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The Partner Experience Weekly: Account Mapping - 9-Box Strategic Plan
by
Aaron Howerton
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Here's how to approach each of the 9 core matrices (i.e. boxes) for account mapping solutions.

by
Aaron Howerton
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Today I’m sharing ideas on how to approach each of the 9 core matrices (i.e. boxes) for account mapping solutions. I believe that we will see full-time dedicated roles to account mapping strategy in the coming months as companies start to really understand and leverage the value of this data. First, however, I need to get this off my chest...


DON’T IMPORT THE DATA.

Is it just me or is that eye contact intense?


*Cough*... sorry, what was I saying?


Oh yes… seriously. Do not import the data back to your CRM just yet. There may be a time and a place for that, but there are things you need to know about account mapping systems before you take this step.


I can’t say for sure but I imagine that most vendors won’t start with those warnings because integrations breed ‘stickiness’ and reduce churn and, therefore, are part of their implementation plans.


I don’t care if you’re working on Crossbeam, Reveal, PartnerTap, PartnerBase or some other platform I’ve not yet heard of yet. If you start by piping data back to the CRM without first developing and prioritizing a strategy for each of the 9 core matrices you are already leaving value on the table (and likely paying for it, too). You’ll wind up with technical debt around CRM integration, widget setup, and security.


If you’ve somehow managed to build some custom populations you may also get what appear to be duplicates in your data. Example: one shared customer looks like a Customer-to-Customer overlap in the CRM but is actually part of two populations, which is possibly not segmented well in the overall count on the Widget or in general reporting. But… I digress….


On to the topic at hand - What do you do?!


9-Box Strategy

Let’s pretend for a moment that you haven’t considered the larger implications of adopting Account Mapping tools. It certainly makes my article more relevant and we all know that’s what I’m here for. Just call me Toby Keith...


previously written about Spekit as a strong solution for enhancing Partner visibility in tandem with a widget for this reason.

  • Security: For any data, you import to the CRM you’ll want to define security around who can see it. This might be things like who can access the overlapping object, who should the widget, perhaps field level visibility on the widget, and who has access to the ‘See in Platform’ button. You should do this as a part of the go-live.
  • Attribution: Some solutions are positioning themselves toward helping with attribution and/or influence ratings. This will generally require your sales team to leave the CRM to disposition conversations in their system. This feels like a big ask in today’s system-indulgent world, and I would keep my expectations low for general adoption.
  • Limit Access: This is a strategic tool and every system has its own little quirks of administration (typical of SaaS). Be somewhat critical of who gets to get in and play around. Definitely limit the number of Admins behind your Partner Ops team or your primary system admin as needed.
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