ABM Success in Action: An Interview with Jessica-Karin Felix from Qlik

Jessica-Karin Felix, Senior Manager, Global Strategic Accounts Marketing at Qlik, shares her inspiring journey from retail marketing to becoming a prominent ABM strategist. She harnesses cutting-edge data integration and analytics to achieve ABM success. Discover her insights on team alignment, optimizing customer events, leveraging digital tools, and more.

It’s great to have you here, Jessica. Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey as a marketer?

I started in Retail marketing for Habitat UK Limited, part of the IKANO IKEA group, back in the days after university. I landed the job because I had a Christmas temp job at Habitat in-store and met the HR manager there one day and asked him for an internship. For those of you having a hard time getting on the job ladder, you must be bold sometimes and just ask—opportunities can arise unexpectedly when you take initiative and show determination.

How has the integrated revenue org environment helped align your ABM programs closely with sales, customer success, product, and RevOps teams?

Tremendously, we analyse everything here at Qlik (it’s in our ammunition) we have the best Data Integration and Analytics Platform on the market, the power of gray and the many API’s allow us to pull data from any source and integrate it into our reporting and analysis when planning for Territory GTM and executing campaigns. Many of our customers do the same and hence are making waves in their digital transformation journey, we celebrate these milestones with our customers every year at our Qlik Connect Event.

How do you balance traditional marketing methods with modern digital tools to optimize customer engagement and drive revenue growth?

It is important to look at the customer buying journey for your product and/or service. I, for instance, look at it and go about creating an integrated plan and weaving traditional methods in if and when required. These include 3rd party events (rare, but if the industry and my customers are there, it’s important), round-table dinners or lunch-and-learn sessions for promoting Qlik’s Product suite, all the way up to tailored customer events at the customer with their stakeholders.

“It is important to look at the customer buying journey for your product and/or service. I go about creating an integrated plan and weave traditional methods in if and when required.”

How do you adapt your strategies to account for cultural and market differences within the EMEA region?

We sometimes translate copy and treat each customer and their corporate environment differently. This starts from how we conduct meetings, to planning the event, catering, and considering if a customer prefers in-person workshops or online webinar formats to be able to invite international stakeholders. We even tailor the webinar tool to their liking and if a session is conducted in English or in their local language (if and where required). So, it’s all very tailored.

Can you share you’re most challenging yet fulfilling campaign experience?

It’s our Cross-sell motion in our Global Accounts. We recently acquired Talend and integrated their product suite as part of the Qlik Portfolio. This acquisition and process make Qlik a repeat leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™. The campaign involved a Cross-Sell motion to promote Talend Cloud to our existing customer base and ensure they are informed about the new Qlik. It’s a fully integrated campaign involving online and offline advertisement and events and a nurturing stream.

How do you leverage AI-enabled tools to enhance your ABM programs?

I use many different tools to help me analyse my customer database to better target my target persona’s. Many are from within Qlik’s Product offering, especially Qlik Cloud analytics. These tools allow me to gain actionable insights by identifying key trends, segmenting audiences, and predicting customer behavior. I leverage personalization to craft tailored messaging, optimize campaign timing, and measure performance in real time, ensuring precision and efficiency in my ABM programs.

Which metrics or KPIs do you track most closely to evaluate the success of your ABM program?

We measure a string of things, all connected, such as new contacts, influenced opportunities, newly created AQL, and Marketing sourced opportunities. As well as engagement and engagement scoring. We track metrics like account progression through the funnel, conversion rates, pipeline velocity, and the overall impact on revenue growth. This gives us a comprehensive view of our ABM program’s effectiveness and alignment with business objectives.

How do you leverage events as a channel to effectively drive your ABM programs?

We evaluate who will be there potentially and or ask our target audience to be invited. We then carefully evaluate partners that can also host and or co/host events with us, but also get customers and partners to speak and showcase our products here at Qlik. We align event topics to address specific pain points for target accounts, personalize event experiences based on their industry needs, and use these events to create opportunities for deeper engagement, relationship building, and lead nurturing with key decision-makers.

As a seasoned go-to-market leader, what advice would you give to up-and-coming marketers?

Be busy, don’t procrastinate, and don’t let others steal your thunder. Also, take care of yourself and your wellbeing and help others. In short, be kind to yourself and others. Make your customers and peers laugh. Nobody wants to work in a toxic, backstabbing environment or a team of naysayers, so don’t gossip and keep your head up high even if you experience setbacks. You can adjust and reset and begin anew. Embrace learning from every experience, stay curious, and be adaptable to new challenges and opportunities that arise.