What are the key differences between ABM and traditional marketing approaches?

1 What is ABM?

ABM is a marketing strategy that focuses on identifying, targeting, and engaging a specific set of accounts that match your ideal customer profile. Instead of casting a wide net and trying to attract as many leads as possible, ABM aims to create personalized and relevant experiences for each account, based on their needs, goals, and pain points. ABM requires close alignment and collaboration between marketing and sales teams, as well as the use of data and technology to segment and tailor your messages and offers.

2 What is traditional marketing?

Traditional marketing is a marketing strategy that focuses on generating demand and awareness for your products or services among a broad audience. It uses mass media channels, such as TV, radio, print, or online ads, to reach as many people as possible, and hopes to convert some of them into leads or customers. Traditional marketing relies on the funnel model, where prospects move from the top of the funnel (awareness) to the bottom of the funnel (purchase) through a series of stages, such as interest, consideration, and decision.

3 How do they differ in goals?

One of the main differences between ABM and traditional marketing is the goal of each strategy. ABM is not about generating more leads, but about generating more revenue from the right accounts. ABM focuses on quality over quantity, and measures success by account-level metrics, such as revenue, retention, loyalty, and advocacy. Traditional marketing is about generating more leads, but not necessarily more revenue. Traditional marketing focuses on quantity over quality, and measures success by lead-level metrics, such as impressions, clicks, conversions, and cost per lead.

4 How do they differ in tactics?

Another difference between ABM and traditional marketing is the tactics they use to reach and engage their audience. ABM uses targeted and personalized tactics, such as email, social media, webinars, events, or direct mail, to deliver relevant and valuable content and offers to each account. ABM also uses account-based advertising, which is a form of online advertising that only shows ads to specific accounts or decision-makers within those accounts. Traditional marketing uses generic and mass-market tactics, such as TV, radio, print, or online ads, to deliver broad and generic messages and offers to a large audience. Traditional marketing also uses retargeting, which is a form of online advertising that shows ads to people who have visited your website or clicked on your ads before.

5 How do they differ in challenges?

Both ABM and traditional marketing have their own challenges and limitations. ABM requires more time, resources, and skills to implement effectively. It also requires more data and technology to identify, segment, and track your accounts. ABM also requires more alignment and communication between marketing and sales teams, as well as between different marketing channels and platforms. Traditional marketing requires more budget and reach to generate enough awareness and demand. It also requires more testing and optimization to improve your conversion rates and ROI. Traditional marketing also faces more competition and noise from other advertisers and marketers, as well as more ad fatigue and resistance from consumers.

6 How can you apply ABM principles to your B2B marketing strategy?

Whether you decide to use a full-fledged ABM strategy or not, you can still gain advantages by applying some of its principles to your B2B marketing strategy. Start by defining your ideal customer profile and target account list, using data and research to identify the characteristics, needs, and behaviors of your ideal customers. Additionally, align your marketing and sales teams with common goals, processes, and metrics. Create personalized and relevant content and offers that address the specific pain points, goals, and interests of each account. Track and measure your account-level performance to optimize and improve your strategy. Although ABM and traditional marketing are two different approaches with different goals, tactics, and challenges, understanding the key differences between them can help you increase engagement with valuable prospects and customers to grow your business.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?