Even in Canada, hockey, basketball, football (and increasingly soccer) dominate North American sports. So please give me a few minutes to tell you about Test cricket—a game that unfolds over five days and often ends in a draw–and why it may hold the key to successful Account Based Marketing (ABM) Strategies.

So, what makes Test cricket and ABM an unlikely but perfect match?

Test cricket is the ultimate blend of data analysis and on-field magic tricks. In addition to balancing scores, run rates, and atmospheric conditions, captains also need to factor in the opponents' quirks and the superhero abilities of star players. 

Similarly, ABM is all about knowing exactly where your prospects are in the marketing funnel (think of it as your match situation) and crafting personalized strategies to move them closer to that winning conversion.

To translate cricket jargon to our marketing playbook, the score becomes your website metrics—the session levels and dwell times that keep us on our toes. The run rate? That's the conversion rate, ticking away like a scoreboard on match day. Atmospheric conditions? Think market pressures, those unpredictable elements that can make or break the marketing game plan. And the opposition?  That is the brand's competitors, the ones that are constantly being tracked and strategized against. As for the X factor of a star batter, that's a brand's USP, the secret sauce that sets them apart in a sea of sameness.

But here's the kicker: Test cricket and ABM are about moving and accelerating at the right time.  Be too aggressive at the top of the order, and an innings can unravel, and a team burns their chance. However, move too slowly, and the game can get away from a team, leaving it impossible to get a result. 

Marketers need to utilize data and technology to accelerate at exactly the right time, with the right tools, to achieve results.

Of course, no strategy is foolproof. In cricket, even the best-laid plans can be foiled by a well-timed shot. Similarly, in marketing, you might encounter the occasional rank long-hop that sends your campaign spinning off course. But fear not, my dear old things, for just as cricket captains rally their troops to recover, marketers can also pivot and innovate to turn setbacks into successes by analyzing and acting on the data they have at their disposal.

Behind every strategic maneuver and every tactical triumph lies a sense of satisfaction that transcends mere victory. It's the thrill of seeing your team claim that 20th wicket after days of back-and-forth, knowing that you've outsmarted and outplayed your opponents with strategy, skill, and finesse.

So, to my Canadian and American friends who might find the concept of a five-day game ending in a draw ridiculous, I say this—embrace the beauty of the long game. By embracing the long haul, by delivering exceptional customer experiences throughout the journey and being open to making adjustments and tweaks to a campaign, ABM marketers can count Sir Alastair Cook, Ricky Ponting*, Virat Kohli and Alyssa Healy as peers in using strategy to achieve their goals.

* Australian readers may wonder why Steve Waugh isn’t mentioned here. As Tony Grieg famously remarked, “He’s not even the best cricketer in his family.”  

This comment resurfaced in an England - Australia match in 2001 when England Bowler Jimmy Ormond responded to a comment from Steve’s brother Mark that he wasn’t good enough to play for England. The bowler snapped back, "Maybe not, but at least I'm the best player in my family."