Issue #2
NoRocketShips - The Sequel
As promised, another NoRocketShips missive before the festive break.
We’ve divided this edition to include something for all our friends. A little insight about ABM based upon what we’re seeing working with over 60 tech firms each year on target accounts programs. Then some commentary on Mid-Market Composable, and finally some glad-handing and ones to watch.
Account Based Marketing - Trending progress
As you may know, our business intersects the tech ecosystems, customer communities and our “cupid” services facilitating the various introductions needed to move everyone’s sales & procurement needle.
ABM has been on a journey within tech for the last few years, from 5yrs ago when no SaaS vendor knew what a “Target Account” really looked like, to today when we see every one of our clients having a pretty clear idea of who they could legitimately do business with.
Ignoring the issue of trusting intent data from platforms like Zoominfo and the like (I have little respect for either “Intent” or the Zoominfo’s of the world), the greatest challenge we still see is the alignment of sales teams and marketing teams on these accounts. It seems that time spent selecting a year’s target accounts has shifted from 10 minutes to an hour’s meeting, but given firms then spend £000’s marketing to these accounts, much more care needs to be taken on that initial work.
Please - in 2023 spend a week with a researcher helping for every 100 accounts identified… It's a good benchmark. Look at the stack, the SI, the leadership - then make a call.
Mid-Market composable - Super Rich Kids only?
Whatever your preferred term, the new API-First digital stack is coming our way. Designing an affordable stack that gets you off Magento/Hybris/SFCC is a challenge, there is little help in the mid-market and MACH is currently a “Super Rich Kids” activity in the main.
Let’s not forget that the ATG/Websphere world is tiny - no more than 900 companies globally ever used those platforms. Many have migrated already, hence commercetools launching a mid-market offering and targeting B2B as enterprise opportunities max out. If composable is to be successful it is critical that the partnership teams crack on and pre-integrate, build the accelerators and choose their friends wisely.
Doing this integration work is made even trickier due to the economic climate. Will all the new composable vendors survive 2023? Who do you choose to build your new “BFF stack” with as a commerce vendor? We’re seeing signs of the tribes appearing, but partnerships are fickle - as we know.
Fag packet maths? Enterprise MACH is going to cost you £1m+ per year in licences, which is less than the old monolith, plus you can genuinely move faster. In the mid-market your £200k or so to Magento will look more like £400k in yearly licences, plus a much bigger bill from your SI (assuming little in-house dev).
This mid-market composable conundrum needs solving… we’ll talk about this in the 1st new year’s newsletter of 2023.
Blatant Self-Promotion
We learned a great deal from delivering MACH ONE for the Alliance in 2022. They approved a lovely case study, and whilst 2023 looks epic for us we would love to take on a couple of great partner summits or customer conferences after the summer sometime. If you think you need some help and like what we do please do get in touch.
2022/2023 - Glad handing and Ones to Watch
Vendors
Look out for Centra, Brink, Measured, Advanced Commerce, Firework, Storestream, Voyado, Messagebird and Commercelayer. Not based on any tech analysis, but on momentum.
Agencies
The agencies benefiting the most from MACH to date have been the strongest engineering firms. In 2023 we’ll see a few key players grow significantly as they tackle both enterprise and the lower mid-market moving to MACH. Look out for Formidable, Apply Digital, Studio Rotate and the continued evolution over at EPAM.
Sales & Partnership people
There are some prizes to hand out for 2022. Those in sales who have driven the new API agenda and played the game with real integrity need a mention. Vinny Masters, Thorunn Devoy, Iris Schiefer and of course, Ross Humphreys. Based on ecosystem feedback, don’t @ me.
Merchant winners
Some in the eComm ecosystem are ignoring the fact that many merchants have experienced their first-ever year where online is down from the previous year. Merchants / Brands bucking the trend and overachieving are pretty rare, but props have got to LEGO, PUMA, Harry Rosen, Cult Beauty and DEWALT. All have doubled down on digital to incredible effect.
Most overused phrase of 2022:
“MACH is a journey”