Going beyond the hype to learn how account-centric Marketing can increase revenue, boost ROI, enhance Sales productivity, and better align Marketing and Sales efforts
There’s an approach to Marketing that’s turning the B2B world upside down. Account-based marketing (ABM) is a strategy that’s helping B2B companies boost revenue with a more targeted, Omnichannel approach. ABM concentrates Sales and Marketing resources on a clearly defined set of accounts and personalizes campaigns to help ensure messaging resonates with those accounts’ specific needs, lending itself well to B2B organizations with multiple decision-makers or stakeholders.
Why move to ABM marketing?
Account-based marketing isn’t new, in fact, the basic principles have been used in Sales and Marketing for decades. More and more B2B organizations are shifting to ABM because:
- Decision-makers are getting harder to reach. According to IDC Research, 90 percent of decision-makers never respond to cold outreach, with callback rates below 1 percent. And, CEB Research says just 24 percent of outbound Sales emails are never opened.
- Buying teams are getting more complex. The average buying group is made up of 5.4 people. In some companies, up to 12 people are involved in influencing buying decisions, according to the TOPO Survey, meaning the days of targeting a single individual are over.
- Messaging just isn’t resonating. Commoditization is marking it difficult to tell products and companies apart. To the B2B buyer, it seems as though everyone is saying the same thing. The result? B2B buyers have stopped listening.
Another reason ABM is becoming more popular is technology. Advancements in Targeting, Predictive Analytics, Marketing Automation, and CRM are making elements of ABM more scalable, feasible and easier to execute.
Keys to success
By treating individual accounts as a market of one and developing and implementing campaigns that take a closer look at the issues your targets are facing, ABM drives revenue, increases ROI, improves Sales productivity and improves alignment between Sales and Marketing ensuring that you:
- Identify the accounts most likely to deliver revenue and determine the best strategy to reach them.
- Develop account insights by learning as much as you can about each account so interactions are always relevant.
- Create account-specific messaging, content and campaigns based on ongoing feedback and account insight.
- Deliver account-specific interactions through Sales, Field Marketing and Executives.
- Measure your impact across multiple channels.
What to do with your digital Demand Generation?
What should you do if you’re sold on the promise of ABM, but are already invested and gaining momentum with digital Demand Generation? Integrate the two to build a cohesive Marketing mix. There’s no such thing as inbound vs. outbound with ABM since ABM works alongside your existing Inbound Marketing operation. Combined, both efforts drive success.
In many cases, your Inbound Marketing efforts will feed directly into your ABM funnel. This typically occurs when an Inbound Marketing lead comes from a target account. In other words, ABM picks up where your Inbound Marketing efforts end.
Seeking out the right ABM partner
The right ABM solution should fit into your existing Digital Marketing infrastructure, keeping your existing tools for Content Marketing and CRM in place. The result is adding efficiency to your existing efforts. When seeking out an ABM partner, be sure to look for a partner who will:
- Breakthrough with the right strategy and insight. A solid ABM partner should identify and target the people who are ready and likely to buy from you before your campaign even begins, ensuring you have the right foundation to create content that resonates.
- Build relationships with resonant messaging and content. Your ABM partner should draw on deep content expertise to develop personalized messaging and laser-focused content that addresses the root of your target accounts’ challenges, showing understanding and believability in your solutions.
- Help you win bigger deals faster, with greater ROI. Whether you’re just starting with ABM or focused on elevating key elements of your initiative, be sure your partner is focused on proven campaigns that will elevate and extend your impact.
Marketing has changed – so too must your Marketing strategies, and how you approach those strategies. Integrating ABM into your Marketing will pay off and improve ROI – as long as you align with the right ABM partner.
Read more: How to Optimize Event Strategy for ABM
