Insights and Research for Marketing, Sales Development and Sales

Orchestration design is about creating high-intensity, short duration, high-impact programs designed to advance a select set of target accounts to a desired outcome. These marketing programs only succeed at meeting their objectives if they include the right tactics.

With an exhaustive list of available tactics across multiple channels and multiple functions, marketers need to select the ones that will have the most impact. Successful programs are not solely based on which tactics were selected before, but on specific tactics that have been found to work well together at improving overall program results.

Random Collection of Tactics Yields Limited Results

An orchestrated program is designed to meet a specific objective, and that objective is usually based on progressing an account through the sales process by scheduling the next meeting. The goal is often much more specific than just scheduling a meeting because the strategy of the program is based on addressing a similar group of accounts with the same objective.

Marketers are creatures of habit and often create a new plan based on the tactics that they have used before. This takes a random collection of tactics and unleashes them on a new objective. According to TOPO benchmarks, leading organizations use eight different tactics to connect with and engage prospects. The most commonly used tactics by account based teams are SDR outbound activities of email and phone at 87%, digital advertising at 79%, and direct mail at 73%.

Since an orchestrated program is of short duration and high intensity, more thought should be put into choosing the specific tactics than those chosen for another type of program. The success of a previous program can be slightly improved by reviewing the performance of each individual tactic; however, high growth companies choose tactics that also improve the performance of other tactics.

Orchestrated Programs Require Cross-Functional Coordination

An orchestration plan is made up of a variety of tactics that are executed by marketing, sales, and sales development. One way to ensure that tactics perform together and achieve better results is to select at least one from each of these three types of tactics: marketing air cover, pre-outbound, and outbound. Marketers need to understand the role each type serves in the orchestration plan. Knowing how the tactics are interrelated and influence one another is critical to the success of the plan.

• Generate awareness with all account contacts. Marketing air cover tactics are the always-on elements of the program that provide a persistent presence. These build awareness of the company and its solutions, as well as present its point of view to all contacts at target accounts, not just the senior-level decision makers. This prospect awareness generates broader support for the company’s solutions and makes other tactics more effective. The goal of these tactics is to provide enough of the right information so contacts at target accounts will take the next step and respond to the outbound requests.

• Turn cold calls into follow-ups. Pre-outbound tactics are about much more than getting noticed. These infrequent tactics have the greatest influence on outbound tactics by turning cold calls into follow-ups. While a follow-up call to a printed white paper with a hand-written note has a strong likelihood for response, any follow-up call is better than a cold call.
  
• Coordinate other tactics with outbound. Outbound tactics are the most affected by the other groups of tactics. While these might not seem that different from the types of outbound activities conducted by SDRs, AEs, or account managers on a daily basis, it is their coordination with marketing air cover and pre-outbound tactics that impact the results of these outreach activities.

The outbound tactic most likely to get a response from a prospect is the triple touch. This is a combination of SDR email, phone, and LinkedIn all sent on the same day with the same message and theme. The email creates context, conveys value, and delivers the offer, while the phone and LinkedIn touches refer back to the email.

Best Practices

Align all tactics to meet the program objective. Tactics selected for an orchestrated program should all align to progress a similar group of accounts to the same next step.

Select at least one tactic from each type. Each of the three tactic types—marketing air cover, pre-outbound, and outbound—serve different roles in an orchestrated plan. Make sure to include one from each type to improve the performance of the program.

Choose tactics that improve the results of other tactics. Send a physical gift or printed white paper to generate company awareness so that an outbound SDR’s phone call has more impact because it is no longer a cold call.

Plan cross-functional tactics. The benefit of multi-channel, cross-functional programs is the ability to reach prospects and other individuals at target accounts multiple times through multiple channels. Leading organizations use eight different tactics in their account based programs.

Review tactic performance. Break down every tactic in every program and review its performance. This will help select tactics for future programs.

An orchestrated program is a high-impact, short duration series of activities that progress a select set of target accounts to the same outcome. The cross-functional program benefits from marketing, sales development, and sales working together to make a significant, and specific, impact on the target account list.

The most important part of the program is the choice of tactics. Marketers need to select tactics based on performance, not a team’s familiarity or experience. Each tactic must provide value to the audience but must also influence each other and improve the results of the coordinated program. A well-designed program with well-chosen tactics can make a difference in the success of a go-to-market organization.