What is Account Based Marketing?
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2024 5:52 am
Within digital marketing strategies, Account Based Marketing is an approach focused on B2B marketing in which marketing and sales teams work together to design the accounts you want to target and then convert them into customers.
In the age of information abundance, marketers are always fighting for the attention of potential customers. Because of this, companies that want to focus on the highest possible ROI must turn their attention to high-value accounts, taking into account account penetration, marketing penetration, and logos. To achieve their goals, marketing teams must employ strategies that combine sales and marketing expertise to locate, engage, and close deals with the high-value accounts that matter most.
Account Based Marketing, meaning and objective
Capturing the attention of buyers today is very different than it was just a few years ago. In the engagement economy, an era where everything and everyone is connected, new and evolving channels, strategies, and technologies allow marketers to connect with customers on a whole new level. It’s an exciting time! But this new horizon comes with a set of challenges as we sort through an increasing abundance of information, heighten buyer expectations, and fight to be heard among a cacophony of competitors. To reach their goals, many companies pursuing high-value customers often find that an ABM strategy serves them better than casting a wide net.
What is Account Based Marketing for?
Account Based Marketing is not a new concept, but it has recently seen a resurgence due to evolving technology and a changing landscape. Implementing an ABM strategy can help improve marketing ROI, boost attributed revenue, generate more conversions and qualified leads, and align sales with marketing. In general, B2B marketers tend to target leads more broadly to appeal to as many companies as possible, but that doesn’t result in the best ROI. In the past, it was difficult and expensive to scale ABM initiatives due to the high level of personalization it requires. With today’s new and improved technology, it’s now easier and more affordable to scale ABM to a variety of organizations, and marketers across the board are implementing an ABM strategy within their team to drive higher-value results.
“Marketing is no longer a one-way street; you can’t just push promotions to your prospects. You need to engage in an active dialogue, and ABM allows you to do that with unparalleled precision.”
– Shari Johnston, SVP of Marketing, Radius
Common Problems ABM Can Solve
A broad marketing approach may make sense at first in the B2B space, but it can dramatically reduce your ROI compared to a targeted approach. A successful ABM initiative can increase revenue, optimize your efforts, and provide detailed metrics that would otherwise be inaccessible.
I can’t show a clear ROI. One of the main goals of Account Based Marketing is to prioritize ROI, which results in clear business outcomes. In fact, compared to other marketing initiatives, ITSMA’s 2014 Account Based Marketing Survey found that “ABM delivers the highest ROI of any B2B marketing strategy or tactic.”
We are wasting a lot of time, staff, and budget resources. Since gambling data turkey phone number Account Based Marketing focuses on investing time in promising, high-value accounts, it allows marketers to focus their resources more efficiently and execute marketing programs that are specifically optimized for target accounts.
I no longer see engagement with my audience. Because Account Based Marketing is so personalized, specific customers tend to be more likely to engage with the content. Since it’s targeted specifically to them, their business, and their specific stage in the customer journey, buyers are more likely to engage.
I'm not sure what goals and metrics I should be tracking. These types of accounts make it easier to analyze the effectiveness of your campaigns because you're measuring a smaller set of target accounts across email, ads, web, and events. The data you collect will also be more detailed and may provide insights you wouldn't be able to gather otherwise.
Our marketing and sales teams are not aligned. If your sales and marketing teams are not in sync, ABM is one of the most efficient ways to get them on the same page. Account Based Marketing works similarly to sales, putting marketing and sales teams in the same mindset so they think both in terms of accounts and how to target them, bring them to the table, and close the deal.
Components of Account Based Marketing
This type of marketing is all about targeting, engagement, and measurement. Incorporate these aspects into the foundation of your program and you'll set your marketing team up for success.
Targeting and managing the right accounts: ABM allows you to use technology to target and manage accounts that are worth your time and will result in the highest ROI. This gives you the ability to centralize account management and segmentation instead of managing and syncing accounts and lists between multiple applications. The type of accounts you target depends on your organization, but the following parameters are a good place to start: high performers, product fit, quick wins, strategic importance, competitors, and territory.
Engage across all channels: Design and execute coordinated, personalized campaigns across each of your marketing channels from a single platform rather than managing each one individually. This requires an account-based marketing solution that integrates each channel and provides a foundation for you to deliver informed, comprehensive campaigns across all channels to your target accounts.
