In the company’s continued effort to push upmarket with its marketing automation product, Marketo announced that it has partnered with Accenture to strengthen relationships with current and prospective accounts for both parties.
As part of the partnership, Accenture will provide Marketo with 40 Accenture consultants who will be tasked with gaining a complete understanding of Marketo’s offerings. The union also means each partner can expand its customer and prospect base by calling on parties that have existing relationships with either side.
The partnership also positions both companies to continue developing systems designed to help B2B marketers gain richer insight from a variety of channels—including email, social and customer support, Marketo said. The information can then be used by both companies to enhance personalization efforts for B2B marketing campaigns.
According to Fortune, the partnership aims to increase Marketo’s credibility within a marketplace where the competitive climate has delayed some of the company’s contracts in the last quarter based on pricing.
“It’s clear to me that we’re seeing a new level of price competition — what I would characterize as desperate price competition coming from the large suite vendors that are our primary competitors,” said Phil Fernandez, CEO of Marketo, in a media conference call discussing the company’s financial results. “We’re seeing them literally give away their products to try to block us from closing deals, when we have won clear user preference.”
The news comes shortly after Marketo announced its financial results for 2015, which included a 40% increase in year-over-year revenue. The company has more than 4,000 current customers and expects to report revenue between $267 million to $277 million in the full year 2016.
