What is ABM?
Account Based Marketing (ABM) is a strategic approach where businesses focus their marketing resources on specific, high-value accounts. Unlike wider marketing efforts that target a broad audience, ABM tailors campaigns to meet the unique needs of each account. This article will explain what is account based marketing, its benefits, how to implement it, and measure its success.
Key Takeaways
- ABM customizes marketing for individual accounts, boosting engagement and ROI, especially for B2B.
- ABM improves conversion and loyalty with targeted campaigns, yielding higher returns than traditional methods.
- Success in ABM depends on account selection, personalized campaigns, and close marketing-sales collaboration.
Benefits of ABM Marketing
One of the most compelling aspects of ABM is its ability to maximize value from existing customers through upselling and cross-selling. In fact, 92% of marketers consider ABM crucial for their marketing efforts due to its precision and effectiveness. By targeting high-value accounts with personalized campaigns, businesses can significantly improve customer trust, leading to higher conversion rates and fewer lost accounts.
The ROI benefits of ABM are also noteworthy, with 76% of marketers reporting that ABM generates greater returns than other marketing strategies. This is largely due to the hyper-targeting capabilities of ABM campaigns, which generate high-quality leads that are more likely to convert. Additionally, the focused nature of ABM allows marketing and sales teams to work more cohesively, ensuring that all efforts are aligned towards common goals.
Ultimately, the increasing value of ABM in modern marketing strategies cannot be overstated. Prioritizing high-value accounts and delivering personalized experiences enables businesses to achieve better outcomes, including increased revenue and enhanced customer loyalty.
How to do ABM Marketing ?
The first step in implementing an effective ABM strategy is selecting the right accounts to target. This involves analyzing factors such as revenue potential, industry, and strategic fit. Utilizing segmentation tools can help identify engaged prospects who are likely to become high-value accounts. Additionally, intent data can enhance ABM efforts by pinpointing accounts that are already showing interest in your offerings, allowing for more precise targeting.
Once target accounts are identified, the next step is to develop highly personalized campaigns tailored to the unique characteristics and needs of each account. This goes beyond simply using the account’s name in communications; it involves crafting content that addresses their specific pain points and business objectives. The goal is to create meaningful interactions that resonate deeply with each account, driving engagement and conversion.
Effective ABM also requires close collaboration between marketing and sales teams. This alignment ensures that both teams are working towards the same objectives and leveraging their unique strengths to drive success. Collaborative efforts between marketing and sales ensure that campaigns are personalized and strategically aligned with overall business goals.
Finally, it’s crucial to continuously measure and refine your ABM efforts. Utilize data analytics tools to track the effectiveness of your campaigns and make adjustments as needed. This iterative process helps ensure that your ABM strategy remains effective and continues to deliver the desired results.
Account Based Marketing KPIs: Measuring success
Measuring the success of ABM campaigns is crucial for understanding their impact and refining your strategies. ABM provides measurable results through metrics like revenue growth, customer retention, and deal size. Data analytics tools play a vital role in this process, enabling companies to assess campaign effectiveness and make data-driven decisions.
It’s important to prioritize relevant data over vanity metrics to focus on meaningful analytics that drive business outcomes. Metrics such as leading indicators (downloads, Marketing Qualified Accounts – MQAs) and lagging indicators (win/loss rates, funnel velocity, annual contract value) can provide a comprehensive view of your ABM campaign’s performance. This shift from traditional lead generation metrics to account-specific data is essential for accurately measuring ABM success.
An increase in average deal size is another key indicator of effective ABM strategies. By targeting high-value accounts with personalized campaigns, businesses can achieve larger deals and higher revenue growth, ultimately demonstrating the effectiveness of their ABM efforts.
7 Examples of An Account Based Marketing Strategy
Real-world examples of successful ABM campaigns can provide valuable insights into the implementation and impact of this strategy.
- Allen & Overy: The “Unchartered Territories” ABM campaign by agencies like TEAM LEWIS involved personalizing content and outreach strategies to resonate with the unique needs and challenges of the targeted accounts, helping shift brand perception and drive deeper engagement.
- LiveRamp, for instance, targeted 15 Fortune 500 companies, generating over $50 million in annual revenue through a multi-channel ABM strategy.
- AuthO similarly rolled our a systematic ABM campaign which led to an additional $3 million in sales pipeline within six weeks by using 6sense for account engagement insights.
- PandaDoc is another notable example is which tripled its homepage conversion rates by using dynamic content tailored to specific industries.
- GumGum also demonstrated the power of creativity in ABM by creating a unique comic book for T-Mobile, effectively engaging the CEO and securing a contract.
- Workfront improved its sales pipeline by over 90% year-over-year by using ZoomInfo for accurate account intelligence and data enrichment.
- Caroo’s ABM strategy engaged 85% of its target accounts after a rebranding effort by creating tailored microsites for specific verticals. These success stories underscore the potential of ABM to drive substantial revenue and pipeline growth.
These examples highlight the importance of personalization and innovation in driving ABM success.
ABM Tools & Platforms
Implementing a successful ABM strategy requires the right tools and platforms. These tools help marketing teams identify high-value accounts, personalize campaigns, and measure success. Segmentation tools, for example, are essential for identifying engaged prospects who may become high-value accounts. Data analytics tools are also crucial for refining marketing strategies and assessing campaign effectiveness.
- Demandbase: Offers account identification, targeting, and personalization.
- Terminus: Provides multi-channel ABM campaigns, including ads, email, and analytics.
- Marketo: A marketing automation platform with strong ABM capabilities.
- HubSpot: Features tools for ABM campaign management and reporting.
- Engagio: ABM platform for account targeting, engagement, and measurement.
- 6sense: Uses AI to predict account behaviors and intent for ABM.
