Do you have a list of accounts? Very good. But do you have a hierarchy of accounts?

In your tools, you probably have a database of accounts that is well filled, segmented, tagged, perhaps even rated with a score. But are these accounts linked to each other?
In other words, does your CRM include the relationships between parent companies, subsidiaries, BUs, countries?

If this is not the case, you are missing out on one of the most powerful levers of B2B marketing and sales.

🚨 The problem: a too-flat view of the account

In reality, your customers are rarely simple entities.
They are groups: sometimes multi-country, often multi-BU, almost always multi-opportunity.

And yet, your tools (CRM, MAP, ABM, etc.) often treat them as:

• Orphan accounts, without context,

• Isolated prospects, without relationship,

• Underexploited customers, when other subsidiaries could buy.

Result:

• Marketing misses the mark,

• Sales lacks strategic mapping,

• Scores are based on incomplete data,

• Opportunities go under the radar.

🎯 The solution: structure the account hierarchy

What this changes immediately:

• You see who belongs to what: Group, BU, Subsidiary, etc.

• You detect blank areas (non-customer subsidiaries),

• You adapt your campaigns and your ABM strategy at the right level,

• You finally have consolidated management (turnover, margin, overall status, etc.).

Concrete example:

Subsidiary A is a customer → you target subsidiary B more intelligently.
The group as a whole becomes a priority account.
And you can measure what it really brings in over time.

🛠️ How do you structure this hierarchy?

1. Identify the group head: a Group Head field may suffice.

2. Create parent-child links in your CRM.

3. Clean up the names: avoid duplicates, harmonize.

4. Handle exceptions (such as joint ventures) with specific or separate rules.

5. Feed from reliable databases: Dun & Bradstreet, Société.com, etc.

📊 And then? Automate the right indicators

Once the structure is in place:

• Account status (Dormant, MQA, Opportunity, Customer, etc.)

• Products/services purchased

• Revenue generated

• Gross margin (if available)

These indicators must be:

• Calculated automatically,

• Updated regularly,

• Reported at group level, then distributed to the BUs if necessary.

🤖 Why is this key for your scoring models?

Because a good score is not just “this account opens emails”.
It is:

• This account is in a group where we already sell,

• It has a solid purchase history,

• It generates an attractive margin.

This is where we want to invest time, resources and marketing.

✅ In summary

Without a hierarchy, you are flying blind.
With a hierarchy, you:

• Sell faster,

• Target more accurately,

• And you focus on the right accounts.

Need help structuring your database?

At Merlin/Leonard, we help B2B companies to:

• Create a reliable hierarchy in their CRM,

• Automate the right KPIs,

• And use it as a real lever for their ABM strategy.