What is the best account-based marketing tool for reaching B2B customers?

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategy as a solar energy provider, we will pinpoint target accounts through comprehensive analysis of their compatibility and engagement. This analysis will draw from data in our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and digital platforms, with a particular emphasis on high-value prospects who closely match our customer profile and exhibit genuine interest in our solar solutions.

It’s never the tool as much as it is your strategy. You must know where your audience is living and breathing content, then the tools will follow. It’s especially important to understand what are these ABM tools designed to do. The majority are designed to push ads through very specific channels. The downside is that this is often the focus, and often you don’t know who are when to send out a specific advertisement. This is a problem. Make sure you know why you’re going to target someone before you worry about how you’re going to.

A few principles that can help identify the right accounts in B2B: 1. Don't confuse TAM with ICP. TAM is about sizing (great for your VC pitch). ICP is about defining who you serve best (foundation for sales and marketing). 2. Create a vivid description of your best accounts. e.g. We are best for {{precise types}} companies, in {{particular situations}} who are facing {{specific problems}}. 3. Translate from strategy to operations. The ideal customer profile needs to become an ideal customer model. Don't stop at the powerpoint slide. Translate your ICP into account scoring models, data, and frontline enablement.

Most important is to get the profile of an account that converts well BUT also that has a high LTV value. Meaning they buy and they don't CHURN. Being precise with whom you go after to avoid a leaky bucket is key. Continue to monitor these metrics because it will make or break your ABM

For identifying accounts to target I've been very happy using Apollo.io and Crunchbase.com. When the lists have been built and downloaded I typically then use LinkedIn's matched audiences to target them with ads afterwards.

The next step is engaging these targeted accounts with personalized content. A versatile ABM tool is crucial here, as it should facilitate the creation and distribution of content tailored to the specific needs and interests of each account. This tool should also enable tracking the effectiveness of different engagement strategies, allowing for data-driven optimizations. Engagement can be through various channels such as personalized emails, targeted social media content, specialized webinars, and even direct mail, depending on the preferences of the target accounts.

After identifying target accounts, the next step is engaging them with personalised content through various channels (identified in the previous step). An effective ABM tool is crucial for crafting and delivering customised messages that resonate with your audience's specific needs. This tool also plays a key role in tracking and measuring campaign effectiveness, providing insights to optimise future strategies. Using the different channels mentioned, you can reach your audience using different styles of communication with the aim of driving engagement. The ABM tool you use should support this outreach.

In terms of engagement, I believe Terminus is the strongest option due to their multi-channel approach. In other words, not only will you have a stronger advertising network through their use of the Trade Desk DSP, but you can also engage target accounts via web personalization, chat, and a customized banner ad in your sales rep's email signature. This is the epitome of a full-funnel experience for prospective customers. 6Sense is also a strong option when it comes to sales prioritization of their target accounts which is paired with personalized advertising

The best account-based marketing (ABM) tool for reaching B2B customers excels in engaging target accounts effectively. Look for a tool that allows personalized communication and content delivery tailored to the specific needs and interests of each account. It should enable you to create customized marketing campaigns that resonate with decision-makers within these organizations. Additionally, the tool should offer tracking and analytics capabilities to monitor engagement levels, providing insights into what’s working and what’s not. From my experience, an ABM tool that facilitates deep, meaningful engagement with targeted accounts is key to building strong relationships and driving successful B2B outcomes.

To engage target accounts in our solar energy business, we'll deploy personalized content and campaigns across various channels, leveraging an ABM tool for customization and effectiveness tracking. Our engagement will span email, social media, webinars, events, ads, and direct mail, all tailored to address the specific needs and challenges of each account.

Absolutely! Alignment between sales and marketing teams is crucial in maximizing the benefits of Account-Based Marketing (ABM). An effective ABM tool acts as the bridge, fostering collaboration and communication while providing shared data and insights. With role assignments, workflows, triggers, and automation, it streamlines processes. This alignment enhances efficiency, ensures consistency, and establishes accountability, all contributing to a more effective ABM strategy.

Sales and marketing alignment is the first and principal part of any ABM strategy. This is the key to a successful ABM program. Without the buy in and ongoing communication and continuous feedback between teams-the efforts are pointless. I would put this as the first step. In addition, any tools implemented for ABM program need to serve the teams, and not be time consuming and require alot of data input. Ultimately, it takes working as one team towards one goal to succeed with ABM.

ABM has no reason to exist if sales and marketing aren't aligned. Because without sales-marketing alignment, all that tailoring and personalization is for nothing. I wouldn't have this as point number three in this article. I'd have it at the top.

It is critical to have alignment between sales and marketing teams for a successful ABM strategy. Collaboration is the key to a unified approach. This will help maximize the impact of efforts, improve customer engagement/satisfaction, and ultimately drives revenue growth.

Em B2B está cada vez mais latente que marketing e vendas precisam (e devem) olhar para receita. E uma estratégia de ABM mira a receita desde o dia 0 de sua opera??o. Portanto, sem integra??o e sintonia em marketing e vendas no ABM, sua opera??o será muito mais uma a??o de Outbound "personalizável" do que de fato um ABM mesmo. Como solucionar: Montar squads para um time de ABM que envolva o lado de marketing e o lado de vendas, processos e acompanhamentos bem definidos e o principal, que ambos comprem o projeto e entendam que é uma estratégia de longo prazo.

