What is Account Based Marketing (ABM)?
Josh BurnsDate: April 5, 2021 | Time: 2 min to read
A marketing strategy that concentrates resources on a set of target accounts within a market.
Account-based marketing is a focused approach to B2B marketing in which marketing and sales teams work together to target best-fit accounts and turn them into customers. It uses personalized campaigns designed to engage each account, basing the marketing message on the specific attributes and needs of the account.
Account based marketing tactics
Create personalized messaging for target accounts, take what we know about our customer and tailor the creative assets of our campaign to the customer’s specific attributes and needs.
Account-based marketing encourages marketing and sales to work together, identifying target accounts, crafting customized campaigns, and working to move accounts through the pipeline.
Major purchase decisions involve many key stakeholders slowing down the sales process. In account-based marketing, the length of the cycle is shortened as all prospects are nurtured simultaneously.
85% of marketers who measure ROI describe account-based marketing as delivering higher returns than any other marketing approach. Time and resources are narrowly focused on a few accounts that are most likely to close sales. This frees up resources that would previously have been wasted.
Marketing to existing customers to encourage upselling and cross-selling is one of the keys to getting the most value from your best customers.
The first step is identifying the specific businesses to target. Some of your most valuable targets are also those most easily reached because they already like you, and you already have a lot of information about them. Don’t waste that.
Follow and connect with your target contacts and start paying attention to what they are saying. You want to become familiar with how your prospects use social media before you start interacting more directly with them.
Customizing your email messaging for the particular audience is easier when you know exactly who’s receiving the email, what their role in their company is, and where they are in the buyer’s journey. All of that is information you should have on your targets in an ABM campaign. Companies that use segmented lists to increase relevancy for email recipients have seen a huge increase in revenue from email marketing.
Content that’s created specifically for one business—not just for people in a specific job title in an industry, but for one specific business—that’s rare. It can be a good way to set your business apart from other businesses also looking for your prospect’s attention.
A targeted ad can be one of the best ways to spread awareness about your business to your target contact for the first time with information that will be relevant and useful to them.
For B2B marketing, you often need an average of eight touchpoints before a sale. One of the best account-based marketing tactics is to meet with your target contacts in person (although these days that can be challenging).
The foundation of a successful account based marketing program is a list of carefully chosen high-value accounts. Once you define your targets, marketing and sales teams can come together and deliver campaigns through the all the right channels and produce the best result.
Some additional resources:
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