Build Relationships in Your Pipeline Using Sendoso & Demandbase

If you’ve heard the phrase “Do more with less,” raise your hand. 🙋

Marketers have been tasked with generating a pipeline that converts, filling the lead funnel, creating engaging content, launching campaigns - the list goes on. At the same time, budgets are flat or shrinking, and time spent on any one project is at a premium.

So, how can you effectively accomplish all these goals while being efficient with time and money? We have one word for you: automation.

You might be thinking, “Sendoso, you’re all about the personal touch! Isn’t automation the complete opposite of that?” We’re here to tell you that you can have your automation and build personal relationships, too. We think of it as helping you send the right gift to the right person at the right time.

By integrating the tools you already have at your fingertips with Sendoso, you can build (and scale!) outreach programs that are personalized and effective without adding any additional workflows to your marketing or sales process. 

We’ve created this playbook to help you maximize our Demandbase integration. Real Sendoso customers have proven these strategies, so we know they work. Get ready to supercharge your marketing and sales processes and impress leadership with your team’s success.

Overview

Demandbase is an ABM tool that allows you to trigger gift sends based on how a prospect engages with your content and website. Using Sendoso with Demandbase, you can trigger sends based on when and how a prospect engages - ensuring you’re sending the right gift to the right person at the right time. Using this playbook, you can:

• Align direct mail campaigns with an overall digital marketing strategy to create a seamless online and offline experience.
• Use Demandbase Journey Stages to determine trigger criteria for a more strategic send based on an account's position in the customer journey.
• Reengage critical opportunities at the right time by sending a gift when someone meets specific, pre-established criteria.

Follow these steps to create programs to connect with the right person at the right time, with the right message and gift.

If you need help setting up an automated gifting campaign using Sendoso + Demandbase, click here for setup instructions.

Formula for Success

When using this playbook, follow this formula:

Demandbase collects robust data sets so you can set up an almost infinite number of campaign triggers. Here’s an example of what that formula looks like:

Identify the signal: Create a segment in Demandbase to surface accounts for campaigns using filters such as visits to high-value pages showing intent, engagement with marketing programs, or accounts going silent after interacting with sales.

Create the trigger: Create reports based on the signals being picked up by your Demandbase segments. 

Once you’ve identified the signals for which you want to build segments, you can create reports to organize your accounts into outreach buckets. Your buckets should be based on where the account is in the funnel and which segments it is included in. This way, you can incorporate personalization at scale by tailoring your messaging and gift based on your collected data.

Complete the action: Trigger sending to accounts showing intent on accounts matching your specified trigger criteria.

The report you create in your trigger step is now your list for your gifting campaign. It’s time to now complete the action of setting up the gifting campaign through Sendoso, targeting the accounts in your list, and launching it.

As mentioned in the trigger step, it’s a good idea to use different campaigns depending on the segments and the funnel stage the account is in. These campaigns should match the buckets you’ve created using your reports. But thanks to Sendoso’s automation, you can build evergreen campaigns to run in the background without thinking about them. 

Build Your Gifting Strategy

After you’ve identified the relevant data to track and set up your trigger, it’s time to consider your gifting campaigns. Personalization is key, and there are a few things to consider when building your plan.

Choosing the right gift

First and foremost, we know that one size doesn’t fit all. In any of your gifting campaigns, it's important to offer your recipient a few gifts to choose from in a range that touches on different interests or needs. For this, a Sendoso Choice campaign is the way to go.

The type of gifts you include in your outreach should correspond to the type of campaign you’re running. 

For a door-opener campaign targeting an account at the top of your funnel, starting with eGift cards is a great choice. Depending on how large your audience is, this helps avoid eating up your budget and gives you time to assess the campaign's success before going all-in on larger gifts.

Popular eGifts include gift cards for coffee, food delivery, and restaurants.

When targeting specific personas at high-value accounts, you may want to splurge a little with physical gift options. Getting something delivered into your prospect's hands is super impactful and will definitely make an impression on them. 

You'll likely target two levels of contacts at your accounts: above-the-line buyers and below-the-line buyers. 

Above the Line buyers are typically C-suite or VP level and tend to be the primary decision-makers in the account. They usually aren’t the end user, so the pain point your product solves for likely isn’t apparent in their day-to-day. However, they are typically the people approving budgets and spending, so you’ll want to ensure they have a firm understanding of how your product benefits their team. A thoughtful gift can go a long way in making these busy executives pay attention to you.

The ideal budget for these personas is $100-$250. Sendoso has thousands of gifts in our marketplace, so picking out a few universally appealing items is easy. Here are some examples:

For the homebody: Loved & Found Cozy Night In Spirits box

For the fashion-forward: The Sustainable Watch Co.: The Oak Watch

For the note-taker: Dayspring Pens Noteworthy Leather Journal and Pen Set

Below the Line buyers are more likely to be your main point of contact and champion in the company. They are your product's end user and are looking to solve a real problem. Unlike Above the Line buyers, they are intimately familiar with the tools they’re using and can quickly identify their pain points and blockers. However, they typically aren’t in charge of spending or budget and will usually have to request approval or bring in decision-makers before the deal can close.

