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The Truth About Identifying Buyers and Target Accounts at Home

How Terminus first-party data, Terminus Identity, is changing targeting across the work-from-home landscape

It’s no secret that the marketing landscape has changed dramatically the past few years. From virtual conferences, zoom fatigue, and (whispers ominously) working during the great resignation, marketers have had to constantly pivot in order to stay relevant. Even though we all benefit from seeing your cat on conference calls, there is one critical change that affects every single marketer in the current landscape. How do you identify buyers and accounts when they aren’t working from the office, but rather, their couch?

It starts with data, and yes, data is one of the less glamorous marketing topics, but arguably the most important. Having the right data sets you up for more accurate marketing strategies, better understanding of where to spend your budget, and makes you look really smart. Becoming a data superhero doesn’t mean you have to go back to school to master data science. It can start with understanding what type of data your ABM vendor provides, where they get it from, and how you can use it to further your program.

As the work-from-home movement continues to take root, Terminus is bringing first-party data sets, Terminus Identity, to the table. In this post I’ll discuss why first-party data is bringing home the trophy when it comes to ABM platform data offerings.

Different Types of Data

Many ABM marketing platforms tout match rates and various sources of anonymous visitor identification. This can be from cookies, from data pools, or from relatively static data sets that don’t update regularly. The data that you use today is likely a combination of first, second, and third-party data.

Today’s buyers interact with brands across multiple devices and channels. It’s a complex and fast-changing landscape, with new touchpoints constantly emerging. But the important thing isn’t how many disparate channels you use — it’s creating better brand experiences that delight customers and drive them back again and again.

All of these touchpoints allow brands to collect tons of first-party data about their customers. This data can be connected to individuals to resolve identity and drive a deeper understanding of how consumers behave, what they want and where they are in their buyer journeys.

Second-party data is typically data from a trusted partner. This data can help you achieve greater scale rather than relying on your CRM data alone. For example, a publisher might share its first-party audience data with an advertiser who wants to run ads on its site.

Third-party data usually comes from an outside source that has collected the data. This data is often aggregated, segmented, and then sold to companies for their own advertising use.

Many ABM companies leverage their wide reach across marketing landscapes to provide various data sources to their customers. They also likely partner with other providers in the landscape to fill in additional gaps in the data picture. However, we have seen time and time again that much of this data was curated for one specific reason – to reach buyers and accounts from their office IP addresses. This means, they can tell you who they are at work, but really have no idea who they are at home. With more people working from home, or working hybrid, this is not a solution.

Boost Your Data Strategy With Terminus First-Party Data

In the work-from-home landscape, it has become more critical than ever to know who your buyers are, wherever they are working from. One way to do this is to leverage an ABM provider with multiple marketing channels and first-party data. ABM providers often use a “match rate” to show how effectively they can identify the contacts that you are trying to reach and engage with. More often than not, these match rates don’t reflect the work-from-home landscape because ABM providers need robust first-party data to be able to effectively match contacts to residential IPs.

Terminus’ approach to multi-channel, native ABM means that first-party data is a critical part of the Terminus data landscape. Daily-updating data sets within Terminus Identity increase match rate accuracy and increase the volume of residential IPs that you can match to target accounts and contacts. In the new WFH and hybrid-work era, Terminus Identity powers the reach and impact of your ABM marketing strategy.

Take the First Step

Before you can reach your buyers, you have to identify who they are. We are here to help you do that. Check out how Terminus can help you take your strategy to the next level with Connected Account Experiences today.