Account-Based Marketing: Complete Guide To The ABM Strategy

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a strategy that’s been around for over 100 years, yet only lately has gained the interest of business marketers.

In this article, you’ll find everything you need to know about Account-Based Marketing and how it can work for your business.

So without any further ado, let’s get straight into it.

What is Account-Based Marketing?

For those not familiar with the terms, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is an approach to marketing that focuses on identifying and prioritizing accounts or contacts within a target market.

In most cases, ABM will also involve creating personalized value propositions for each account or contact, building individualized campaigns based on those unique value propositions, and then delivering customized content to each account to generate the best possible ROI.

What is Account-Based Marketing Used For?

In short, ABM can be used to focus resources on customers or contacts who are most likely to spend money with you and then convert those leads into paying customers.

The reason this works so well is that ABM employs advanced segmentation and targeting tactics to identify and prioritize your most valuable accounts, or the people who are most likely to work with you.

By then using that list of target accounts as guidance for how to create individualized campaigns, ABM also ensures that each account is getting only what they need from you during its buying journey. 

Because each account will be getting a personalized value proposition, and because you’ll be delivering content to each account that’s relevant to their needs, ABM offers marketers the highest conversion rates and ROI of any marketing strategy.

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Who Can Use Account-Based Marketing?

While this is often considered an advanced form of online or digital marketing, most B2B companies can benefit from ABM to some degree.

The reason for that is single biggest benefit of ABM is being able to focus on an account’s digital behavior and pinpoint who they are and what they need before meeting them face-to-face.

Because of this, you can use ABM to identify ideal clients or those potential customers which hold the most value in your business.

What are the Benefits of Account-Based Marketing (ABM)?

As mentioned before, one of the biggest and easiest-to-understand benefits of ABM is how it allows you to pinpoint your most valuable contacts or accounts.

Once you know exactly who those people or companies are, you can then use that information to tailor individualized marketing campaigns so they’re receiving only the information they need from you while on their buying journey.

Because your campaigns and content are tailored to each account, the conversion rates for your ABM efforts will also be higher than any other type of marketing strategy.

It’s important to note that although ROI is one of the biggest benefits of ABM, it isn’t necessarily the goal of your strategy.

That’s because Account-Based Marketing is about identifying who will work best for you, creating a value proposition to show why working with you is beneficial, and then delivering that message to them in the most relevant way possible.

By doing this right, your business can create new relationships based on trust and convert these leads into customers which will generate a long-term ROI for your business.

How Does Account-Based Marketing Work?

The first step in any Account-Based Marketing strategy is to identify who is going to be most interested in what you have to offer.

While it’s possible to create this list based on geographic location alone, it will often be more effective if you can create a list based on the businesses that are already buying similar products or services. 

Depending on your industry, that could be in regards to companies who have recently purchased something similar, those who already have a monthly subscription with you, or even people who have never purchased anything from you but seem interested in doing so.

Once you’ve identified a list of potential contacts or accounts to target, you can then create a plan for how you’re going to reach them.

By using advanced analytics tools and segmentation methods, Account-Based Marketing allows you to run through the list and identify which companies are most likely to buy from you based on their web behavior.

For example, if your list is made up of SaaS companies, you would want to create a list of all the websites which have downloaded your ebook and then contact them based on their behavior.

Based on this strategy, to run an effective Account-Based Marketing campaign, you’ll need to make sure you can tailor your offers, messages, and content while keeping track of their reactions and the results that you’re generating. 

Thankfully, there are several marketing automation tools that can help with this process so you can focus on building an account-based campaign strategy (rather than managing it).

What’s the future of Account Based Marketing (ABM)?

With the growing interest in ABM, more companies and marketers are becoming aware of the benefits that can be generated by using this approach.

That’s because digital communication is changing and businesses are starting to shift their focus toward mobile platforms, which means the common buyer personas aren’t being updated as frequently.

Because of this, it’s becoming more important for companies to start targeting specific accounts based on where they are on the buyer’s journey as opposed to a blanket message sent to everyone in your contact database.

Further, Account-Based Marketing can be used for lead generation and generating new sales while marketing automation tools help increase existing sales or shorten their buying cycle by guiding them through your funnel.

Choosing the right approach can make all of the difference

While Account-Based Marketing and SEO are both long-term strategies, the two share a lot of similarities.

Both marketing tactics are about creating content that will rank on search engines based on how relevant it is to the keywords you’re targeting.

With this approach, you want to create engaging website content that will teach people what value your product has for them while also attracting people who want to learn about it.

However, the major difference between SEO and ABM is that when you’re doing business development with Account-Based Marketing, you’re connecting with fewer target accounts which are more likely to convert into new customers.  