This should really come before everything else. We hold measurement alignment workshops before we put anything in market. So many B2Bs are still (unfortunately) working under the pretenses of “marketing sourced” vs “sales sourced.” If this is your org, it is critical to define what criteria impact volume for each. If a dead contact that a sales person acquired at a trade show 3 years ago starts showing interest again because of a LinkedIn ad they saw in their feed, is that marketing sourced? For that same account, if a sales person multi-threaded and found the budget holder via that contact, and they open the opportunity with that contact, is it still marketing sourced? Agree on attribution up front to avoid finger pointing later.

ABM implies Marketing, but the most important thing is alignment across Sales and Marketing. Attribution is the trickiest piece, but alignment toward the model is key.

Measuring your ABM strategy's ROI is how you constantly improve it. Here are a few KPI's that you can track so you can make improvements. 1) Marketing Qualified Accounts Conversion Rate 2) Sales Cycle Length 3) Deal Size or ACV 4) Customer Lifetime Value 5) Cross-Sell/Upsell Rate Together with your usual metrics like account engagement and pipeline growth, these will give you a better picture of how well your ABM efforts are paying off.

Don't let them tell you otherwise - measuring ROI from ABM tools is not easy! You can always report on fluff performance metrics such as "lifted account", impressions, intent, etc. But to truly calculate the ROI you'll need to measure and tie the spend on ABM to real life revenue business metrics such as LTV, ARR, ACV, and expansion.

Begin by setting clear objectives and identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with your goals. Utilize robust data collection and tracking mechanisms, employing analytics tools and CRM systems to gather accurate metrics. It's also important to compare your results against established benchmarks or industry standards to provide context and gauge success. To gain deeper insights, segment data to understand the specific contributions of different channels or strategies. This approach ensures a comprehensive evaluation of your marketing or business efforts, helping you to refine your approach and achieve better results.

Falando sobre segmenta??o e ferramenta de ABM para controle do share de impress?es e alcance, o Linkedin pra mim, é essencial - principalmente no B2B. Isso porque, aqui no Linkedin (principalmente Linkedin Ads) conseguimos especificar meticulosamente quem gostaríamos de atingir. E ainda, analisar os dados demográficos da campanha para entender quem mais está interagindo, cargos, etc. Vale a pena!

While I have used 6sense and DemandBase, I prefer 6sense the UI is better, their customer success team is impeccable and they are committed to seeing you succeed with their product. The tool is so flexible while also being scalable for your business. As an operations leader its what helps me drive sales and marketing alignment while producing pipeline and revenue. I think it's important to look at your budget, goals, size and experience of your operations team before you implement a tool like this, but one you do you will never go back.

The truth is that LinkedIn is probably the best "tool" for ABM - with a combination of LinkedIn Ads and Sales Navigator. The reason is simple - every other tool relies on 3rd party data - and all of LinkedIn's data is proprietary. Start your ABM program on LinkedIn - if you can see success there, maybe expand it - but if not - more tools aren't going to solve it for you.

There are so many tools and it's hard to choose. I tend to recommend using one tool that does most of the work like Rollworks or 6sense, even if it doesn't do it all perfectly. The ability to see the whole funnel and easily add companies and intent topics saves hours and hours of work and mistakes. For those who have not yet proven ABM works, I'd suggest using their existing data tools like Zoominfo and Apollo to identify accounts, a tool like Snitcher to unmask visitors for 1st party intent, and any ad network that allows uploading a list of companies to target to. As long as they all connect to your CRM of course. Once ABM is working for you, you can consider the higher investment needed for the all-in-one platforms.

There are ways to effectively run an account based GTM motion without a six figure platform investment, but every org needs to weigh factors like bandwidth, expertise, contractor costs, data cleanliness/clean up, paid media costs/expertise, and opportunity costs, just to name a few, when deciding if point solutions or a full fledged platform is right for their org. There are a lot of ways to “dip one’s toe” in ABM waters, but do so with the knowledge in mind that, when implemented and executed correctly, the efficacy and therefore the return on investment in a platform like 6sense or Demandbase will almost always beat out point solutions or piecemeal account-based approaches.

If the answer isn’t depends, they’re lying to you and you should befriend them. Bc the same person usually says abm = display ads

The ABM stack should include: 1. Account Selection Tools - Intent, Wallet, Technographic (for IT Companies) data aggregator. Selection will depend on your market geography and target audience. For example - 6Sense or Demandbase might work well for the Americas but not so much for EMEA and APAC. 2. Content Hub Creation: Tools like Folloze, PathFactory. You can use the CMS you own and customize it for ABM - but using a specialist tool will improve your time for GTM. Plus, Account-based reporting is bundled within the ABM-specific tools. 3. One to One and One to Many Outreach Tools - From LinkedIn to Content Syndication, depending on your target accounts and audience.

ABM is about way more than a tool or MarTech. ABM is about a very well-thought out strategy of aligning sales and marketing - and often the entire org - around having a very specific GTM approach for each ABM list. The tech helps, but more often than not, it just hides a lack of planning and alignment - ultimately turning into just a way to run display ads to (at best) people in key accounts.

When choosing a tool (whether it is ABM or something else) you need adoption from the team. This is vital. If the team don't believe it will help or aren't bought into it, it ends up be under utilised and side processes continue (like using spreadsheets or keeping comms on email). The team need to understand the value, everyone needs to press into it together and there needs to become a common language between the team. I have seen this work and not work for these reasons.

I've seen more ABM programs fail than succeed. Don't jump into buying a tool for ABM. Start in phases eliminating one variable at a time. Eg: Start with LinkedIn. You can test out different lists and targeting methods here. Also, the message and offers. Once that works, then expand to a different channel with the same targeting and messaging so that you know that at least those aren't the issue. Then keep expanding your ABM program. Buying a proper ABM took should be the last step.