Akoonu Extends ABM Capabilities
Akoonu,a strategic marketing platform for account-based marketing and selling, has expanded its integration capabilities and Content Planning module.
Akoonu's configurable frameworks, data and systems integrations, workflows, and collaboration features enable B2B marketers to develop in-depth buyers'; journey maps and buyer personas and then leverage these elements to develop targeted messages and strategic content plans.
Akoonu's integrations with marketing automation and CRM systems such as Pardot and Salesforce.com ensure everyone across marketing and sales knows how to effectively engage with each contact (persona) in an account.
New features include the following:
- Marketing Automation Integration to enable persona-based segmentation, nurturing, and campaigns: Enable persona-based nurture campaigns from first touch by connecting Akoonu to MA data to automatically match each contact to the buyer persona it represents in an account, and based on information collected on the contact, tag it to the relevant line of business and market segment created in Akoonu.
- Salesforce.com Integration to drive more targeted sales interactions: Automatically match each contact in Salesforce.com to the buyer persona it represents in an account. View the detailed journey maps and personas built in Akoonu directly in Salesforce,com to leverage insights, such as the persona's participation level, needs, barriers, content preferences, and interactions at each stage of their buyers' journey.
- Browser plug-in for quick, easy access to buyer insights and mapped content: Access all of the elements developed in Akoonu, including journey maps, buyer personas, targeted messages, and content inventory map, directly from the browser so Marketing can leverage and apply these elements in the context of the tools they're working in.
Akoonu's Content Planning module enables B2B marketers to leverage personas, journey maps, and messaging to inform the planning and development of content and sales enablement. The module's new capabilities allow marketers to also automatically inventory all content assets into a single view, and map all content by persona, journey stage, and more.
New features include the following:
- Content Inventory and Map to plan and use content targeted by persona and journey stage: Via integration with WCM systems, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box, automatically inventory all content assets from within Web sites and other disparate systems into one central location in Akoonu. Map each asset to its relevant journey map, buyer persona, journey stage, persona journey stage need, business objective, and content format.
- Content Coverage Map to ensure a balance of content across personas and journey stages: View a journey map visual for a particular line of business and market segment that shows the number of content ideas, candidates, briefs, and completed assets by persona and journey stage. From here, view and access the individual ideas, candidates, briefs, and assets. Identify where there are over-investments and gaps in content coverage to inform content planning.
- Share Content Inventory and Map across the organization so content can be used to enable the buyers' journey: Share content inventory and map via the Akoonu portal to increase access and usage organizationally.
- Inventory Dashboard to ensure a fresh content library across personas, journey stages, and business objectives: View the number of content assets by persona, journey stage, and business objective, as well as an aging report of the assets within each.
"According to CEB, an average of 5.4 people are involved in today's B2B purchase decisions," said Jeff Freund, CEO and founder at Akoonu, in a statement. "Part of the challenge is identifying these people, but once you do, the challenge only becomes more complex. Once you know who the buyers are in an account, how do you engage them, particularly when each of them has their own needs, concerns, and priorities that continuously evolve throughout their buying journey? ABM requires a deep understanding of your buyers and how and when best to connect with them through targeted messages and content. This understanding is the missing link in today's ABM landscape that we're helping marketers address."