wiki/knowledge/outbound-sales/papertube-abm-targeting-strategy.md · 959 words · 2026-04-05

Paper Tube Co — ABM Targeting Strategy

Developed during the January 2026 launch call, this ABM strategy defines how to identify, prioritize, and approach high-value accounts for Paper Tube Co (PTC). The approach combines three primary targeting methods with a tiered account list structure and vertical-specific messaging.

Spend Threshold & Account Tiers

The qualifying threshold for ABM targeting is $25k+ annual packaging spend. This reflects PTC's internal 80/20 dynamic: roughly the top 20% of customers (those at $25k+) generate approximately 80% of revenue. The long-term aspiration is to grow accounts toward $100k+, where only ~5 clients currently sit.

Bullseye list: ~100 accounts
Second ring: ~500 accounts
Outer ring: ~2,000 accounts

Work the bullseye first. Pull from the next ring as the inner list is exhausted or as learnings shift priorities.

"It really starts at like $25,000 and above is where I feel like that line is kind of where we have like substantial amount of our customers in our business." — Parag Agrawal, PTC

Primary Targeting Methods

1. Intent-Based Targeting

Identify companies actively researching:
- Custom packaging
- Brand-specific or elevated packaging
- EPR compliance (particularly relevant for companies with $5M+ in sales, where EPR regulations begin to apply)

EPR is a moving target across states but is growing in relevance. PTC's paper-based products are a natural fit for companies looking to reduce EPR liability relative to plastic alternatives.

2. Trigger-Based Targeting

Target accounts experiencing signals that indicate a packaging decision is likely:
- New leadership — incoming executives looking to make an impact
- New product launches — established companies launching new SKUs (not early-stage startups)
- Market expansion — companies entering new geographies or customer segments

3. Lookalike Modeling

Pull PTC's top 10–15 clients from Salesforce and build a profile of shared firmographic and behavioral characteristics. Use this to identify net-new accounts that resemble proven high-value customers.

Key reference account: French Broad Chocolate (Asheville, NC) — ~$100k/year client in the artisan chocolate space. Lookalikes in premium food and beverage are a validated direction.

Secondary / Supporting Targeting Dimensions

These are not primary drivers but serve as filters or fallback methods:

Vertical-specific messaging — Tailor outreach copy and landing pages to the specific vertical being targeted (see vertical map below)
Job description mining — Identify target personas within accounts by scanning for specific job titles (e.g., Brand Manager, VP Marketing, CMO)

Target Personas

Priority	Persona	Rationale
Primary	Branding / Marketing departments	Packaging is a brand decision; these are the influencers who feel the ROI argument most acutely
Secondary	CEOs at smaller companies	Decision-makers who wear multiple hats; more likely to control both marketing and procurement budgets

The goal is to reach marketing as the influencer and route through to purchasing or operations as the decision-maker.

Vertical Map

Approved verticals with notes from Parag's feedback:

Food & Beverage

Tea ✅ — High growth; PTC seeing increased inbound (e.g., Razi Tea). Both loose leaf and tea bag formats viable.
Artisan Chocolate ✅ — French Broad Chocolate is the anchor lookalike. Niche but high-volume spend is possible.
Other F&B sub-segments reviewed but deprioritized (e.g., honey — too niche at target spend levels).

Spirits

Non-alcoholic spirits / mocktails ✅ — High growth, crowded market where packaging differentiation matters. PTC has no current clients here; greenfield opportunity.
Traditional spirits (whiskey, wine) — some existing clients, but category is declining overall.

Beauty & Personal Care

Luxury cosmetics & fragrances ✅ — Strong fit; high brand investment, premium price points.
Luxury hair tools ⚠️ — Harder to penetrate; much of this category is manufactured in China and packaging is bundled at the factory level.
Indie skincare — likely too small for $25k+ threshold.

Health & Wellness

Protein powder ✅ — Active inbound trend. Brands positioning around clean/natural ingredients want packaging to match. Vital Proteins' move to paper packaging is a market signal. Note: tubes may require food-safe linings, which reduces eco-friendliness optics.

Home & Lifestyle

Luxury pet accessories / pet supplements ✅ — Emerging opportunity; PTC has done some pet treats. Worth exploring larger players.
Candles — deprioritized (lower margin, smaller spend).

Fashion Accessories

Luxury jewelry ✅ — High price points justify premium packaging investment (Tiffany box analogy).
Designer eyewear ✅ — Similar logic; brand-forward, high-margin products.
Credit card welcome kits — speculative; needs market sizing research.

Cannabis

Cannabis ✅ — Remains a key vertical; PTC's largest client is in cannabis. Market is consolidating post-boom, but federal legalization momentum could be a tailwind. Farm bill impact is limited to a specific sub-segment not affecting PTC's current clients.

Hospitality

Spas ✅ — Retail product sales at spas (salts, treatments, etc.) are a natural fit for premium tube packaging.

Tech & Electronics

⚠️ — Generally harder to penetrate due to China-based manufacturing bundling packaging with product. Worth a small test but not a priority.

Account List Build Process

Pull top 10–15 clients from Salesforce (by revenue)
Analyze firmographics, product categories, and brand positioning
Build lookalike profile
Compile initial bullseye list (~100 accounts) across priority verticals
Layer in intent signals and trigger events
Assign personas and map to contact targets within each account

Owner: Karly Oykhman (AAG)
Tool: Salesforce + Account Engagement

^[2] — Three-pillar messaging framework (Packaging as Performance, Experiential Unboxing, Sustainability/EPR)
^[3] — Email/LinkedIn test-then-scale launch sequence and Shopify landing page strategy
^[1] — Client overview, contacts, active projects