When you’ve identified your champion, you’ll want to build and cement that relationship quickly. Even though you’re spending less on these gifts, the action is no less valuable. The ideal price point for this group is $25-$50, but you can go as high as $75 if your budget allows. 

Here are some of our favorite gifts at this price point:

For the sweet tooth: Grove Cookie Company - Baker’s Choice Dozen Cookies

For those in need of a spa day: The Goodness Project Calm Wellness Letterbox Gift Box

For the one who just wants to have fun: Pinatagram

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Use Cases

Gifting is a strategy you can incorporate into many aspects of your business, but for the purposes of this playbook, we worked with Demandbase experts to identify the most common and impactful use cases for this integration.

Action: Capturing Buyers Showing Intent

Intent signals from prospects are a great way to surface accounts that are likely in-market and showing interest in your product. It’s a perfect time to begin your outreach.

Identify the signal: Demandbase offers many ways to identify intent, but these three are most used by Demandbase customers.

• Visits to high-value pages, like products or pricing, without any form submissions
• Multiple visits to specific product pages from multiple contacts on the account
• Accounts showing lots of anonymous site activity but no known engagement

Create the trigger: Create your report using the Demandbase lists you’ve created. To ensure that your outreach is relevant to the prospect, you may want to specify a lookback period of 30-90 days.

Complete the action: Trigger a send from Sendoso with messaging that matches the intent they’ve shown.

The personalization here should be related to the pages they’re visiting, so it’s smart to have different campaigns that match up with your page content. For example, if someone is visiting your pricing page, you may want to send them a piece of content that quickly outlines your ROI in addition to the eGift. Or, if they’re looking at your products, an overview of the use cases they cover provides value without being fluffy. Think of the eGift as a cherry on top of the nurture sundae.

Action: Using G2 Competitive Intent Signals to Identify In-Market Customers

If you’re using G2, you know it can be a wealth of data on your prospects and competitors. Using the information they provide you about your target account’s search data, you can create triggers to catch accounts that are clearly in the market for a solution like yours.

Identify the signal: When you import G2’s intent data to Demandbase, you can create a segment to catch accounts that are comparing your product page with a competitor’s or viewing your pricing page (which usually signals a high intent to buy).

Create the trigger: Build a report that surfaces the accounts that are doing heavy competitor research, including these two signals:

• Comparing your solution against your competitor
• Visting your pricing page

Consider including a lookback period of 30-60 days, ensuring that your outreach is relevant.

Complete the action: A well-timed email with a gift offer is a great way to set yourself apart from your competition. 

With this buyer, you know you are being compared to your competitors, so differentiation is critical with this messaging. 

You should be able to assume they are familiar with your product’s value proposition. Email messaging should be focused on the value your solution brings to the table and why they should consider you first - ensuring that you set the tone for a good experience.

Action: Reach Leads Who are Engaging With Your Programs

We all know every inbound lead is precious and want to ensure they’re being contacted as early as possible. Depending on how you handle engagement, you can set up triggers to automatically send an email containing an eGift to the lead. Alternatively, if folks are being dropped into nurtures for specific programs, you can include an email that offers an eGift in the first or second communication.

Identify the signal: In this scenario, there are two paths: Engage the prospect immediately with a gift after their first engagement with a marketing program or follow up after someone has completed a marketing nurture program. This isn’t always an either/or situation; you can certainly do both. However, you may want to layer on additional ICP targeting to determine which path is best for your accounts.

Create the trigger: Because there are two signal paths, the triggers will differ slightly based on your signal criteria.

• First engagement with a marketing program: The type of program your prospect engages with should inform the trigger. Some common triggers are:
  • Signing up for/attending a webinar
  • Downloading an ebook or whitepaper
• Completion of marketing nurture program: When someone has completed a nurture program but hasn’t responded or engaged, you can trigger a final follow-up email to try to get their attention.

Complete the action: Based on your two triggers, you can execute the action of engaging the prospect in two ways.

First engagement with a marketing program:

When the prospect first engages, sending a gift can set the tone for the future relationship and put your brand’s best foot forward. Remember that the messaging should relate to the program they’re engaging with, so you’re still hitting a level of personalization that sets your email apart. For a content download, offering a coffee to enjoy while they read your ebook is a fun offer, while a gift card for a lunch delivery while they sit for a webinar, can be equally effective.

Completion of a marketing nurture program: 

Don't give up hope if someone has gone through your nurture and hasn’t engaged! A final follow-up with a thoughtful gift can make all the difference. This messaging should have a slightly softer ask—giving them an example of how your solution has helped their peers can appeal more than a straight request for a meeting. Showing how you bring value to those in the same role can change the tone and help get the conversation started.

