I'd Like Several Thousand MQLs On An ABM Platter With A Side Of Social Media Please!

By Perry Rearick, Chief Editor, Follow Your Buyer

Does your B2B media buying strategy sound like you’re ordering food from a restaurant when you’re not sure what you want, and the menu is filled with confusing jargon. You’re not alone!

In a conversation I had with Elliott Berger, Board Member at Orientation Marketing and former CMO at Catalent, he offered candid advise that emphasized the need for clear marketing communications strategies aligned with business outcomes, knowing who you want to reach, then applying the appropriate tactics to reach them.

When we don’t know these things, we quickly jump to pop-marketing tactics and all the jargon that comes with them. This causes us to spend a lot of money on things we haven’t clearly defined nor are we sure about what we might get.

For instance, a B2B solution provider contacts a media company and wants to start an account-based marketing (ABM) program to generate marketing qualified leads (MQLs). But the solution provider has not defined what an MQL is for their business, the criteria used to identify them, and what they would do with them. Yikes!

Yes, there is a textbook definition for MQLs: a lead that has expressed interest in what a brand has to offer. But this definition only serves as a starting point.

The processes and systems that support business development vary by business. And more importantly, the journey that prospects take differs by the challenges they face and the solutions they seek.

If it’s MQLs you seek, define what an MQL is for your business. What defines a prospect that has expressed interest in your brand? That could mean they submitted contact information to open a gate to your content. It could also mean they have engaged with your content on a specific topic five or more times. You get to decide!

And how you define an MQL isn’t evergreen. Closely monitor the MQLs as you defined them and see if, and how, they advance through your business development process. Then use that knowledge to refine your MQL definition. 

I urge you to stop spending money on undefined, pop-marketing tactics that have no connection to a marketing strategy that supports your business outcomes.

Keep it simple and follow Elliott’s advice.

I hope you have a great week!