Further, the cost of building an in-depth buyer persona to match your ideal customer is much lower than the cost of creating an SEO strategy because you’re not trying to optimize each blog article for specific keywords. 

Instead, you’re simply using a predefined template to create content that can be used on multiple platforms and is still relevant when the market changes.  

And with new strategies being more effective at generating sales, it’s important to know how ABM differs from other marketing tactics and how it can be used to guide your new business development strategy.  

Account-Based Marketing Costs vs SEO

One of the first things you want to consider when determining whether or not Account-Based Marketing is right for you is whether or not you have the time and resources needed to invest in building a strategy that focuses on ABM.

While SEO takes time to rank, the content is much easier to build because you’re not tailoring your posts and articles based on who your target account is.  

That’s because search engine algorithms are still fairly basic as they use machine learning and keyword matching rather than working off of detailed buyer personas.  

Further, SEO and PPC are still the most cost-effective way of getting traffic to your site as you can buy low-cost keywords and drive a lot of targeted traffic which will allow you to build a list of prospects or leads that convert into customers over time. 

But Account Based Marketing has an edge

However, ABM has some major benefits when it comes to improving your sales, and the competition is much lower so you’re more likely to get a return on investment.

That’s because if someone has already made it through the buying cycle, they’ve invested time and money into getting to that point which means they’re focused on trying to work with someone who can help them further their business goals.  

As opposed to a prospect who may not be quite ready yet, your target account is already interested in working with you. 

And if they’re not currently working with anyone else, then they are open to the idea of changing that and choosing another provider who can help them reach their objectives.  

That alone makes it so much easier to get a new customer to switch over while generating revenue for your business, but you still want to be careful when choosing how to allocate budget and staff.  

There are two major types of Account Based Marketing

The first is channel-based account-based marketing where you build relationships with partners who have access to a lot of target accounts to which they can promote you.

The second is based on the target’s potential value, and some of the more advanced software being used these days will do this for you through what’s called predictive analytics.

Channel-based ABM has been around since the beginning of client development but is most effective when there are heavy restrictions on how to get in touch with accounts without there being a hard sell.

The reason for this is that when you partner with another company, their success is directly tied to yours and they want to make sure that you can integrate their services into your own as well as make it easy for them to provide you with information about the account so you can progress the relationship.

For this reason, you want to make sure that the service being provided is something your company will use in the future. 

The more information you’re able to provide another business development manager, the higher chance they have of building a relationship with an account and referring it to you when they think there’s a good fit and are allowed to do so.  

They should also be providing you with something valuable to your business, or at least one of the major advantages is that they’re using software and technology that makes it easy for them to track account engagement and recommend your services when there’s an opportunity for them to do so. 

If nothing else, they’ll have access to a list of target accounts and you can use that to begin building your own.  

However, only 10 percent of BDM’s use ABM. 

And if the service isn’t providing them with enough information about the account, or their software is lacking then they’re not going to be very effective at getting you new business. 

For this reason, you should try to find a partner who will be able to not only recommend your services when the opportunity arises but also provide valuable information about the account so that you can reach out yourself.  

That way, you’re not relying on them to do everything for you. 

How does predictive analytics work in Account Based Marketing?

Sometimes it’s not enough to just rely on someone else to provide you with data that you can use, whether it’s an account or a lead.

Because whenever a company uses predictive analytics in ABM, they’re taking advantage of the fact that different accounts have their own unique goals and desires. 

This is true even without knowing who owns the account, as the same company can have multiple targets that are interested in completely different products. 

For example, a large bank or financial institution is going to have a target account of someone within the largest 100 corporations in Australia.  

The goal of the account may not be for anything within their own company but instead, they could want to work with a designer or developer to help them with their mobile application.  

So rather than using predictive analytics on individual target accounts, you should be using it on the audience descriptions that are available from your sales team.

The list of all the companies that a company would like to sell products or services to should have information about their size and how they can be categorized as well as any other information that might help you to initially identify the specific target accounts that are within that group.

For example, if you’re dealing with a large developer or designer then they may work with multiple types of companies and have different potential customers depending on what type of business they specialize in working with. 

The goal is to get into a position where you’re able to find the right target account for your services by using predictive analytics on audience size and other information that can help you narrow down the field.

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Plus, if they have access to mailing lists or email addresses from those companies, then they should be able to track how many emails are being opened and bounced back as well as how many times the link in those emails is being clicked. 

This information can then be used to generate a list of target accounts with a much higher open rate than what you might typically get from other methods, and it becomes very easy to reach out to them immediately.

As long as they have a service that allows them to track this information on their own, then you should be able to get an accurate reading of the potential for making sales from each one. 

