Account Based Marketing (ABM) is a strategic marketing method that allows companies to target their message to a specific audience and create personalized experiences in order to increase customer retention and closings.
In this article, we will discuss the various aspects of ABM, including definition, goals, benefits, strategies, and more.
ABM is a targeted approach to B2B marketing that involves marketing and sales teams working together. In the age of information overload, marketers are constantly fighting for the attention of target audiences. For this reason, companies need to use analytics data to focus on potential customers and win them over with the help of personalized campaigns. In doing so, ABM treats the individual target customers (also called accounts) as independent markets. So instead of generating leads with blanket advertising campaigns to a large number of recipients, targeted content is used to reach specific decision-maker profiles. Targeted advertising measures focus primarily on the decision-making group (buying center) and the people involved in the procurement process (buyer personas).
ABM is important because it allows companies to more effectively align their marketing and sales efforts by focusing on the customers that offer the greatest value. By creating personalized messages and experiences, companies can engage their audiences in a way that makes them feel valued, not just one of many in a target group.
Problem: The company is not able to show a clear ROI.
Solution: One of the main goals of ABM is to focus on ROI, which leads to clear business results.
Problem: The company invests a lot of time for personnel and budget resources.
Solution: Because account based marketing focuses on investing time in promising, high-value customers, marketers can use their resources more efficiently and run campaigns that are optimized specifically for target customers.
Problem: The company does not experience further engagement from its target group.
Solution: As account based marketing is personalized it is more likely that target customers will engage with content. Because the content is tailored specifically to them, their business, and their specific stage in the customer journey, buyers are more likely to strike.
Problem: The marketing and sales teams are not aligned.
Solution: If sales and marketing teams are not yet aligned, ABM is one of the most efficient ways to get them on the same page. Account Based Marketing works similarly
The goals of ABM are primarily focused on increasing customer loyalty and closing more deals. By focusing on key customers, a company can also increase the effectiveness of its marketing and sales teams by ensuring that those teams focus on customers that have the greatest potential to generate revenue.
The benefits of ABM include:
There are several ABM strategies, including:
The key metrics used to measure the success of ABM are:
Success factors for ABM include:
ABM also has some challenges, including:
ABM differs from traditional marketing in that it focuses on creating personalized messages and experiences for a specific audience, whereas traditional marketing often targets a broader audience.
ABM is based on the principle of inbound marketing, so it’s not a new concept, but it has seen a recent resurgence due to evolving technology and the changing media landscape. Inbound marketing and ABM share the premise at their core: Marketing should be relevant, personalized and buyer-centric – it should resonate.
In theory, the main difference between inbound marketing and account-based marketing is that inbound marketing focuses on creating relevant content to engage a variety of prospects and customers and generate leads. With ABM, the focus is on producing relevant content for individual, potential or even existing customers. Used correctly, inbound marketing and account-based marketing complement each other. When websites, emails, and calls are individualized into actions for the specific target, both methods help in tandem. This provides the target accounts with the desired added value and helps to support the development of a new brand.
There are several tools that can help organizations implement ABM, including:
Best practices for ABM include:
ABM is expected to continue to grow in importance in the future as it allows companies to more effectively align their marketing and sales efforts and create personalized experiences that can lead to higher brand loyalty and closings.
Overall, account based marketing is an extremely effective way to create a personalized marketing strategy that targets the needs and wants of specific audiences or accounts. By focusing on high-value contacts, companies can maximize their marketing and sales efforts and increase customer retention and revenue growth. Importantly, however, ABM requires close collaboration between the marketing and sales teams as well as extensive knowledge of target audiences or accounts. Companies that follow these best practices and keep monitoring and adjusting the performance of their ABM program will be able to succeed in today’s fast-paced business environment.