-to-buy modeling to produce intent data, allowing the identification and immediate targeting of the prospects currently demonstrating real and active buying signals. Day-to-day insights from the frontline sales execs were fed into the data, with the result that targeting could now be one-to-one, or one-to-cluster, depending on what the intent data revealed.
From here, the initiative could be scaled with lookalike modeling and more. At the same time, the programme remained highly efficient. By targeting only engagement-ready prospects, wastage was minimised.
Tight-knit for tightest targeting
Alongside the main programme, and using its direct learnings, individual initiatives began with 35 of the client’s key accounts. Decision-makers were identified, meticulously profiled (using demographic, firmographic, psychographic and behavioural profiling) and added to on-the-ground insights from Genesys’ sales teams. The analysis revealed a shortlist of targets for whom detailed profiling documents were produced.
The Genesys account leads were then able to target their shortlist with hyper-relevant messaging and content. In many cases, specific content was created per account.
From zero to hero
From a position of skepticism, the relationship between marketing, sales and agency is now one of mutual respect and intense collaboration. It’s an extremely close partnership that has extended into offsite brainstorming and socials. “When’s our next ‘epiphany pint’?” has even slipped into the group vocabulary! Three separate teams have become one close-knit unit, with every single member having an equal influence and decision-making role in the campaign.
This closeness and constant communication was absolutely vital for the ability to jump on every new opportunity. The proof is in the results. Campaign targets have been smashed, pipeline numbers are three times what they were previously, and new highly efficient ways of working and budgeting have been established. ABM was completely unrepresented in the Genesys marketing budget, now it has a 30% share.
Timescales of the campaign
April – May 2017:
Planning, content auditing, account mapping, social champion onboarding.
June – December 2017:
Topic research and content development, sector profiling, launch of messaging and content.
December 2017:
Predictive marketing tool launched.
January 2018:
Prioritising of accounts via intent scoping, analysis and deep profiling.
February 2018:
Nurture programme devised from above analysis. New and precision targeted content developed and distributed.
Results
Pipeline:
- 400% increase on the target pipeline, which was in the millions.
Awareness & engagement:
- 66% of article views delivered connections with influencers and decision makers.
- 74% engagement with priority contacts.
Use of budget:
- Efficiency & scalability improvements mean ABM now gets 30% share of the UK and Ireland marketing spend (previously zero).
MOI has brought a fresh, collaborative, scalable approach, which is really driving results. It’s great to work with an agency that’s as hot on innovation and strategy as it is on getting the job done. I can’t wait for our next social!
Jennifer Campbell, UKI marketing, Genesys
This submission won the award for
‘
Best integration of sales and marketing’
at the International B2B Marketing Awards 2018 . ‘Genesys opportunity-based marketing’ for Genesys by MOI.
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