Account-based marketing, or ABM, is a strategy you can employ in your business today. Do you have a particular service that could help a big brand, but the traditional marketing means cannot seem to capture them?
This is where ABM comes in. Instead of creating social media ads and hoping, with your fingers crossed, that your business will reach a big company, you can instead create a personalised approach to target only that one big brand. Let’s find out how.
Account-based marketing is a B2B marketing strategy that targets “high-value” accounts, such as businesses and companies, instead of individual customers. ABM goes against the typical lead-capturing methods of online marketing.
Instead, it focuses on creating a personalised strategy for key decision-makers within the target accounts to build stronger relationships and drive more revenue. This type of communication can be through email, personalised content, and targeted advertising.
First, you must identify high-value accounts that will benefit from your services. This requires a deep understanding of the account’s needs, pain points, and goals, obtained through detailed research and analysis.
The ultimate goal of ABM is to convert these accounts into long-term, high-value customers.
ABM differs from traditional marketing methods, which typically focus on attracting as many leads as possible.
Instead, ABM takes a more targeted and personalised approach to build more meaningful relationships with key decision-makers at specific accounts.
Now that we have an idea of this type of high-value client strategy, let’s explore the benefits of engaging in ABM:
ABM focuses on a few high-profile businesses, putting 100% effort into building a relationship with these accounts and creating a long-term relationship with them. It requires extra customer support, added benefits, and personalised content.
With these accounts, you can sit back and wait for your high-value clients to reward you for bringing in more exposure or profits, depending on their needs. This type of revenue can be more consistent than traditional marketing techniques.
ABM is all about building strong relationships with key decision-makers within high-value accounts. Creating a long-term partnership ensures increased profits over time and leads to a good working relationship between brands.
By understanding a client’s specific needs and pain points, you can create customised solutions that address their unique challenges, leading to more satisfied and loyal customers.
Traditional sales methods often involve a long and complex sales process that requires significant time and resources.
With ABM, companies can identify and target high-value accounts more efficiently, resulting in a streamlined sales process that saves time and resources.
Let’s take the example of on-page SEO, for instance. This type of digital marketing can take at least 6 months to bring in customers. When your website starts showing up on SERPs or Search Engine Results Pages, your profits will increase.
However, this process is long and drawn out. On the other hand, by focusing on one big client at a time, you can be assured of a paying customer within a few weeks of good marketing.
Traditional marketing techniques are sometimes a hit or miss. You may not receive your paying customers even when you do everything right. A social media campaign may get you more followers but may not convert users into customers.
On the other hand, your investment in ABM can bring in swift profits. The personalised approach of ABM ensures that resources are allocated to the accounts that are most likely to generate revenue, resulting in a higher ROI.
Improved Alignment between Sales and Marketing
ABM requires close collaboration between sales and marketing teams to identify high-value accounts and develop targeted messaging and content.
This alignment can lead to more effective communication and a better understanding of customer needs, resulting in more successful sales outcomes.
We have established a few differences between ABM and traditional marketing. Traditional marketing focuses on large demographics, hoping that a chunk of them will become paying customers.
On the other hand, ABM targets a few high-value companies with well-detailed research and personalised content. Offering an unbeatable pitch to key decision-makers might be all it takes to secure a long-term partner.
Here are some other ways ABM differs from traditional marketing techniques.
Messaging: Traditional marketing often uses a general message that appeals to a wide audience, while ABM uses customised messaging and content tailored to each account’s specific needs and pain points.
Channels: Traditional marketing uses a variety of channels to reach a broad audience, including email, social media, and advertising. In contrast, ABM focuses on a select group of accounts and engages with decision-makers within those accounts.
Metrics: Traditional marketing typically measures success based on lead generation and conversion rates, while ABM measures success based on revenue generated from high-value accounts.
Collaboration: ABM requires close collaboration between sales and marketing teams to identify high-value accounts and develop targeted messaging and content. In contrast, traditional marketing may not involve as much collaboration between these teams.
This section covers how to create an account-based marketing strategy. What steps can you take to establish a successful account-based marketing strategy? Keep reading to find out.
The first step in creating an ABM strategy is identifying potential high-value accounts. What accounts can you target with whom you can create a good working relationship, preferably long-term?
This step involves analysing customer data, identifying key decision-makers, and assessing their needs and pain points. It may also involve coordinating with management to figure out the best accounts for this type of marketing.
