Case Study
HBK OEM custom sensors case study: generating 100 leads using account based marketing
The Objective
HBK provides comprehensive solutions across the product life cycle uniting the physical world of sensors, testing and measurement with the digital world of simulation, modelling software and analysis. This includes selling bespoke custom sensors to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with this area of the business having an incredibly niche customer base.
The HBK OEM custom sensors team found that many customers didn’t even realise they needed a custom solution or that one was available. The team also knew that normal, traditional marketing methods weren’t effective, making it especially challenging to build a prospect database to engage and generate new sales opportunities. They recognised that to build such a database, they needed a highly targeted approach and we recommended using account-based marketing with tailored, industry-focused content designed to drive engagement and awareness to this very specific audience.
The Approach
We started by taking a full brief to establish the types of companies that would potentially need customised sensors and the personas of the stakeholders we would need to engage.
With a defined list of criteria including geographic locations plus job titles, roles and responsibilities, we used LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator to build a list of relevant prospects. With a mix of connection requests and InMails sent, we were able to build a network on behalf of HBK’s team. We also used HBK’s on-site events throughout the year to leverage authentic engagement - using bespoke industry-specific content produced by HBK’s marketing team to support the events as a reason to contact prospects. Where appropriate, we also incorporated phone and email activity with target prospects to further enhance engagement opportunities.
The Results
Since the start of the project, we’ve built a database of 234 target companies with circa 5,000 relevant contacts within those companies, which includes 1,200 new LinkedIn network connections. From our work with those contacts, we have generated 100 leads each showing an interest in custom sensors. Of these leads, 30 were passed straight to the client to be followed up as we identified an immediate requirement, while the remaining 70 are being nurtured to generate future sales. In addition to identifying viable prospect leads, we continue to manage the database, keeping it cleansed and up-to-date to ensure it remains as targeted and relevant as possible.
