Ask any dedicated entrepreneur, and they’ll tell you that their goal is to focus their marketing campaigns on accounts that would yield the most business. In other words, they aim to identify and target customers more likely to purchase their products or services, wasting no time marketing to unqualified leads.
Sounds good, right? But how do you go about doing this? How can you determine which prospects are ready to buy from you? And what if you don’t have a list of qualified leads yet? You may be asking yourself these questions because you’re unsure whether account-based marketing (ABM) is for you. If so, read on! We’ve got all the answers for you!
What is an Account-Based Marketing strategy?
At its core, account-based marketing integrates sales and marketing into a B2B, super-targeted approach. That means that instead of focusing on broad demographics, businesses use data to pinpoint specific customer segments with high buying potential. These segments are then used to identify and target leads to generate new sales opportunities.
You can also view ABM as a platform where sales and marketing strategies collaborate to chase the most profitable customers. One excellent way to realise this is through highly targeted messaging specific to the targeted market. That ensures that only relevant buyers see your message, reducing the chances of annoying them with irrelevant information.
How is it different from traditional marketing?
Traditional marketing focuses on reaching as many people as possible to get as much exposure as possible. While this might work well for some industries, it doesn’t always translate to success when trying to sell to businesses. For example, if you were selling a product to small businesses, you’d want to reach as many small businesses as possible. But you wouldn’t necessarily want to waste money sending messages to prospects that aren’t interested in purchasing your product.
In contrast, ABM takes a more focused approach. Instead of using the Total Addressable Market (TAM) data to send messages to large groups of people, ABM uses data to target specific buyer personas. The reward? You spend less time chasing after uninterested leads and more time finding those genuinely interested in your product or service.
Another critical difference between the two marketing approaches is that ABM requires close alignment with sales and marketing teams. In other words, you need to know your best customers before marketing to them. Otherwise, you’ll waste resources by sending messages to people who aren’t interested in your products or services.
What are the key components of an ABM model?
For an ABM model to work effectively, there needs to be a clear understanding of what each team does, how they interact, and why they’re essential. Here are the main components of an effective ABM model:
- The right structure – The first recipe for a successful ABM strategy is having a proper system. First, you must have a qualified sales and marketing director who understands the importance of collaboration. They should be able to communicate clearly about the program’s goals and ensure that everyone involved knows what they’re supposed to do. Plus, they should sit across both departments to enforce seamless alignment.
- A push model – For ABM to work, you must restructure sales and marketing from a pull to a push model. For instance, instead of relying on PPC ads and waiting for leads, your teams should focus on understanding the total addressable market, the product market fit, and the segments to target. Put simply; effective ABM is about knowing your target market, having data on them, and being strategic about which ones to target during a specific quarter.
- Fully focused – Once you’ve identified your target market, you can focus on the right buyers. That means identifying the right buyer persona, creating a profile for each, and then segmenting them based on their buying behaviours. When you identify the right buyer persona, you’ll understand what makes them tick, so you can create content that resonates with them. You can even modify a campaign effortlessly based on the analytics you collect because it’s so targeted.
- Fully coordinated strategy – As we already mentioned, everyone in the sales and marketing teams knows what to do to achieve the desired results. They know the company and the stakeholders they’re targeting, leaving no room for time it resources wastage.
- Multi-channel – The ABM strategy leverages multiple channels to keep the campaign as omnipresent as possible, creating the most impact. These channels may include events, videos, digital, promotional materials, mailers, etc. Face-to-face events are particularly excellent for building relationships and nurturing high-quality leads.
Which companies should adopt an ABM strategy?
There’s no specific industry or business size that is right for account-based marketing. Instead, it all boils down to whether your organisation has the right structure, processes, and culture to support this approach. That said, here are a few circumstances defining a company that could benefit from an ABM strategy:
- A growth business trying to push upmarket. If you’re growing quickly and need to reach more customers, ABM will help you scale faster by providing a way to attract new prospects.
- An established brand looking to expand its customer base. If you want to grow your existing customer base, ABM can help you find new ways to engage with them.
- A B2C company that needs to drive more revenue per customer. If you sell to consumers, ABM can help increase your average order value (AOV) by getting you closer to your ideal customers.
- A business selling enterprise-grade software or high-cost items. Targeting a vast pool of prospects makes no sense if you sell niche products like software or premium goods. However, with an ABM strategy, you can narrow your audience to only those with the budget or need for your products or services.
How can I measure ABM?
Account-based marketing isn’t just about reaching out to potential clients but measuring how well you’re doing. Here are some key metrics to track when evaluating your ABM efforts:
- Leads generated – This metric measures how many people you reach through your campaigns. It includes both quality and quantity. Quality refers to the number of qualified leads you generate, while quantity refers to the number of contacts you make.
- Average deal size per channel This metric helps you understand which channels work best for your business. For example, if you’re using email, you’ll probably see higher conversion rates than if you were using social media.
- Conversion rate – This metric shows how effectively each channel converted leads into clients. You should aim to improve your conversion rate over time.
- ROI ROI is one of the most critical metrics in any marketing plan. With ABM, you can measure how much money you’ve spent on acquiring new clients versus what you’ve earned back from them.
Final remarks – Fluent Group is your No.1 rated ABM partner!
Account-based marketing is a powerful tool that can be used to create a highly targeted list of prospective buyers. By focusing on individual accounts instead of large groups, you can better identify what they need and deliver relevant content to them. In addition, ABM lets you focus on the most profitable accounts first, helping you achieve greater success overall.
At Fluent Group, we’re a sales and marketing optimisation consulting firm focused on delivering results for our clients. Our team of experts leverage its vast experience and top-class technologies to uncover opportunities and provide recommendations for improving performance across digital, offline, and traditional channels. We believe every client deserves the highest level of service and attention, so we strive to exceed expectations daily.
We’d love to hear from you! So get in touch today to learn more about how we can help your organisation succeed.
