Overview
In this article we'll review the key team members, steps, and tasks involved in onboarding with Demandbase so you know what to expect. You'll learn about the information and tasks involved to successfully go live with Demandbase and execute your first ABM initiative.
Topics
Here are the topics covered.
Onboarding Stages
During onboarding our team will work with you to implement your licensed solutions and execute your first tactics on the ABM Platform. The goal of this phase is for you to achieve your first success with Demandbase, including measurable results that you can communicate with stakeholders.
There are two main stages included in Demandbase onboarding:
- Going Live: Getting each of your Demandbase solutions set up and tested.
- First Success: Using your Demandbase solutions to implement ABM tactics, achieve goals, and measure results.
Going Live
In this stage we'll work with you to implement all of the Demandbase solutions your organization has licensed. Here are the main set-up tasks.
- Demandbase Tag set up
- Platform user set up
- Demandbase Profile set up
- Audience creation
- 3rd party integration set up
- Ad campaign set up (for Targeting Solution)
- Site personalization and forms set up (for Engagement Solution)
- Slack and/or Salesforce integration (for Conversion Solution)
- Testing and validation
First Success
In this stage we help you get started with using your licensed Demandbase solutions to carry out your ABM tactics, with an emphasis on these key tasks.
- Determine your business goals
- Accessing baseline data
- Deciding on your tactics
- Executing your tactics
- Evaluating and communicating your results
Who's Who
During onboarding different team members from Demandbase work together with your organization to complete each onboarding task.
Demandbase Team
Your Demandbase team includes professionals who work together to ensure your onboarding phase is completed successfully. Here is a list of the main team members involved.
- Customer Success Manager (CSM): Your main point of contact at Demandbase. Responsible for ensuring you are successful with Demandbase Solutions.
- Project Manager (PM) or Onboarding Consultant (OC): Manages implementation of your Demandbase solutions to help you go live, ensuring that all steps and tasks are planned, communicated, and completed in a timely manner.
- Implementation Engineer (IE): Configuration, testing, and validation tasks.
- ABM Consultant: An expert on applying Demandbase solutions for ABM, who will facilitate your Accelerator Sessions to ensure you know how to successfully carry out an ABM strategy using your purchased Demandbase solutions and integrations.
- Support Engineer (SE): Helps answer questions and solve any technical issues you may have as you start to use your Demandbase solutions.
Your Organization
There are several key team members whom you'll need to make sure are committed and engaged during the onboarding phase. The smaller your organization, the more likely it is that one person covers multiple roles.
Which roles will you take on? Which will you need others to assist with? Think about who from your organization will take on each of these roles, and work to gain their commitment to work with you during this phase.
- Decision Maker/Buyer: The person who decided to purchase Demandbase solutions.
- Marketing Lead: The person responsible for your ABM strategy. May be the same person as the Decision Maker/Buyer. Typically serves as the main point of contact with the Demandbase CSM.
- Main Demandbase User: The person who will be logging in to use your licensed Demandbase solutions on a regular basis. May be the same person as the Marketing Lead.
- Technical Resource: The person who will serve as the primary point of contact with the Demandbase PM to set up technical configurations within your Demandbase solutions as well as your 3rd party platform integrations. Typically part of an operations or IT team in your organization.
- Sales Manager: The person who will assist with accessing and analyzing data from 3rd party CRM platforms such as Salesforce.
- Marketing Content Developers: Your team members who develop creative and other personalized content for use with the Engagement Solution execution.
Milestones and Goals
Here are the key milestones, goals, and typical time frames for becoming fully operational with Demandbase and executing your first ABM tactics. You'll see that some of the main tasks are done in parallel with other tasks depending on your solutions and resources.
Week 1
Strategic Overview Call
Attendees from your company:
- Decision Maker/Buyer
Attendees from Demandbase may include:
- Customer Success Manager (CSM)
- Project Manager (PM) or Onboarding Consultant (OC)
- ABM Consultant
Agenda:
- Team and Roles
- Goals and Solutions
- Roadmap to Success
- Objectives and KPIs
- Next Steps
Week 2
Implementation Kick Off Call
Attendees from Your Company:
- Your main Demandbase user
- Your technical resource
Attendees from Demandbase may include:
- CSM
- PM or OC
- ABM Consultant
Agenda:
- Introductions
- Onboarding Timeline & Steps
- User Provisioning Strategy
- Demandbase Tag
- Demandbase Profile (Platform Pro only)
- Audience Management
- CRM Integration
- Analytics Integration
Week 3 - 7
Implementation Work
Participants from Your Company:
- Marketing lead
- Technical resource
Participants from Demandbase may include:
- CSM
- PM or OC
- IE
- SE
Goals:
- Carry out all technical implementation tasks for each Demandbase solution
- Meet as needed to check on status of tasks and ensure implementation is progressing
- Review and test each solution
Weeks 4 - 12
Accelerator Sessions (typically 4-5 sessions)
Attendees from Your Company:
- Marketing lead
- Main Demandbase user
Attendees from Demandbase:
- CSM
- ABM Consultant
Goals
- Review Your ABM Strategy
- Use Cases and Best Practices
- Analyze Your Audiences
- Report ABM Performance
Weeks 4 - 12
Execution of Your Initial ABM Tactics
Participants from Your Company:
- Marketing lead
- Main Demandbase platform user
- Technical resource
- Marketing content developers
- Sales managers and sales reps
Participants from Demandbase:
- CSM
- ABM Consultant
Goals:
- Select the use cases to focus on first.
- Use your Demandbase Solutions as needed to execute.
Tips for Success
Follow these tips from the Demandbase team to ensure success during this phase of your journey.
Involve Stakeholders Early
To prepare for a successful implementation you need to gather data and decisions from stakeholders for Demandbase to use as inputs into the ABM platform, including information needed to set up your target account lists, performance metrics, and Demandbase Profile.
Educate Team Members
Each team member needs to understand your ABM strategy and how your Demandbase Solutions will enable successful execution of that strategy.
Your main platform users, technical resources, marketing content creators, and sales team all need to know how need them to be involved in carrying out your initial ABM tactics. Use the resources we provide and hone your ability to communicate across your organization about ABM and Demandbase.
Provide team members with links to educational and support resources so that they can quickly access the information they need to complete their tasks.
Get Buy-In for New Metrics
ABM performance indicators are different from what most B2B marketing and sales teams track. Make sure you identify the right metrics to measure early on, and that your marketing and sales leaders are on board with shifting the definition of success in an ABM world.
