The Benefits of ABM
If there’s anything modern customers want, it’s personal attention. Do you ever feel like you’re just throwing marketing campaigns at different audiences, hoping that something will actually stick? If you’re in sales or marketing, you can probably relate. The fact is that those tactics simply don’t work in today’s market. Gone are the days of randomly tossing marketing seeds with the blind hope that business will take root. If you’ve truly got your eyes set on growth, then you need to try ABM.
What is ABM?
ABM, or Account Based Marketing, is an approach to marketing that revolves around highly personalized experiences and growth. With ABM, you tailor your marketing efforts towards specific high-value accounts.
According to HubSpot, 92% of marketers report that customers expect a personalized experience, and with ABM, that’s precisely what you are supplying. Rather than spending too much time and money on leads that you identify as less valuable, ABM focuses on those that have the most potential for your business.
How Does ABM Benefit My Business?
A good ABM strategy can benefit your business in many ways.
- Greater ROI: By identifying accounts that have the potential for a high return you can minimize other marketing efforts that don’t yield the same value, saving money while generating greater revenue with strategic accounts. Statistics also show that loyal customers present the opportunity for higher ROI. According to Think Impact, retaining customers can increase profitability anywhere from 25-95%.
- Better alignment between sales and marketing: Do you ever feel like marketing and sales are living in separate worlds? ABM helps keep these two teams in greater alignment by identifying key accounts that both departments can and should be targeting. Mar Tech Alliance tells us that businesses see a 27% faster profit growth when both teams are aligned.
- Enhanced brand awareness: When you engage with focused accounts who value and need your product or services, you get better brand awareness with other businesses that have the same needs. WebFX found that 84% of companies saw an improvement in their reputation and brand awareness with an ABM strategy.
- More account engagement: More personalized attention leads to higher engagement from those key accounts. Ultimately, this leads to greater value for clients and better customer retention. Offprem/APEI
How to Identify High-Value Accounts for a Good ABM Strategy
The foundation of a good ABM strategy involves identifying the right high-value accounts. So how do you know when an account qualifies? Use these tips to figure out which accounts you should target.
- Bring sales and marketing together to determine which accounts are ideal. Input from both teams is essential to ensure a consistent brand experience and accelerate the time from identification to closing.
- Create a persona or profile for those key accounts. Include the goals and KPIs you’ll use to measure success. Perhaps you want to target accounts that will purchase the most services or products, or maybe your goal is to identify accounts that will serve as social proof for your brand. Make sure you know why accounts will be valuable for your business. Gather details from your most lucrative accounts and identify any commonalities.
- Evaluate which accounts fit your profile. Make sure to account for industry, company demographics and size, estimated growth, and capabilities for expansion. Research each account to identify these criteria and evaluate what they are already leveraging for insights.
Creating your ABM Team
I’m sure you’re thinking, “this all sounds great!” But how do you actually execute ABM so that you can take advantage of that promised growth?
Create your ABM strategy by following the TEAM framework:
T: Target the right people.
Don’t waste your time with randos.
Who are your ideal customers? What do they care about? What are their pain points? Once you know who you’re targeting, you can start to focus your efforts on reaching them.
Take the time to target the right people with the right messages. This will save you time and money in the long run.
E: Engage them like humans.
They’re not just a lead number.
Once you’ve identified your target accounts, it’s time to start engaging with them. This doesn’t mean sending them a bunch of spammy emails – build relationships with your key accounts and get to know them on a personal level.
Send them personalized direct mail, provide them with valuable content, and attend industry events where you can meet them face-to-face. The more you can do to connect with them on a human level, the more likely they are to do business with you.
A: Activate them with killer content.
Make them want to buy from you.
Once you’ve engaged with your target accounts, it’s time to start activating them. This means providing them with the information and resources they need to make a decision.
Send them case studies, white papers, and other content that shows how your products or services can solve their problems. Make it easy for them to get in touch with you and learn more.
M: Measure your results.
See what’s working and what’s not.
The last step is to measure your results. This will help you see what’s working and what’s not so you can optimize your campaigns.
Track metrics like website traffic, leads generated, and sales closed. This will give you a clear picture of how your ABM efforts are performing and whether you need to make any changes.
Remember, more is not always better. With ABM, you’ll get better engagement, higher ROI, and greater brand awareness. So why not just go for better? Want to learn more about ABM campaigns and how to engage and activate your ideal customers with tactile marketing strategies? Tactive can help!