It may be the hottest trend in B2B marketing today: account-based marketing, short ABM. The majority of B2B marketers that adopted the strategy say it generates positive results.
Cooperating marketing and sales teams expect that they’ll exceed revenue goals with the approach. According to research firm TOPO, 80% of marketers view higher customer lifetime values and win rates. They also say that 20% of ABM targeted accounts turn into SQLs (sales-qualified leads).
But what exactly is ABM, and how is it different from traditional segmentation? What are the benefits and challenges? And most importantly, is it right for your business? Let’s take a closer look and clear up some of the questions around the B2B marketing buzz.
How Is Account-Based Marketing Unique?
We are talking about a growth strategy as part of your overall marketing and sales plan. Account-based marketing targets companies—or accounts—rather than individual prospects or segments in your market.
You identify your high-value prospects and nurture them with customized marketing materials and methods. At the same time, you can filter out lower-value prospects early in the process. This allows you to divide your funds and resources more effectively.
How Does It Work?
The strategy relies on accurate marketing and sales intel to identify your most qualified leads that will be included in your ABM plan. The teams continue to collaborate also with customer service to collect and analyze relevant data. Based on everyone’s input, you tailor content and campaigns to the contacts in your accounts, personalize communication, and choose efficient channels.
It doesn’t stop there; you keep reevaluating leads and adapting custom content. To follow-through with your account-based marketing strategy, you need marketing software that integrates with your CRM.
What Are the Challenges?
Implementing ABM is no small task, and marketers wrestle with several issues. TOPO found these to be the top three challenges:
Creating a scalable strategy across a broad account list
Producing customized content and customer experiences
Coordinating programs across marketing, sales development, and sales teams
In many organizations, marketing and sales plans aren’t aligned. Businesses that have successfully adopted ABM have dedicated teams and leaders to streamline their goals and efforts.
You may have to add resources if ABM is to produce profitable results. Make sure to start small and allocate your funds and resources efficiently. You need consistency, and you need to measure your efforts.
Is Account-Based Marketing Right for Your Business?
An account-based marketing approach depends on extensive, reliable data; therefore, your marketing software is the cornerstone. With Salesforce, for example, you can integrate ABM into your existing strategies.
You can start testing the approach on a few accounts and learn as you go, before jumping onto the fast ABM-train. Make sure to have a detailed plan without loopholes from the beginning. Once you are running with it, you’ll be busy analyzing and customizing content, and you need an excellent infrastructure and a solid framework to support your operations.
Comments