Changing perceptions through (Un)marketing

Inside the box or outside it – where does true creativity thrive, and how can we tap into it to solve problems? I came across a perspective in one of Seth Godin’s blogs, “For me, creativity is the stuff you do at the edges. But the edges are different for everyone, and the edges change over time.” I find this school of thought very interesting. In my experience, creativity thrives at the most testing of boundaries; it’s about working at the edge.

?In business, we usually speak about the 80-20 rule; that 20% of your business brings 80% of your revenue. This is true for many organisations where your large clients impact a disproportionate amount of your revenue. Hence, it is important to be available for them and cater to them the best way possible, even if that means spending a disproportionate amount of time. This is where account-based marketing (ABM) – some folks now call it account-based everything or account-based experience (ABX) – comes into play. Simply put, it is a strategic way of working at the edge of the box.

The need to differentiate

?As I mentioned earlier, when it comes to your top accounts, it’s important to be the right strategic partner for their business transformation. However, at Infosys, we had a stumbling block to overcome. Not because we weren't ready for it, but because of how we were viewed. The general perception was that we were a traditional IT services company. So, we had to transcend this and redefine ourselves as the right partner for our client’s business innovation and digital transformation.?This is where our ABM strategy helped.

?There is an existing ABM framework as suggested by ITSMA that revolves around three ‘R’s. (Enhancing) Reputation, (strengthening) Relationships, and (supporting) Revenue. Even if we were to base our ABM strategy on this, we wanted to create our own unique approach that would shape our initiatives. We decided to focus on people and not accounts. We needed to highlight the human problems that are solved through the partnership, creating a differentiated customer experience that doesn’t feel like it's driven by marketing or sales.

From this thought arose (Un)marketing, our strategic approach to ABM. It embedded the Infosys DNA into each one of our client interactions within these accounts. It’s empathetic yet authentic. And it’s effortless.

Putting (Un)marketing to work

Rather than forcing ABM into each engagement, we chose to make it organic by weaving it into account activities and initiatives. To do so, we based (Un)marketing on three pillars - personalise, revolutionise, and humanise. By personalising the vision for each brand, we would shape unique brand identities and bring the relationship story alive. To revolutionise the experience, we decided to explore the potential of sporting events, innovation days and thought leadership. And by humanising the relationship, we would foster a ‘one-team’ spirit and create a shared purpose. The programs under each pillar are devised with much detail and hold utmost importance. But for now, let me take you through the one pillar that fortified our multi-touchpoint ABM operations – humanising the relationship.

It’s all about humanising the brand

To foster the spirit of ‘one-team’, we changed the way we work with our clients and started institutionalising team building activities as an ABM effort. Through this program, we established best practices that the marketing team across the table could adopt and use in their programs. This, in turn, uplifted local talent with training. We decided to put together an exclusive rewards and recognition event that will celebrate account-level wins internal to the two organisations (Infosys and our customer) and create external recognition for the partnership. This really transformed Infosys’ relationship within the large accounts.

The whole objective was, as I mentioned earlier, to humanise the way we conduct our business. For this to be effective, we had to emphasise and enable our partners and customers to see that our interests in them went beyond business. For us, it isn’t just about sales or services; we share a common purpose with our stakeholders that transcends these objectives.?At Infosys, we have always had an unwavering focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This is an area in which most of our customers shared a common interest with us. So, we tailored our ABM program to expand on this. By collaborating with our partners and clients on CSR initiatives, we furthered our relationships and strengthened our bonds.

How did we go about it?

I feel that the best way to answer this question is through a few examples of the initiatives that we have undertaken with our partners and customers. Let's start with what we did for a leading telecom company. We came together to build libraries for children. Partnering with them, we channelled our activities on a Zilla Parishad (ZP) Prathamik School in Maan village near Hinjewadi, Pune. Throughout the program, we were able to increase donations that went into improving the infrastructure of the school, like the computer labs.

In our attempt to organise localised community events around shared visions, we joined hands with a leading energy organisation and partnered for a cycling event to promote the idea of sustainable energy.

From all of the initiatives that we have undertaken in the past, I've observed it's essential that ABM shouldn’t just influence decisions. It should impact culture, drive innovation, and shape purpose. It’s something that requires a great deal of customisation and is based on building trust and strong relationships with the client. Internally, there should be an understanding that it’s not just a marketer’s job but a combined effort of the sales, delivery, marketing, and other connected teams. ?

There have been many learnings from our ABM journey and a lot of aspects that helped us succeed with our efforts. I will be putting together more thoughts on it in the coming months, but I would like to hear from you. Has your business strategised to create deeper relationships with customers by personalising and humanising experiences? If so, what are the challenges you have faced along the way??