Measuring and optimizing programs: Your ABM strategy needs to be measurable so you can demonstrate success and improve over time. To do this, you need to find a solution that helps you create account dashboards that analyze specific accounts, programs, and goals, and provides consistent revenue-driven account analytics all in one place.
ROI of a successful lead generation program
The ROI of a successful lead generation program depends on identifying qualified leads and moving them through the sales funnel at your own pace.
ABM drives ROI. 97% of marketers achieved a higher ROI with ABM than any other marketing initiative according to Alterra Group.
ABM is superior to other marketing efforts. 84% of marketers say account-based marketing strategies outperform other marketing investments.
ABM drives higher revenue. Marketing drives 208% more revenue for companies that have aligned their sales and marketing teams.
How to make your Account Based Marketing program
The foundation of a successful ABM program is a carefully selected list of high-value accounts. Once you define your goals, your marketing and sales teams can come together to design and deliver personalized campaigns through the right channels to produce the best result.
Step 1. Discover and define your high-value accounts – Use all the data and business intelligence you can find to help you identify and prioritize your high-value accounts. Consider revenue potential as well as other strategic factors such as market influence, likelihood of making a repeat purchase, and potential for above-average profit margins.
Step 2: Map accounts and identify key internal players: Identify how your target accounts are structured, how decisions are made, and who the decision makers and influencers are.
Step 3: Define personalized content and messaging – An effective ABM initiative employs valuable content that addresses clear and meaningful business challenges faced by the target account. Think about how your messaging and content can address the target account’s specific pain points.
Step 4: Determine optimal channels – Communicate with your audience on the channels they leverage, including web, mobile, and email. Consider which channels will be most effective for the specific roles or industries you might be targeting, and take into account things like opt-in rules and other restrictions in your region.
Step 5: Execute targeted and coordinated campaigns – It’s critical to coordinate your campaigns across all channels and align the efforts of marketing and sales teams to achieve maximum impact. Modern technology allows marketers to coordinate and execute ABM campaigns at a much greater scale and efficiency than was previously possible.
Step 6: Measure, Learn, and Optimize – Make sure you test, measure, and optimize your ABM marketing campaigns to ensure they are effective and that your results will continually improve. Make sure to analyze individual campaign results as well as trends at the account level and in aggregate (all target accounts) to get a more accurate picture.
In the age of information abundance, marketers are always fighting for the attention of potential customers. Because of this, companies that want to focus on the highest possible ROI must turn their attention to high-value accounts, taking into account account penetration, marketing penetration, and logos. To achieve their goals, marketing teams must employ strategies that combine sales and marketing expertise to locate, engage, and close deals with the high-value accounts that matter most.
Account Based Marketing, meaning and objective
Capturing the attention of buyers today is very different than it was just a few years ago. In the engagement economy, an era where everything and everyone is connected, new and evolving channels, strategies, and technologies allow marketers to connect with customers on a whole new level. It’s an exciting time! But this new horizon comes with a set of challenges as we sort through an increasing abundance of information, heighten buyer expectations, and fight to be heard among a cacophony of competitors. To reach their goals, many companies pursuing high-value customers often find that an ABM strategy serves them better than casting a wide net.
What is Account Based Marketing for?
Account Based Marketing is not a new concept, but it has recently seen a resurgence due to evolving technology and a changing landscape. Implementing an ABM strategy can help improve marketing ROI, boost attributed revenue, generate more conversions and qualified leads, and align sales with marketing. In general, B2B marketers tend to target leads more broadly to appeal to as many companies as possible, but that doesn’t result in the best ROI. In the past, it was difficult and expensive to scale ABM initiatives due to the high level of personalization it requires. With today’s new and improved technology, it’s now easier and more affordable to scale ABM to a variety of organizations, and marketers across the board are implementing an ABM strategy within their team to drive higher-value results.
“Marketing is no longer a one-way street; you can’t just push promotions to your prospects. You need to engage in an active dialogue, and ABM allows you to do that with unparalleled precision.”
– Shari Johnston, SVP of Marketing, Radius
Common Problems ABM Can Solve
A broad marketing approach may make sense at first in the B2B space, but it can dramatically reduce your ROI compared to a targeted approach. A successful ABM initiative can increase revenue, optimize your efforts, and provide detailed metrics that would otherwise be inaccessible.