While it can take longer than sending out thousands of random emails every day, the higher open rate and targeted list of accounts will allow your company to grow even faster while reducing the amount of effort that goes into connecting with new target accounts.

Account-Based Marketing Tools and Solutions

Once you find a partner who has experience in digital and ABM, the next thing that you want to ensure is that they have an effective solution or platform for assisting with leads.

The reason for this is that there are many valuable features available from your partners that can make it much easier to generate new accounts without having to deal with as much of a workload as you would if you were doing everything manually.

The more options that your partner or agency has available for managing accounts then the more unique and valuable they will be to use when compared with other agencies who assist in marketing.

Finding a way to work with an agency or service provider is essential because it can give you access to a range of information about your competitors and any other relevant details that might help you win new accounts.

The good news is that many of these platforms will also allow you to track the success of ABM campaigns, including which ones resulted in sales and how much they were worth making it easier for you to compare what is working best when it comes to advertising.

To give you an idea of what some of the top solutions are, I’m going to list a few that can assist with both ABM and marketing in general. 

1. HubSpot for Account-Based Marketing

In addition to providing lead generation for other types of companies, Hubspot also has a solution for account-based marketing that includes a few essential features that can help you find new leads.

For example, they have a tool called the “account discovery” service which allows you to put in all of the personal information for your ideal customer and then see what companies are on their contact list. 

The benefit of this is that it will allow them to see how many contacts on the list have an interest in your business, as well as where you need to go for more information.

Another useful feature is their database of over 3 million companies that includes details on each one including the primary contact person and job title, which will allow you to send out emails to them without having to do any extra research.

Plus, their service also has some other features that include ensuring that you only reach out to accounts that are interested in your services, a built-in sales pipeline management system, and lead scoring.

2. Eloqua as an Account-Based Marketing Tool

Eloqua’s platform (now owned by Oracle) is one of the most popular solutions on the market today for marketing as well as account-based marketing.

The reason for this is that it helps you to manage all of your leads in one place by allowing you to view them from the same platform used for managing sales teams and generating new business.

Their platform also has some special features which include social media tools, lead scoring, and a complete marketing automation system that allows you to automate your advertising.

Plus, they also have a feature called “Seamless” which is an integrated chatbot that allows you to reach out to new accounts while reducing the amount of human effort needed along with providing fast service responses, making it easier for your clients to get in touch.

3. Salesforce as an ABM Option

While Salesforce is known primarily for its CRM solution, they also have a separate division called SalesforceIQ (now known as Salesforce Essentials) which focuses on marketing tools that can be used to improve efficiency and provide assistance with digital advertising.

One of the main features offered by this service is the ability to use real-time data about your customers to help you make decisions about the type of advertising that will be most effective.

For example, they have a feature called “Lead Forecasting and Sales Analytics” which allows you to see how much revenue you’re likely to receive from each new account, making it easier for you to determine if it’s worth following through on any meeting requests with them.

They also have a feature called “Conversational AI” which allows you to use chatbots that will alert you when certain events happen, such as if one of your targets is mentioned online or in the media. 

4. Pardot for ABM

To help you reach out to targets and determine what kind of content they want to see, Pardot has a service that’s known as the “Demand Gen Report” which allows you to analyze their contacts by industry and segment them.

This way, you can send out emails in a more targeted fashion instead of sending something that may be irrelevant to them, which means you’ll have a higher response rate than if they were to receive something more general in nature.

Plus, Pardot also has some other features that can help you manage your account-based campaigns such as the ability to measure success by tracking how many emails and phone calls are made in addition to the number of new contacts that you make.

5. Marketo as an ABM Solution

Marketo is a platform that was designed specifically for use by B2B marketing departments and has over 24,000 customers worldwide.

The main benefit of this service is that it offers a full suite of digital marketing tools as well as services that can help you increase your revenue, including direct sales automation systems to manage leads in an organized fashion as well as ABM to help you reach out to targets and determine which ones are the best prospects.

They also have some other features that allow you to scale your digital marketing campaign with ease, including lead scoring systems along with automated social media marketing tools like paid ads, Facebook posts, and more.

Conclusion

B2B marketing is a complex process.

It requires understanding the psychology of your customer and how they think at different stages in their buying cycle or lead funnel.

Considering this, it’s important to have an account-based marketing strategy that aims for efficiency and conversion rates with less effort on your part.

I hope the information provided in this article will help you get started thinking about how to leverage Account-Based Marketing tools and strategies to reach out to your targets with the most relevant information at just the right time.

Good luck!

Ali Liaquat

Ali is a digital marketing blogger and author who uses the power of words to inspire and impact others. He has written for leading publications like Business2Community, Inc. Magazine, and Marketing Profs. When not writing, he enjoys spending time with his family.