What is Account Mapping?

Account mapping is the process of creating a visualization of the relationships between different stakeholders within a given account, where client and prospect company and contact data and current relationship status are mapped across two different businesses. It can identify the key decision-makers, influencers, and end-users and understand how they interact with each other. It can also be used for both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) accounts. 

Account mapping is typically done early in the partnerships and co-selling process before developing a specific co-selling strategy. It helps partnerships and sales teams to better understand their existing accounts, target accounts, identify opportunities, and plan for potential challenges. When done correctly, it can be an invaluable tool for achieving success in co-marketing and co-selling within partnership interactions.

There are two primary approaches to account mapping:

• individual account mapping
• partner account mapping

Individual account mapping focuses on creating a detailed profile of each decision-maker at an account. This includes information such as job title, authority level, areas of influence, and pain points. This approach is helpful for understanding the power structure within an organization and tailoring the sales pitch accordingly. 

Partner account mapping takes a broader view, focusing on the relationships between different stakeholders. This approach can be helpful for uncovering potential allies and understanding how information flows between different people at an account. It can also help to identify decision-making patterns and potential bottlenecks in the co-selling process. 

Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. In many cases, it may be helpful to use both approaches in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of an account. A more and more common approach is partner account mapping, as partnership strategies are becoming more prevalent in today’s B2B world.

Benefits of Mapping Accounts

There are a number of advantages to utilizing account mapping techniques.

First, it can help businesses to focus their sales and marketing efforts on the most relevant stakeholders within an account. Businesses often have a large pool of potential customers, but not all of them will be equally interested in what they have to offer. By looking at an account map, businesses can identify the key stakeholders within an account and focus their sales and marketing efforts accordingly. This helps to ensure that the limited resources are being used in the most efficient way possible. 

Second, it can assist in the development of targeted communication strategies. Accuracy and laser focus are essential for success. Whether you’re trying to land a new client or expand your relationship with an existing one, you need to have a clear understanding of what they want and how best to communicate with them. The account information you gathered can then be used to develop targeted communication strategies that are more likely to resonate with the client and lead to a successful outcome.

Third, it can provide valuable insights into customer behavior and purchasing patterns. By plotting out the relationships between different accounts, account mapping can help you identify key influencers, decision-makers, and budget holders. This information can be used to tailor your sales, marketing, and partnership strategies to better meet the needs of your target accounts.

Finally, it can help businesses to identify opportunities for cross-selling, co-marketing, and upselling. By taking the time to understand the unique needs of each account, businesses can develop targeted strategies that will maximize the potential of their existing customer base. In today’s competitive market, every sale counts, and account mapping can be a valuable tool in helping businesses to close more deals together with their partners.

Account Mapping: The Old Way

The old account mapping process was very costly and required businesses to manually gather data from various sources. This made it difficult to keep track of customer relationships and identify new opportunities. A sales rep would take days, sometimes weeks, to gather the necessary data, input it into the system, and then generate a report. The process often required someone to physically go through each account and input the data. This was not only time-consuming, but it was also prone to errors.

Account Mapping: Done Right

Today, the best practices of companies include using account mapping software tools that automate the process and make it much easier for businesses to map their customer relationships. These tools help businesses to save time and money while also providing them with insights that can help with their decision-making process.

1. Salesforce

Salesforce is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) system that gives businesses a 360-degree view of their customers. One of the great features of Salesforce is account mapping. This allows businesses to see all the touchpoints a customer has had with the company, including emails, phone calls, and web interactions.

2. HubSpot

From identifying key accounts to creating personalized content, HubSpot has everything you need to run a successful ABM campaign. And because all of your data is stored in one central location, it’s easy to keep track of your progress and measure your success. If you’re looking to get the most out of your ABM efforts, be sure to give HubSpot a try.

3. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a powerful tool for account-based marketing. By targeting specific accounts, you can connect with key decision-makers and build relationships that can lead to new business opportunities. LinkedIn also provides valuable insights into the account, including information on the account name, company size, employee count, and location. 

4. Crossbeam or Reveal

Technically a Partner Ecosystem Platform that allows you to better understand the ecosystem you play within, these two tools achieve a great partnerships function. They enable you to easily connect your data sources, like your CRM, to Reveal or Crossbeam, allowing data to be synchronized across multiple platforms. Whether you’re looking to overlap mutual clients, your partner’s prospect accounts with your clients, or vice versa, Reveal or Crossbeam’s features can help you get the insights you need.

Analyzing Data to Understand Prospects

Account mapping requires account-based marketers to gather data from multiple sources, including account intelligence platforms, CRM systems, and market research reports. Once they have gathered this data, they need to analyze it to identify patterns and trends. This information can then be used to create an account profile that will help account-based marketers better understand their prospects and craft more effective marketing campaigns.

After running the account-based marketing, salespeople will have an understanding of the organization chart and who plays which role within the target company. This clarity is what saves salespeople time, effort, and business money.

This layer of understanding within partnerships helps the equation of 1+1=3. You combine the account-mapped data of one company with another while applying the existing relationships between the both of you. Going in together, whether you are co-marketing or co-selling, builds an increased amount of trust within the account. Why? Because you’re much more aware of their situation, problems, goals, and needed solutions. You aid the customer tenfold because of the focused and intentional partnerships approach.

Say Goodbye to your Spreadsheet!

Who wants to deal with complex spreadsheets full of data? Uhh…no one! Account mapping doesn’t have to be a nightmare. With BD Paths, you can get the consultation and resources you need to make account management a breeze. We can help you choose the right software for your needs, develop custom account maps, and even train your team on how to use the software. So say goodbye to account mapping anxiety and say hello to a better way of doing business!