Why account-based Marketing ABM is essential for B2B success.

Introduction

As a business owner, you know the key to success is staying ahead of the curve. If you're not using the latest techniques and tools, your competitors will leave you in the dust. So what's the latest marketing trend? Account-based marketing (ABM). ABM is a strategy that focuses on specific high-value accounts rather than casting a wide net to attract as many leads as possible. Wondering if it's right for your business? Keep reading to find out why ABM is essential for B2B Marketing.

What is ABM exactly?

ABM is a strategic approach to selling that focuses on targeted account selection and personalized engagement. So what does that mean for you as a marketer? In short, it means greater focus and efficiency when reaching your target audience. Wondering if ABM is right for your business??

The benefits of using account-based marketing to reach your target audience

Like most business owners, you're always looking for new and innovative ways to grow your business. You may have heard about account-based marketing (ABM) and wondered if it could be a good fit for your company. Here are some of the benefits of ABM:?

1. Increased ROI: When you target specific accounts with your marketing messages, you're more likely to see a higher ROI than traditional methods.?

2. Improved Efficiency: ABM allows you to focus your resources on a smaller number of high-value accounts, increasing efficiency.?Reducing acquisition costs, through pin point marketing efforts.

3. Greater Engagement: You can create deeper engagement and better results by targeting critical decision-makers at each account.?

4. More Measurable Results: With ABM, you can track results more efficiently and determine whether or not the strategy is working for you.?

5. Greater Opportunities for Growth: ABM opens up opportunities for strategic growth that might not otherwise be possible. If these benefits appeal to you, it's worth considering an ABM strategy for your business.

How to create a successful account-based marketing strategy for your business

TEAM framework: this is a common framework to consider for ABM marketing.

T: Target

E: Engage

A: Activate

M: Measure

Target the proper account. It’s all about building the right ideal customer profile. This is the heavy lifting in ABM. You want to focus on firmographic data, fit data, and engagement data. Fit data is simple or not they are the right fit for your product.? At the start, you probably don’t have engagement data; it will come later. Slice and dice and build an ideal customer profile. Once you do, now you need to develop relevant content. You need to create three key stages in your content marketing strategy.?

The stages are:

• One too many.
• One too few.
• One too one.

One too many could be industry agnostic such as green energy, insurance, big data, hospitality, aviation, or fintech. This is where you cast a wider net and see which segments resonate best for your products. You can also use intent data from third party solutions to see who's in the market to come up with the Ideal Customer Profile. ?

One to a few would be a little more granular such as which person you are targeting within the company. For example, if you're targeting the IT team, you need a more technical than talking to CFOs, who want to see the financial impact of your solution. ABM is analytically driven, so you must see who interacts with your content and how. This could include several downloads, essential website page visits, email opens, and more.

One-to-one: Use the data you get from interacting with the leads. This could include audits, field reports, or consultation data.

Measurement is where your Marketing team would live and breathe. First, they need to challenge assumptions and see if the ideal client profile is the one that is engaging with the content and bringing in revenue. Expect a few deviations initially, as no one gets it right. Secondly, developing content that does not engage is a waste of resources to see if the content resonates. Finally, nurturing leads through the funnel promptly avoids overwhelming your leads with information when they aren't ready. Measurement could also include looking at existing accounts and seeing how you can find expansion opportunities.?

Relevant content delivered timely to the right lead is the secret sauce to ABM

Developing the right content is another critical challenge in successfully implementing an ABM campaign. You need the right content, put in the right place, relevant to the right person. If you're not going to develop the content, maybe consider another b2b approach.

Your content distribution needs to be timely. 95% of the time, your customers will not be in the market. The key is to be top of mind when they are looking for your solution; you want to hack their memory. Most ABM platforms will give you insights on each lead, and once you see a clear buyer signal, you want to transition them from the three stages mentioned above. The final stage would be the activation; This is done through a timely proposal or a sales engagement.?

Content could have multiple formats, such as:

• Webinars
• Whitepapers
• Research reports
• Video
• Social Media posts
• Blogs

You can reuse the same content just serve it different here's how

• Create an infographic
• Case studies
• How to guides
• Courses
• Research Reports

The future of account-based marketing and how it will continue to evolve

It's no secret that account-based marketing (ABM) is on the rise. A recent study showed that 84 percent of B2B marketers plan to invest in or increase their investment in ABM this year. But what does the future hold for ABM? And how will it continue to evolve? Here are four predictions for the future of ABM.

1. ABM will become more personalized.?

2. ABM will become more complex.?

3. The use of artificial intelligence in ABM will increase.?

4. There will be a B2C angle for ABM Marketing.

Account-based marketing is a powerful tool to help you reach your target audience and increase sales. By understanding the benefits of ABM and how to create a successful strategy, you can see great results for your business. If you want to learn more about account-based marketing or start using it in your own business, I'm here to help. Contact me for a free consultation and find out how we can help you grow your business with account-based marketing.

#b2bmarketing #accountbasedmarketing #marketing #martech