If you are in sales or marketing, knowing about company profiling - the mechanism by which we understand a prospective customer and as a result, we can target them effectively - is exceptionally important. It is only by putting the time in to research a client, that we can then tailor our content, messaging, and language to differentiate our business and service.
It is perhaps the most unpopular job for any sales or marketing team. For large accounts, the process should take two or three days - which is precious time invested by the sales team and which draws them away from selling. The marketing team is often not close enough to the account to be best placed to research them or perhaps do not feel qualified to undertake the role.
Viewpoint Analysis has been running account research for a variety of tech vendors (Informatica, Nexthink, LineView, Pluralsight, etc) for a number of years. It has seen us research accounts in every region of the world, in every industry, and covering companies of all sizes (from 2m employees down) - so we know a bit about it!
This article explains how to do company profiling. How anyone - with the time and focus to do it - can make a start and build a strong company profile that the sales, marketing, and business development teams can use to drive pipeline creation.
What Is Company Profiling?
Company profiling is a strategic process used to gather, analyze, and document comprehensive information about a company. This includes details about the company's history, organizational structure, financial performance, key executives, products or services, target markets, and competitive positioning. The goal of company profiling is to create a detailed and accurate picture of a business to aid in decision-making processes for sales, marketing, and strategic planning. By understanding a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, businesses can tailor their sales pitches, develop more effective marketing strategies, and identify key decision-makers, ultimately leading to more successful business engagements and competitive advantages in the marketplace.
Who Uses The Company Profile
The company profile should be shared far and wide - it is an investment of time, and at the time it is built, it is extremely valuable (not that it decays with time and should be maintained with fresh, updated information and content). It should drive sales messaging and presentations, the account plan, marketing collateral, and help the demand generation team to break down doors.
What Should Be Included In A Company Profile?
A company profile should include a central elements and these are outlined below. However, it should be noted that it is also built specifically for the company's needs - and therefore this is not an exhaustive list.
Company Overview
Key Facts (e.g. revenue numbers, headquarters location, CEO name etc).
Company History
Stated Strategic Goals
Financial Results
Company Structure
Key Executives
Current Technology Installs (if selling tech)
Key Terminology
Recent News
Mergers / Acquisitions
Key Contacts (for the items we are selling)
Where Do We Find Information To Build A Company Profile?
Now we know the key areas that need to be included in a company profile, the next challenge is how and where to find this information. Account or company information can be sourced from a multitude of places, each with its own advantages and challenges. Conducting thorough account research is a time-intensive process, typically requiring 2 to 3 days for a substantial account. While this may not be what sales teams want to hear, it reflects the reality of the effort needed to obtain information that can significantly enhance sales and marketing communications.
Here are some key sources of information:
Company Websites: Begin with the account's official website. It offers essential insights into their products, services, mission statement, company values, leadership team, and contact information.
Social Media Platforms: Examine the account's activity on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. These profiles can provide a window into their company culture, recent activities, customer engagement, and thought leadership.
Online News and Press Releases: Look for news articles, press releases, and industry publications mentioning the account. This can reveal recent developments, partnerships, acquisitions, product launches, and notable achievements or challenges.
Industry Reports and Market Research: Seek out industry reports, market research studies, and whitepapers pertinent to the account's sector. These documents often contain valuable data on industry trends, market size, growth opportunities, and challenges.
Financial Reports and Public Filings: Review annual reports, financial statements, and public filings to get an overview of the company’s financial performance, revenue growth, profitability, and business strategies. These documents are typically available on the account's website or through regulatory databases.
Business Directories: Use business directories like Dun & Bradstreet, Hoovers, or industry-specific directories to gather basic company information, contact details, and occasionally financial data.
Company Presentations and Webinars: Look for presentations, webinars, or conference materials where the account's representatives have shared insights. These can often be found on the investor page of the website and can provide insights into their strategies, challenges, and priorities.
Existing Customer Interactions: If the account is an existing customer or you have had prior interactions, review your internal records, CRM systems, and notes from sales or support teams. These records can offer valuable information about the account's preferences, pain points, and history with your company.
Profiling Key Contacts
One of the most important aspects of a company profile is the contacts in the account. Sales teams often complain that having great content and account intelligence is useful - but it would be so much more useful if they could send the information to the right contacts. As such, an intrinsic part of the job is to find the right contacts.
This is a painful process - you can obviously buy contact data, but we would argue to stay clear of that. The best approach is to use LinkedIn - it's almost always accurate information and one of the few places that individuals keep up to date. If they change jobs - they change it in LinkedIn - we can't think of many official forms that match this!
Who Should Conduct The Company Profile?
As mentioned at the top of this article, nobody will want to volunteer. It's hard work, takes time, and needs a business-focused person running it. The sales lead for the account is the obvious choice - but it is a minimum of two days of intensive work - or maybe four days if balancing with the sales day job. This is time that is difficult to find - and no doubt they will have more than one account to look at.
Marketing teams might look at producing a profile - and often the Demand Generation (or SDR team) will be tasked with the research - but again, that's admin that is put ahead of knocking down doors.
Our suggested approach is to outsource the company profile work. At Viewpoint Analysis, we run company profiling for a number of companies in all parts of the world - EMEA, the United States, Asia Pacific - and on all kinds of accounts - from the very largest (e.g. Walmart) to unusual sectors and areas of the world (e.g. Sub-Saharan Banks!). The benefit of outsourcing the work is clear - the company who does the research will likely do company profiles for most of their day. They know where to look, they know where to find the information, and they can focus 100% on the job in hand - leaving your team to do what they were hired to do.
What Types Of Company Profile Are There?
Company profiling, in the main, is pretty much the same, but the reason for running the company profiling can differ depending on the needs of the company. For example, at Viewpoint Analysis, we are approached by different teams with different needs - they could be for ABM (Account Based Marketing), DBM (Deal Based Marketing), or for key sales and marketing target accounts.
Conclusion
In conclusion, company profiling is not difficult, but it is time-consuming. There are certain elements that a good company profile should contain, and there are a range of sources from which to find that information. Following this guide will certainly help you to get the right information, from the right places, and package it up in the right way.
If you need a trusted pair of hands, or if your team do not have the spare capacity, please get in contact with us - it's a core part of what we do at Viewpoint Analysis and we would love to help you. At certain times of year we may offer promotions - so please ask about those if you contact us.
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