- RollWorks: Helps identify target accounts and run personalized campaigns across channels.
- LinkedIn Matched Audiences: Allows targeting of specific accounts using LinkedIn ads.
- Madison Logic: Provides ABM data and lead generation services.
- Triblio: Specializes in scaling ABM campaigns with targeted advertising and web personalization.
Marketing automation platforms play a significant role in ABM by enabling personalized interactions at scale. Tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator can help identify key decision-makers within target accounts, enhancing the effectiveness of sales efforts. Leveraging these tools helps marketing and sales teams streamline their ABM efforts and achieve better results.
What are account based marketing agencies?
Account-based marketing agencies like TEAM LEWIS specialize in targeting high-value business accounts and creating tailored account based marketing strategies to enhance lead generation and sales closure rates. These agencies often utilize extensive databases to build targeted lists of prospects, ensuring that marketing efforts reach the most relevant audiences. Focusing on quality leads rather than quantity helps ABM agencies improve businesses’ ROI through account based advertising and effective account based marketing campaigns, including various account based marketing examples.
Many ABM agencies provide end-to-end services, including database management, campaign execution, and lead generation support throughout the sales cycle. They leverage data-driven insights to identify key decision-makers within targeted organizations and offer services such as personalized content creation, targeted advertising, and account analytics.
Collaboration with sales teams is crucial for ABM agencies to align marketing efforts with the sales process and sales objectives. Aligning marketing and sales towards common goals enhances the effectiveness of ABM campaigns and drives business growth.
FAQs about ABM
To address common queries about ABM, this section provides answers to frequently asked questions, offering clarity on the process, types, and advantages of ABM.
The following subsections delve deeper into specific aspects of ABM.
What does the ABM process look like?
The ABM process begins with identifying high-value target accounts that have the potential to generate significant revenue. This involves researching these accounts to understand their needs and pain points, allowing for the development of effective personalized marketing campaigns. Segmentation and prioritization based on criteria such as industry and company size are crucial steps in this process.
Once the target accounts are identified and researched, customized marketing campaigns are developed using insights gathered about these accounts. The final phase involves measuring the effectiveness of these ABM campaigns through metrics like sales velocity and customer acquisition cost, ensuring continuous improvement and success.
What are the types of Account Based Marketing?
ABM strategies can vary based on the level of personalization and the number of accounts targeted.
There are three primary models of ABM:
- Strategic ABM – focuses on a few high-value accounts with highly personalized marketing strategies.
- Scaled ABM – applies tailored strategies to a broader audience without losing personalization.
- Programmatic ABM – utilizes technology to automate and scale the marketing efforts across many accounts.
Programmatic ABM uses data-driven approaches to automate targeting and outreach, enabling marketers to efficiently reach numerous accounts with relevant content. Hybrid ABM combines elements of both strategic and programmatic approaches, allowing for customization while leveraging automated tools.
ABM vs inbound marketing
ABM and inbound marketing are distinct strategies, each with its unique strengths. ABM is a targeted growth strategy that focuses on high-value accounts, requiring direct and personalized marketing efforts tailored to specific accounts. In contrast, inbound marketing aims to attract a broader audience through valuable content that educates and engages potential leads. This broader approach often results in generating a high volume of leads, which are then nurtured through the sales funnel.
Metrics for success also differ significantly between the two strategies. ABM measures effectiveness through account engagement and personalized interactions, while inbound marketing tracks overall lead generation and traffic.
However, integrating ABM with inbound marketing can enhance the overall marketing effectiveness by leveraging high-quality content to attract and retain specific high-value accounts.
ABM vs lead generation
ABM and traditional lead generation differ primarily in their approach to targeting and engagement. ABM focuses on engaging specific high-value accounts with personalized interactions, enhancing the relevance and impact of marketing efforts. Traditional lead generation, on the other hand, casts a wider net to attract a larger pool of potential leads without specific targeting.
Success in ABM is gauged by the depth of engagement with targeted accounts and the resulting revenue outcomes, contrasting sharply with lead generation, which measures success based on the number of leads and conversion rates. Additionally, ABM naturally promotes better alignment between sales and marketing teams, enhancing collaboration and ensuring cohesive efforts towards common goals.
How does ABM work in B2B marketing?
In B2B marketing, ABM aligns marketing and sales efforts to target key accounts with tailored campaigns that resonate with their specific needs. This targeted approach involves customizing campaigns to address the unique requirements and decision-making processes of individual accounts. By doing so, ABM facilitates deeper engagement and stronger relationships with high-value clients.
Implementing ABM in B2B marketing can lead to measurable outcomes such as reduced sales cycle lengths, increased deal sizes, and improved customer retention. Resources are concentrated on a limited number of accounts, minimizing waste and maximizing the potential for closing sales. This strategic focus ensures that marketing efforts are both efficient and effective, driving significant business growth.
How does ABM compare vs traditional marketing?
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) focuses on targeting specific high-value accounts with personalized messaging, while traditional marketing casts a wider net, aiming for larger audiences. ABM aligns marketing efforts closely with sales to build deeper relationships, leading to higher engagement and ROI, particularly in B2B sectors. In contrast, traditional marketing emphasizes lead quantity over quality, often sacrificing personalization for reach.
Conclusion
Account-Based Marketing is a powerful strategy for B2B companies looking to maximize their marketing efforts. By focusing on high-value accounts and aligning sales and marketing, businesses can drive engagement and revenue growth. Ready to explore ABM further? Contact TEAM LEWIS for more information on ABM as a Service.
Ready to take the next step with account-based marketing? Request more information on ABM as a Service from TEAM LEWIS today.
Learn more about ABM by listening to The 360 Podcast, What’s Up With ABM?
