Did you know that businesses using account-based marketing (ABM) see an average increase of 208% in revenue attributed to their marketing efforts? In today’s hyper-competitive B2B landscape, generic marketing just doesn’t cut it anymore. Buyers expect personalized experiences, and sales cycles are becoming longer and more complex. That’s where ABM comes in.
Account-based marketing (ABM) is a focused go-to-market strategy that treats individual accounts as markets in their own right. Instead of casting a wide net, ABM prioritizes high-value accounts and tailors marketing and sales efforts to their specific needs and goals. It’s about quality over quantity.
It is about landing the big fish that are the perfect fit for your business, instead of casting a net for every fish in the sea.
Why ABM Matters in Today’s B2B Landscape
Account-based marketing is gaining traction because it addresses the evolving needs of B2B buyers. Today’s buyers are more informed, demanding, and deeply involved in the purchasing process, expecting vendors to understand their challenges and offer personalized solutions.
Key Benefits of ABM:
- Stronger Relationships: Personalization builds trust and credibility with target accounts.
- Improved Sales Efficiency: Focused efforts on high-value accounts drive better conversion rates.
- Increased Revenue: Tailored solutions resonate more effectively, leading to higher deal values.
- Sales and Marketing Alignment: ABM fosters collaboration, ensuring both teams work towards shared goals.
- Competitive Advantage: Targeted outreach outperforms generic ‘spray-and-pray’ tactics, positioning your business as a strategic partner.
What This Guide Will Cover
In this article, we’ll demystify account-based marketing and provide a roadmap to understanding and implementing it in your organization. We’ll focus on the heart of ABM: personalizing outreach to create meaningful connections with your target accounts.
At ows, we’ve seen firsthand how ABM, when coupled with our cutting-edge demand generation strategies, can transform B2B sales. We help businesses navigate the complexities of ABM and develop personalized outreach programs that drive results.
ABM is a powerful strategy, but it only works if you get the execution right. Personalized outreach is the key to unlocking the full potential of ABM, ensuring that your message resonates with the right people at the right time.
Understanding the Account-Based Marketing Framework
Before you can start personalizing outreach, you need a solid ABM framework in place. This involves identifying your target accounts, understanding their needs, and aligning your sales and marketing teams.
1. Account Selection is Critical
Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) Refinement
Successful ABM starts with a clearly defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Your ICP describes the characteristics of your best-fit customers, including:
- Firmographic: Industry, company size, revenue, location.
- Technographic: Technology stack, software used, IT infrastructure.
- Intent data: Online behavior, research topics, engagement with your website and content.
Tiering Accounts
Once you have your ICP, you can use it to identify and prioritize target accounts. Not all accounts are created equal. Categorize them into tiers based on their potential value and strategic importance:
- Tier 1: Your “whales”—the highest-value accounts that perfectly match your ICP. These will receive one-to-one ABM attention. Example: A Fortune 500 company with a high likelihood to purchase your enterprise solution.
- Tier 2: Still great prospects but have slightly less potential than Tier 1 accounts. These can receive one-to-few ABM. Example: A rapidly growing mid-market company that fits your ICP but has a smaller budget.
- Tier 3: Companies that still fit your ICP but are lower priority. One-to-many ABM will suit these accounts. Example: Smaller businesses that could benefit from your solution but have limited resources.
Tools and Techniques
Tools such as LeadSift, 6sense, and Demandbase help identify accounts fitting your ICP and displaying intent to buy.
2. Building Account-Specific Insights
Deep Dive Research
Account selection is just the first step. Next, you need to develop a deep understanding of each target account. Go beyond basic firmographics and research their:
- Specific Needs: What challenges are they facing? What are their business priorities?
- Goals: What are they trying to achieve? How can your solution help them?
- Initiatives: What projects are they currently undertaking? Are any of them relevant to your offering?
Creating Buyer Personas
Within each account, you’ll likely be dealing with multiple decision-makers. Develop detailed buyer personas for each key individual, outlining their:
- Role: Job title, responsibilities, decision-making power.
- Pain Points: What challenges do they face in their role?
- Motivations: What drives them? What are their personal and professional goals?
- Preferred Communication Channels: How do they prefer to consume information (email, social media, phone, etc.)?
Mapping the Buying Committee
Understand the dynamics of the buying committee.
- Who are the key decision-makers, influencers, and gatekeepers?
- How do they interact with each other?
- Who has the final say in purchasing decisions?
3. Sales and Marketing Alignment: The Foundation of ABM
ABM is a team sport. It requires close collaboration between sales and marketing. Both teams must be aligned on:
Shared Goals and Metrics
Agree on common goals, such as revenue targets and account penetration, and define the metrics you’ll use to measure success. For example, both teams might be responsible for increasing the number of qualified opportunities within Tier 1 accounts.
Regular Communication
Establish regular communication channels to share insights, discuss progress, and coordinate activities. This could involve weekly meetings, shared dashboards, or a dedicated Slack channel.
Joint Planning and Execution
Develop and execute account-based marketing campaigns together, ensuring that marketing activities support sales efforts and vice-versa. For instance, marketing might create personalized content for a specific account, while sales follows up with targeted outreach.
Personalizing Outreach: The Heart of ABM
With a solid framework in place, you can now focus on the core of ABM: personalized outreach. This is where you tailor your messaging, content, and engagement strategies to each target account and the individuals within them.