Once you have identified the appropriate high-value accounts, it’s time to develop a personalised message addressing their needs and pain points. This targeted message must be appealing to the key decision-makers within that account.
It must also be suited to the channel used to convey the message. For example, emails can be long and include formalities, greetings, and images, while social media copy might have to be short and punchy.
Creating content that supports the targeted message is crucial for ABM, and this content should be customised for each high-value client.
Tailoring the content is important because most people can identify a mass-generated message, which can lower your chances of working together.
This content should identify and address an account’s specific challenges and concerns and offer a suitable solution – working with your company.
Once you have identified your potential accounts, developed a targeted message, and created your content, it is time to choose the channel for your communication with key decision-makers.
This may include email, social media, targeted advertising, and personalised content.
Some businesses will host targeted events like webinars and seminars to establish a direct point of contact with the decision-makers. This is a good channel for bigger organisations.
Once the targeted message, content, and channels are identified, engaging with decision-makers within high-value accounts is important. This may involve scheduling meetings, providing product demonstrations, or delivering targeted content.
Measuring the effectiveness of an ABM strategy is important for optimising future efforts. This involves tracking engagement and conversion rates, analysing customer data, and adjusting the strategy.
By now, we have touched on a few channels that can be used for account-based marketing. Let’s look at the channels used in account-based marketing (ABM) to reach decision-makers within targeted accounts.
Email: Email is a common channel used in ABM to deliver personalised messages and content to decision-makers within targeted accounts. Personalization can be achieved through dynamic content, custom templates, and personalised subject lines.
Social Media: Social media platforms, such as LinkedIn and Twitter, can be used in ABM to engage with decision-makers within targeted accounts. This includes sharing content, participating in discussions, and leveraging social listening to identify relevant opportunities.
Targeted Advertising: Targeted advertising can be used to deliver personalised messages and content to targeted accounts. This includes display advertising, retargeting, and account-based advertising, which targets ads to specific accounts rather than individual users.
Direct Mail: Direct mail is a highly targeted channel that can be used in ABM to deliver personalised messaging and content to decision-makers within targeted accounts. This includes customised packages, personalised letters, and branded promotional items.
Events: Events, such as webinars, conferences, and seminars, can be used in ABM to engage with decision-makers within targeted accounts. These events can be personalised to the needs and interests of specific accounts, providing an opportunity to showcase expertise and build relationships.
Sales Outreach: Sales outreach, including phone calls, in-person meetings, and product demonstrations, can be used in ABM to engage decision-makers within targeted accounts. This involves personalised outreach tailored to each account’s needs and interests.
This post has highlighted the benefits of ABM and its advantages over other forms of marketing. But if it was the best method to generate customers, we would all be using it. However, it is not ideal in all circumstances.
Let’s take a look at the challenges that ABM poses.
ABM requires a significant resource investment, including time, personnel, and budget. It can be challenging to allocate resources effectively to manage multiple accounts and create personalised content for each one.
ABM requires close collaboration between the marketing and sales teams. It can be challenging to align both teams’ goals and ensure they work together towards a common objective.
ABM relies on accurate data and analytics to identify high-value accounts, personalise messaging, and measure success. Your agency may struggle with data quality or have difficulty integrating data from multiple sources.
ABM is most effective when targeting a small number of high-value accounts. However, as companies grow, scaling the strategy to target more accounts can be challenging.
ABM is suited to a limited number of accounts at the same time. It can be labour and time-intensive to handle more than your company’s capacity to function.
ABM focuses on targeting specific accounts and decision-makers, which can limit the overall reach of marketing efforts. Companies may need to supplement ABM with broader marketing strategies to reach a larger audience.
ABM requires a tailored approach to targeting and messaging, which can be complex. It can be challenging to balance the need for personalization with the need for consistency across different accounts and channels.
In conclusion, account-based marketing (ABM) offers significant benefits for B2B companies, including higher conversion rates, improved customer retention, and increased revenue.
By targeting high-value accounts and delivering personalised messaging and content, companies can improve their marketing effectiveness and drive better results.
ABM is a great strategy for B2B companies to consider implementing, particularly for those seeking to expand their customer base and deepen their relationships with existing clients.
While ABM requires significant resources and careful planning, the potential benefits are worth the investment. Consider working with a marketing agency that can handle all your communication with your preferred high-value client accounts.
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