I can’t show a clear ROI. One of the main goals of Account Based Marketing is to prioritize ROI, which results in clear business outcomes. In fact, compared to other marketing initiatives, ITSMA’s 2014 Account Based Marketing Survey found that “ABM delivers the highest ROI of any B2B marketing strategy or tactic.”
We are wasting a lot of time, staff, and budget resources. Since gambling data turkey phone number Account Based Marketing focuses on investing time in promising, high-value accounts, it allows marketers to focus their resources more efficiently and execute marketing programs that are specifically optimized for target accounts.
I no longer see engagement with my audience. Because Account Based Marketing is so personalized, specific customers tend to be more likely to engage with the content. Since it’s targeted specifically to them, their business, and their specific stage in the customer journey, buyers are more likely to engage.
I'm not sure what goals and metrics I should be tracking. These types of accounts make it easier to analyze the effectiveness of your campaigns because you're measuring a smaller set of target accounts across email, ads, web, and events. The data you collect will also be more detailed and may provide insights you wouldn't be able to gather otherwise.
Our marketing and sales teams are not aligned. If your sales and marketing teams are not in sync, ABM is one of the most efficient ways to get them on the same page. Account Based Marketing works similarly to sales, putting marketing and sales teams in the same mindset so they think both in terms of accounts and how to target them, bring them to the table, and close the deal.
Components of Account Based Marketing
This type of marketing is all about targeting, engagement, and measurement. Incorporate these aspects into the foundation of your program and you'll set your marketing team up for success.
Targeting and managing the right accounts: ABM allows you to use technology to target and manage accounts that are worth your time and will result in the highest ROI. This gives you the ability to centralize account management and segmentation instead of managing and syncing accounts and lists between multiple applications. The type of accounts you target depends on your organization, but the following parameters are a good place to start: high performers, product fit, quick wins, strategic importance, competitors, and territory.
Engage across all channels: Design and execute coordinated, personalized campaigns across each of your marketing channels from a single platform rather than managing each one individually. This requires an account-based marketing solution that integrates each channel and provides a foundation for you to deliver informed, comprehensive campaigns across all channels to your target accounts.
Measuring and optimizing programs: Your ABM strategy needs to be measurable so you can demonstrate success and improve over time. To do this, you need to find a solution that helps you create account dashboards that analyze specific accounts, programs, and goals, and provides consistent revenue-driven account analytics all in one place.
ROI of a successful lead generation program
The ROI of a successful lead generation program depends on identifying qualified leads and moving them through the sales funnel at your own pace.
ABM drives ROI. 97% of marketers achieved a higher ROI with ABM than any other marketing initiative according to Alterra Group.
ABM is superior to other marketing efforts. 84% of marketers say account-based marketing strategies outperform other marketing investments.
ABM drives higher revenue. Marketing drives 208% more revenue for companies that have aligned their sales and marketing teams.
How to make your Account Based Marketing program
The foundation of a successful ABM program is a carefully selected list of high-value accounts. Once you define your goals, your marketing and sales teams can come together to design and deliver personalized campaigns through the right channels to produce the best result.
Step 1. Discover and define your high-value accounts – Use all the data and business intelligence you can find to help you identify and prioritize your high-value accounts. Consider revenue potential as well as other strategic factors such as market influence, likelihood of making a repeat purchase, and potential for above-average profit margins.
Step 2: Map accounts and identify key internal players: Identify how your target accounts are structured, how decisions are made, and who the decision makers and influencers are.
Step 3: Define personalized content and messaging – An effective ABM initiative employs valuable content that addresses clear and meaningful business challenges faced by the target account. Think about how your messaging and content can address the target account’s specific pain points.
Step 4: Determine optimal channels – Communicate with your audience on the channels they leverage, including web, mobile, and email. Consider which channels will be most effective for the specific roles or industries you might be targeting, and take into account things like opt-in rules and other restrictions in your region.
Step 5: Execute targeted and coordinated campaigns – It’s critical to coordinate your campaigns across all channels and align the efforts of marketing and sales teams to achieve maximum impact. Modern technology allows marketers to coordinate and execute ABM campaigns at a much greater scale and efficiency than was previously possible.
Step 6: Measure, Learn, and Optimize – Make sure you test, measure, and optimize your ABM marketing campaigns to ensure they are effective and that your results will continually improve. Make sure to analyze individual campaign results as well as trends at the account level and in aggregate (all target accounts) to get a more accurate picture.