Why marketing targeting is like bowling: B2B CMO Spotlight
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Ian Howells, VP and head of marketing at the accounting software firm Sage Intacct, is a big fan of author Geoffrey Moore, whose seminal book, “Crossing the Chasm,” has been required reading for students of marketing since 1991. Howells quotes the author with frequency and is particularly enamored with Moore’s “bowling alley” analogy, which counsels a pin-by-pin approach to market development and segmentation. Howells brings his own striking insights, laying out the art of micro-vertical targeting for the next generation of B2B marketers.
Before entering a new micro-vertical like small law firms, Howells and a group of senior employees conduct as many as 50 interviews. Importantly, each interviewer has been trained. Explains Howells, “So many people have gone on target account courses, solution selling courseswhere’s the course to make you best-in-class interviewing customers?” Turns out, they had to create their own and once trained, the insights revealed made it easier and faster to knock down legacy competitors in each new market segment.
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