Account-based experience for Finserv and Fintech

All industries have been affected by the Covid pandemic and its aftermath, but some have faced greater challenges than others.

Financial services (finserv) companies have had their fair share of obstacles; many lost funding or they served clients who suddenly started working remotely. As a consequence, reaching, converting and retaining these customers became a steep uphill battle.

Today, finserv companies are ripe for a complete go-to-market (GTM) overhaul, but many aren’t sure where to start. If that sounds familiar, prioritizing an account-based experience (ABX) might be what you’re looking for.

Why ABX?

Although fintech companies are relatively new, many of the banks, insurance companies and asset management companies that make up the financial services market have been around for a long time. That means they have largely operated in a non-digital world, and in many cases still lean heavily on pre-digital marketing tactics, such as physical field events and direct mail.

Many companies may have survived that way before the pandemic, but such efforts were halted when so many people went virtual. Suddenly, these companies were faced with having to identify, capture, engage and convert people entirely through digital channels.

To say it was an about-face is a huge understatement.

Compounding the problem is that finserv buyers – even if they are in the B2B world – largely expect to be marketed to as consumers and engaged with accordingly. A whopping 84% expect a similar personal experience across both digital and non-digital interactions, according to Gartner.

Delivering an account-based experience, which is a customer-centric reimagining of an account-based go-to-market, is the best way to successfully reach finserv buyers digitally and meet their increased expectations.

To paint a clearer picture

Even if there is a known universe that you are selling to in financial services, there are almost always multiple stakeholders who care about different things – and let’s not forget compliance, legal and risk partners. For example, there could be CIOs, CISOs, CX managers and a research team all part of a procurement committee. They’re all important, but they’re all looking for different business outcomes, which means they need different messages from you.

Following an ABX strategy, and using the right technology to support it, will help you achieve account intelligence that can give you specific insights into each of your subgroups and make your marketing and sales much more effective.

Due diligence is essential for fintechs, financial services firms, venture capital firms and private equity firms, because technological and firmographic data is essential. Technographic data can help paint a clearer picture of your buyers and thus alert you to the accounts that intend to purchase technologies similar to your own. This insight can also help you uncover funding, acquisitions, launches, growth and more.

Consider the power of that: It not only tells you who specifically is in the market for what you’re selling, but also helps you craft messages that can really resonate. You can also use custom data modeling and scoring to target specific niche products and services in your market. Relying on data takes the guesswork out and makes you more informed.

Understand keywords

In addition to understanding intent, keywords become a big part of the ABX story. Investors, VCs, large firms, and startups can use the insights offered by these keywords to…

• Uncover new categories to branch into or for new product offerings
• Discover companies for potential investment that attract the most interest
• Use keywords like “series funding”, “funding” or “early or late stage funding” to find out which companies are growing, going public or looking to partner

Customize the experience

As many as 76% of financial customers expect companies to understand their needs.

You can’t be a mind reader, but account information can help you organize buying experiences and align sales and marketing to generate revenue.

Gain insights and personalize messages across your ads, email and website at scale to create trusted client interactions. By customizing by industry, company name or geography, you’ll give them a “you know me and I know you” experience – which will build their trust in you.

Unifying marketing and sales through ABX also helps identify opportunities faster and engage them more intelligently, win the accounts that matter most and put your money to work more efficiently than ever before!

Measurement of impact

Measure what actually matters – and do more of what matters most. Moving away from a quantity-based approach to a quality-based game will give you a broader view of your accounts. You know how to allocate expenses correctly and reach customers faster.

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. And if you’re in B2B, you’re dealing with accounts. So measuring account-based metrics is key.

How are your target accounts progressing throughout your journey?

Work smarter: Identify your account-based funnel challenges (where are accounts stuck?) and focus your efforts on where you can have the greatest impact.

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Financial services are essential, but the industry has faced many setbacks in recent years. Fortunately, by using account information, these organizations can take back control, optimize their go-to-market, reach customers and achieve better results. Choosing ABX and applying the right technology and tactics is the fastest way to get there.

More resources about account-based experiences

For exceptional buyer experiences, think big, but start small

How to drive key account growth with omnichannel account-based marketing

Why ABM should be supported – not driven – by technology and demand Gen