Back in 2009, I started research for a book called “Precision Marketing.” And it was during this pursuit of knowledge that I came across another book that would become paramount not only in the project I was working on at the time, but my own personal career as a marketer. It was a book called “Spanning Silos.”
Its key takeaway (for me) was this: Marketers can no longer exist in their own world and it’s up to us, and only us, to reach out to other individuals and teams across our company. It argued that marketers are natural networkers, but often don’t deploy this skillset internally.
But why was this important?
The book insisted that connecting with specific, very important divisions in an organization, including, finance, IT and sales, was the key to marketing awesomeness. It stated that not only does marketing need to bridge these gaps (what David Aaker referred to as “spanning silos”), but that customer experience was directly affected by this internal camaraderie, or lack thereof.
Remember that this was published well before Account Based Everything ever blipped on the radar.
So let me share with you my own experience with this theory, back when I worked for a software company in 2013. As the B2C marketing manager there, I was responsible for upgrading the customer experience in the e-store and ensuring that all of our customer touch points reflected our brand and the experience we intended for them to have. To accomplish this, I actively sought out and worked with IT, customer success, finance AND legal to make sure this was reflected correctly across the business.
To describe this as a “process” would be an understatement, but it was worth it in the end. And by enlisting their help, I was able to make sure that every customer touchpoint, no matter how big or how small, reflected our brand accurately and clearly. I couldn’t have done it without taking the time to consult these colleagues as their insights allowed me to leave no stone unturned in the customer experience.
This is exactly what’s happening right now in the B2B ecosystem. To put it simply, we don’t need to ensure our online store looks good, because our buyers aren’t going there. By signing up to work with us, our customers are spending more on us than could ever be charged to a credit card, including stress, time and their own reputation for choosing us as a trusted partner/vendor.
Their experience with us needs to reflect this high-stakes investment that they’re making with our companies. They expect consistent messages that are impeccably branded every time they come across your business. They highly coordinated and well-executed efforts on our part, and our organization’s at large.
Is this hard to achieve across departments? Yes. Is it worth the time, cost and effort to make sure that every single existing and potential client receives a positive experience from everyone in your organization from AP/AR and legal, to IT and customer success? Heck yes. Will it be hard? You bet your keister, Alice. But this journey into the “unknown” WILL payoff. Most likely in ways you didn’t even initially predict, as I gleaned from “Spanning Silos.”
As marketers our role has never been more important for the success of our business, and we can’t (and shouldn’t) do it alone. So let’s put our stellar communication skills to use and loop in the rest of our formerly benched teammates for stronger Account Based Marketing campaigns, audience insights and serious results that we can take to the bank. It’ll be a little trippy, perhaps even confusing, frustrating and maddening, but you’ll find what you’re looking for (or not!) in the end.
