This is the guide to creating, managing, and running an account research campaign. All processes (along with scripts) are detailed below.
Step-by-step process:
1. Finalize a list of accounts
Make a list of 20-40 accounts that you want to research. All these accounts must fit ICP.
2. Note down details for each account
For each of these accounts, note down the reasoning behind selecting them:
- Why did you select this account?
Examples of reasons to select an account:
- Close fit with tier-1 ICP
- Engagement on multiple channels
- What are the signs they might have a need?
Note down why they might have a need for your service/product. For a marketing agency looking to get B2B IT/Dev/tech/SaaS clients, a good fit client may have the following signs:
- Recently received funding
- Currently hiring xx+ marketing roles
- Change in CMO/CRO
- Customer reviews (negative reviews can indicate the problem)
3. Note down keywords to look for
Make a list of all relevant keywords to look for to gather more insight on the account. The keywords are in the format of “*company name* + *keywords for topic*”.
Note: This step should be discussed with SMEs and people closest to the customer + product so that it is clear what needs the product meets.
For a marketing agency looking to get B2B IT/Dev/tech/SaaS clients, here are a few examples:
*company name* revenue
*company name* new CMO/CRO
*company name* marketing
*company name* growth rate
*company name* funding
You can also use industry-specific keywords, for example, for tech companies it might be useful to add the “tech stack”, “data stack” keywords
4. Look for account insights
Through these keywords, find account insights.
Account insights can include:
- News about the company through an external party/publisher
- Quotes from management/stakeholders
- Findings from company’s content published online like blog, company LinkedIn page, podcast, etc
- Company announcements
- Interviews given by management or spokespersons
Example of account insight for a development agency looking to work with tech companies can include insights like:
Account Insight:
- MoonPay is teaming up with non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace LooksRare to allow traders to easily purchase cryptocurrency and NFTs on the platform
- Firm valuation: $3.4b
- MoonPay uses Berbix to onboard customers faster and more reliably, protecting their users in the fast-paced cryptocurrency industry – leaders at MoonPay wanted to be able to onboard customers faster and more reliably. They prioritized finding the right tech tools that would more accurately identify whether those who come to its website are truly their customers.
- LooksRare and MoonPay partnership
- Tech stack
- MoonPay security
- All data sent to or from MoonPay’s infrastructure is encrypted in transit using Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.2 or later, and secured against downgrade attacks using a robust HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) policy.
Links:
Include links here that are relevant and important.
Example:
- https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2023/02/09/crypto-payments-firm-moonpay-and-nft-marketplace-looksrare-ink-new-partnership/
- https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/investing/brokers/moonpay
- https://www.berbix.com/case-studies/moonpay
- https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/10/business/crypto-nft-bored-ape-moonpay-lawsuits/index.html
5. Derive Hypothesis
Based on the research above, derive hypothesis on what the company may have a need for. For a marketing agency looking to get B2B IT/Dev/tech/SaaS clients, a good fit client may need a few of the following services:
- Higher retention
- Market expansion
- Lower churn
You can also use ChatGPT for this process and ask leading questions to get adequate insights. Training ChatGPT might take a while but after instructing it, it will learn to give you the specific information you are looking for.
6. Note down their challenges
Note down the challenges they may encounter.
For a marketing agency looking to get B2B IT/Dev/tech/SaaS clients, challenges for their clients can be:
- Dipping revenue for the past 2-3 quarters
- New policy changes that affect marketing
- News about high churn and low retention
- Withdrawal from a certain market
- Losing market share
7. Note down details of the buying committee:
Note down the name, role, social links (LinkedIn profile, other platforms), and comments for each buying committee member. The buying committee members are: Champions, Influencers, Decision-makers and blockers.
For the comments, note down comments that are related to each person. Refer to their social media accounts (Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, personal blog) to find insights about them. You can also take notes from the podcasts they appeared on, the quotes they gave out, etc.
Name their hobbies and interests too to make personalization as easy as possible. Moreover, add all social media links to the social links column.
For example:
Name | Role | Social Media | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
Emily L. | Director of Data | https:// www.linkedin .com/in/ emilykyloh/ | -moved to MoonPay because MoonPay’s proposition truly amplifies the idea of democratizing finance, by connecting the old world to the new, and making it easy for anyone to access and utilize crypto.
-says that Every department and function at MoonPay faces the challenge of scaling quickly enough to keep up the pace with growth for both the company and the industry, but without sacrificing quality.
-“the next months will bring forth an iterative process by which we aim to cement the Analytics team’s position as the center of knowledge within MoonPay and beyond.”
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