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Technology certainly has changed the way we work, play, live and communicate. We’ve come a long way from the time someone first decided to draw a picture of a tankard foaming with beer and hang it outside their pub to communicate to the world at large that yes, ale is definitely sold here.
And while we may still be getting our messages mixed, technology now allows us to mix it up in a whole range of mediums, on various platforms. The choices we make in how we get our message across can turn a little watering hole down the road into a local hangout where everybody knows your name – or into the local hangout that is also a national treasure or a tourist hotspot.
Much as advertising has had to broaden its scope to tune in to changing times, so too can marketing keep evolving to incorporate new directions and innovations. Account-based marketing (ABM) helps you do just that.
What is Account-Based Marketing?
Simply put, account-based marketing focuses on personalised campaigns aimed at a defined set of target accounts – using brand new technologies.
“Account based marketing is simply instead of fishing with nets, we’re fishing with spears. ”
– Matt Heinz, President, Heinz Marketing
New, improved and revolutionary
As a B2B company, you’ll know that it’s essential to keep up with new marketing techniques. And while some are creative variations of existing patterns or technological updates, there are those innovations that revolutionise the way we do business. Account-based marketing is such a revolution. It asks you to embrace marketing innovations, widen your choices and spread your message more effectively.
It’s not a new concept, only made more effective with handy tech tools. Yet B2B companies seem to lag in adopting ABM strategies despite a study by the Information Technology Management Student Association that showed almost 85% of marketers who measure returns on investment describe ABM as delivering higher returns than any other marketing approach – and half of those marketers cite significantly higher returns.
Tech it to the next level
Effective ABM does require some investment in time and technology; the fundamentals include account planning and channel mapping, sales-and-marketing alignment, dedicated offers and metrics. But the advantages are not only huge, they’re also fairly obvious. Personalised campaigns allow for an easier alignment of Sales and Marketing – proven to result in greater overall productivity. With ABM, you can improve your marketing impact and ROI by focusing your efforts and resources on creating meaningful relationships with high-yield prospects.
Sound complicated?
Consider this: the theory behind ABM is based on the collective decision-making process. Since most B2B buying decisions are not made by a single person, it helps to map an account and understand how personalities and power structures within an organisation impact buying decisions. This gives you a clearer picture of the interests of the group as a whole, rather than expending time and energy on converting a lead focused on an individual.
And here’s where innovative, updated tech comes into play. An account-based marketing technology stack could include powerful predictive analytics for ideal customer profiles, updated and fresh contact data, targeted advertising through established social media hubs, website personalisation, and management and tracking tools.
ABM is a particularly powerful tool for specialist companies hoping to acquire new accounts or nurture existing accounts and grow their client base by cross-selling into other divisions.
How to develop an Accounts-Based Marketing strategy
1. Discover high-value accounts that align with your offering
Channel mapping and prospect profiling are two vital steps in determining high-value targets from your list of potentials. Start by obtaining information on a targeted company directly from a well-placed source, preferably an existing customer or using B2B telemarketing. Map out a detailed overview of the target’s industry, location, size, products and services, revenue, command structure and company culture. Then draw up your profiles: the personality, style and motivations of the person you’re building relationships with,
for starters.
2. Get personal
Determine the account profiles of identified decision-makers you will be targeting, then create specific content for them. This could be a presentation, webinar, video, infographic, or whitepaper. This sales outreach can be tailored with custom fields edited to ensure your pitch to the office manager differs from the one you send to the finance officer. Excellent ABM calls to action that will build a relationship with your target accounts include free evaluations, assessments, quality scores or consultations.
3. Develop optimised communication channels
You have a range of choices to determine your best contact platform:
- • B2B telemarketing based on high-quality marketing data is one way of making direct contact.
• Highly personalised email marketing directly to their inbox and based on high-quality data lists is another way to use highly targeted marketing to reach the decision-makers who matter.
• Social media ads on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter can also be aimed directly at people who follow or work for a company.
• Another helpful tool is Google AdWords Customer Match, which can use email addresses to create custom lists and AdWords can serve them search ads, gmail ads, and/or youtube ads.
• Tag or mention your target accounts within your blog content and share this on social media to not only alert them, but their extended network too.
4. Measure performance by data and optimise existing campaigns
ABM marketing performance should be tracked with either specific ABM tools or using traditional lead tracking tools such as inbound marketing analytics, website tracking tools and lead performance in the sales funnel. In cases where ABM’s performance is below what is required, we recommend going back to steps 2 and 3 to optimise your messaging and marketing.
5. Personalise your websites user experience
There are various website CRM tools which allow you to personalise your website with account-specific landing pages that display custom copy, images, offers, and forms depending on the person or account who is visiting the landing page. You could also use a Smart Content tool to tailor specific call-to-action banners on your website and blog based on the origin of the visitor and their associated account.
With a stack of tools at your fingertips, ABM offers a simple way to create a much richer, dynamic experience and engage your target accounts directly and much more effectively.
GCL is an expert with over 30 years of experience in sourcing and enhancing B2B data required for Accounts Based Marketing, a leader in Accounts Based B2B telemarketing and extensive experience in Inbound Marketing. For all your B2B lead generation services and resources.