Action: Engage Competitors of Your Customers Showing Low to Medium Levels of Activity

Identify the signal: Your customers' competitors are great accounts to engage with—they’re typically in your ICP, likely have the same pain points, and are looking for the same solutions.

When they exhibit low to medium activity on your high-value pages, consider them in-market and begin your outreach. 

Create the trigger: Build a report identifying your customers' competitors. Depending on the size of the space, you can track them by company name or simply by attributes that match your ICP (and exclude current customers).

Complete the action: Trigger an email send introducing your company and using an example of how you’ve helped their competitor reach their goals.

Don’t assume the account is familiar with your solution - a quick line about your value proposition helps set the tone of the email and lets the prospect know what to expect.

Action: Re-Engage Pre-Pipeline Opportunities That Have Gone Silent

Sometimes, you’re having a great conversation with a prospect - a couple of emails going back and forth, maybe a completed qualification/discovery call. They seem excited about your product, and it feels like they’re primed to start sales conversations.

Then, suddenly, nothing.

Emails go unanswered, voicemails are not returned, and LinkedIn messages are ignored. Instead of the typical (and sometimes downright cringey) “Have you been eaten by an alligator?” email, try something a little different. 

Identify the signal: Work with your sales team to identify a pre-pipeline opportunity. It could be a no-show for a demo call or radio silence after the second meeting.

Create the trigger: Build a report based on the criteria you’ve set for when and who to reach out to that has gone quiet. Here are some examples:

• No-show to a demo meeting and unresponsive for more than three weeks
• No response to requests to schedule a follow-up meeting after the next steps were discussed

Complete the action: Trigger a send acknowledging their unresponsiveness and offering a small gift, like cookies.

Acknowledging that you understand your prospect is likely super busy, or the possibility that the decision has been made to go with another vendor, is a low-pressure way to try and illicit a response. Offering to send the gift no matter their decision is a great way to add a touch of class and give a great impression of your brand - which will stick with the prospect when they’re back on the market.

Action: Connect with Closed/Lost Opportunities That are Re-Engaging

Just because you lost a deal doesn’t mean the account is gone forever. Depending on the reason for the loss, you may see them engaging again in a few months. This signals they may be back on the market and ready to reassess your solution.

Identify the signal: It is important to be strategic when choosing your signals for this action. These accounts have already gone through at least part of your sales cycle, so you’ll want to treat them with care and pay attention to their closed/lost reason.

For example, you'll likely want to pay attention to accounts that engage with your product, pricing, or other high-value pages. You can combine this with engagement in marketing programs, such as attending a webinar or downloading an ebook, to create tiers of accounts that help prioritize your outreach.

Create the trigger: Create a report to surface accounts that have closed/lost opportunities from 6 months ago and are showing intent on your high-value pages and accounts that are also engaging with your marketing programs. This can help you craft your messaging to be more personalized.

‍Complete the action: When reaching out to contacts from closed/lost opportunities, it’s important to remember that just because you lost the deal doesn’t mean the door is completely closed. Keep your messaging friendly and light, and don’t be afraid to offer a higher-value gift set that your prospect might enjoy.

Analyze Your Results

Once you’ve implemented your campaigns using Demandbase and Sendoso, you’ll want to track and analyze your results to determine your success. You can look at the data in a few different ways.

Intent and engagement increase: Keep track of the intent signals and engagement levels of the prospects you’re reaching out to. Are they trending upward or downward? This is a good first indication of the effectiveness of your messaging.

Gift acceptance: Are your gifts being accepted or going unnoticed? A high acceptance rate means that your prospects are at least reading your emails and are interested enough to redeem their gift offer. Periodically looking at what gifts are accepted the most can help determine which items are the best choices for your campaigns.

‍Meetings booked: Compare the number of meetings booked from these campaigns to your typical benchmark. Is it higher or lower? This is a good indicator of effective messaging.

Meetings booked to show rate: Are your prospects attending the meetings they’ve booked with you? Compare your benchmark show rate to those of your campaigns. If it’s missing the mark, you may consider changing your messaging or the signals you’re targeting.

Opportunity Win Rate: How are your campaigns influencing won deals? Tracking the progress of your account lists through the sales cycle is another helpful indicator of your timing, messaging, and gift resonating with your prospects.

Send It!

Integrating Sendoso and Demandbase offers a powerful solution to meet and exceed these demands in an era where efficiency and personalization are paramount in marketing. By automating personalized gifting campaigns, marketers can achieve the delicate balance of scaling their outreach efforts without sacrificing the personal touch that distinguishes their brand. 

Whether you are re-engaging with dormant leads, nurturing potential customers, or winning back lost opportunities, Sendoso and Demandbase allow you to create a seamless and impactful marketing experience. As you deploy these strategies, remember to continuously measure and optimize your campaigns to keep up with changing dynamics and preferences. Ultimately, the success of your efforts will not only be reflected in your marketing metrics but also in the stronger relationships you build with your prospects and customers. Harness the power of strategic gifting to turn every opportunity into a meaningful connection that dr

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