Nearly 84% of marketers say that Account-based Marketing strategies outperform other marketing investments. Account-based Marketing has higher adoption over the years as it results in increased revenue. India has seen a wave of home-grown Martech solutions trying to solve both global and very nuanced local marketing challenges.
Recotap is among the first home-grown Account-based Marketing platforms on a mission to help businesses convert leads faster. Operating at the intersection of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence, Recotap assists marketers in executing highly targeted Account-based Marketing campaigns at scale. Earlier this week, we caught up with Arun Gopalaswami, the founder and CEO of Recotap, to understand how the platform came into existence and how he sees the future of Account-based Marketing.
1. How did Recotap come into existence, and what was the problem you were trying to solve?
Recotap started as a content personalization & recommendation company before evolving into a Martech solution. Media companies like Republic TV used our product to provide a Netflix-type content experience to their viewers and increase engagement. We quickly realized that the product had a bigger and better use-case in Martech. And ABM was a natural fit, with its emphasis on personalization.
From previous startup experiences, we had first-hand experience on how handicapped a marketer’s role is, in the absence of proper tools, data & processes, that they have to resort to guesswork. We wanted to eliminate the guesswork and light up their success path. Today, Recotap enables B2B Marketing teams with relevant tools, data, and AI capabilities to execute high-impact ABM programs.
2. Recotap has worked with both Indian and global clients. Have you seen a change in mindset when it comes to the adoption of account-based marketing?
Compared to North America and the western European market, India is 2-3 years behind the ABM adoption curve. The Pandemic has brought significant awareness to ABM in India. ABM is practically on every CMO’s agenda today. The question we used to face has gone from Why ABM to How do I start ABM?
3. What are some of the common challenges your clients face?
Target Account building and Account tiering is a common challenge that we have seen our customers face. It’s overwhelming when you have so much data that you don’t know how to make use of it. And for those who are starting new, data deficiency is a challenge. We are helping our customers by leveraging technologies like OpenAI to solve some of these challenges.
4. According to you, how important is brand protection, and are brands in India actively thinking about it?
Brand protection for sure is a matter of high importance, as it impacts a company’s most valuable asset. I don’t believe the topic is getting enough attention in India.
5. How important is data to what you do? Hubspot recently integrated pie-sync into their platform to provide data syncing and automation capabilities. Do you think more players will add a data layer to their platform?
Marketing today and ABM, in particular, is all about data. Every Martech vendor should have a data strategy along with their product strategy. Customers are increasingly looking for products with integrated data offerings like Account intelligence, Target intelligence, Intent, etc.
6. How will the move by players like Google to discard cookies affect ABM vendors?
With Apple leading the way, we are already in the 3rd party cookie-less regime. It’s a top-of-mind priority for every company in the Adtech space. It’s for sure a disruptive change, but it’s for the benefit of users. And it paves the path for conscious and responsible targeting.
7. What advice would you give to an aspiring marketer who wants to build a career in MarTech?
It’s for sure an exciting space to venture into! The bar is low, especially in B2B marketing. Unlike, say, CRM, a transaction capturing system (aka System of Record), Martech offers far more innovation opportunities. Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning technologies can be leveraged to build exponentially better products.