1. Crafting Compelling, Account-Specific Messaging
Tailoring Value Propositions
Develop value propositions that address the specific pain points and aspirations of each target account. Highlight how your solution can help them achieve their unique goals.
Developing Persona-Driven Content
Create content that resonates with each buyer persona. Address their specific concerns, answer their questions, and provide information that is relevant to their role and stage in the buying process.
Content Types:
- Blog Posts: Targeted articles addressing industry trends or challenges relevant to the account.
- Case Studies: Showcasing how you’ve helped similar companies overcome challenges.
- White Papers: In-depth guides on topics of interest to the account.
- Ebooks: Comprehensive resources addressing specific pain points.
- Infographics: Visually appealing summaries of key data or insights.
- Videos: Personalized videos addressing specific individuals or accounts.
- Webinars: Educational sessions tailored to the account’s industry or interests.
- Interactive Tools: Calculators, assessments, or configurators that provide personalized insights.
Using the Right Language and Tone
Adapt your language and tone to match the communication style of each persona and account. For example, you might use a more formal tone when communicating with C-level executives and a more casual tone when engaging with practitioners.
Account-Specific Landing Pages
Consider creating dedicated landing pages for key accounts, featuring personalized content and calls to action. For instance, you could create a landing page for a Tier 1 account that showcases case studies from their industry and features a personalized video from your CEO.
2. Multi-Channel Engagement Strategies
Personalized outreach isn’t limited to a single channel. Engage with target accounts across multiple touchpoints:
Email Marketing
Develop personalized email sequences that nurture relationships and guide prospects through the sales funnel. Address recipients by name, reference their specific interests, and offer relevant content.
For example, you might send a series of emails to a specific persona, each addressing a different aspect of their role or challenges.
Direct Mail
In a digital world, direct mail can be a powerful differentiator. Send high-impact, personalized mailers, such as handwritten notes, curated gift boxes, or custom-printed materials, to stand out from the crowd.
Social Selling
Engage with target accounts on LinkedIn and other relevant platforms. Share valuable content, participate in industry discussions, and build relationships with key individuals.
Targeted Advertising
Use account-based advertising platforms to reach key decision-makers with personalized ads. Target specific companies and job titles with tailored messages.
Events and Webinars
Host or participate in events and webinars that are tailored to the interests of your target accounts.
Phone Calls
Once a prospect has shown interest (e.g., downloaded a white paper or visited your pricing page), follow up with a personalized phone call. Reference previous interactions and focus on building a relationship.
3. Leveraging Technology to Scale Personalization
Personalization at scale is possible with the right technology.
Marketing Automation Platforms
Use marketing automation platforms like HubSpot or Marketo to automate personalized email sequences, score leads, and track engagement.
CRM Systems
CRMs like Salesforce are essential for centralizing account data, tracking interactions, and managing relationships.
ABM Platforms
Dedicated ABM platforms like Terminus, 6sense, or Demandbase offer advanced features for account identification, engagement, and measurement.
Intent Data Providers
Use intent data providers like Bombora or G2 Buyer Intent to identify accounts that are actively researching solutions in your category.
Personalization Best Practices
- Always address contacts by name.
- Reference previous interactions whenever possible.
- Tailor content to the recipient’s industry, role, and interests.
- Use a consistent brand voice and tone.
- Test different messaging and approaches to see what resonates best.
Measuring and Optimizing Your ABM Program
ABM is an iterative process. Continuously measure your results, analyze data, and optimize your campaigns for better performance.
Key Metrics for ABM Success
- Account Engagement: Track website visits, content downloads, email opens/clicks, and social media interactions at the account level.
- Pipeline Velocity: Measure how quickly accounts move through the sales funnel, from initial engagement to closed-won.
- Deal Size and Win Rate: Assess the impact of ABM on the average deal size and win rate compared to non-ABM deals.
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV): Analyze the long-term value of accounts acquired through ABM.
Analyzing Data and Identifying Areas for Improvement
Regularly review your ABM performance data. Identify which accounts are engaging, which campaigns are performing well, and which areas need improvement.
Adjusting Campaigns Based on Insights
Use data insights to refine your targeting, messaging, and outreach strategies. For example, if you find that a particular piece of content is resonating well with a specific persona, you might create more content on that topic or promote it more heavily to similar personas.
A/B Testing
Experiment with different messaging, content, and channels to see what works best. A/B test email subject lines, ad copy, landing page designs, and other elements of your campaigns.
Reporting and Communication
Keep stakeholders informed of your ABM progress. Share regular reports that highlight key metrics, successes, and areas for improvement.
Conclusion
ABM, with its laser focus on high-value accounts and personalized outreach, is a game-changer for B2B organizations. By tailoring your marketing and sales efforts to the specific needs of each target account, you can build stronger relationships, improve sales efficiency, and drive significant revenue growth.
Implementing ABM can lead to increased deal sizes, shorter sales cycles, improved customer retention, and a higher return on your marketing investment. It is all about quality, not quantity.
Ready to Start Your ABM Journey?
- Download our free ABM checklist to get started.
- Schedule a consultation with one of our ABM experts to discuss how ows can help you develop and execute a winning ABM strategy.
At ows, we’re passionate about helping B2B companies unlock the power of ABM. Our team of experts can guide you through every step of the process, from account selection to personalized outreach and measurement. Let us help you transform your B2B sales with a winning ABM strategy.
