Working unqualified leads sucks, right? Whether you are in sales or marketing, trying to convert customers that aren't the right fit for your business can eat up a bunch of your time, leave you frustrated and result in no revenue.
Imagine a better world, where you start your sales process by targeting your best-fit, and highest value clients. That is essentially what account-based marketing does. In this quick guide, we will cover what account-based marketing is and whether it is the right fit for your business.
"Account-based marketing (ABM) is a focused B2B growth strategy in which Marketing and Sales collaborate to create personalized buying experiences for a mutually identified set of high-value accounts." – Hubspot
For too long marketing and sales have worked separately, creating silos and causing problems. For a B2B business to run successful marketing they need to unite their sales and marketing teams. Account-based marketing is delivering the cohesion and ROI that businesses are looking for. According to Alterra Group, 97% of marketers achieved a higher ROI by incorporating ABM than with any other marketing initiative.
Account-based marketing has one clear difference in strategy than traditional marketing channels such as content marketing.
In traditional channels, you will start off with sweeping generalisations about your ideal customer. Then the customer will identify themselves after some interactions with your brand by filling out a form which then leads them to something like a free download or a free trial.
When you start ABM, you will have the same initial tactic. But quickly you will diverge from traditional strategies. Rather than wait for your ideal customer to identify themselves, you will take steps to identify the customer yourself.
There are several different ways that ABM can be implemented. One tactic that many businesses find successful is:
One-to-one ABM
Example:
Intridea, a US-based UX agency, wanted to land a lucrative client – Ogilvy, a high-profile ad agency. They decided to target them with a one-to-one B2B marketing campaign.
Intridea advertised on a huge billboard with personalised messaging directed at Ogilvy, placed right outside their offices – a campaign there was no way they could miss.
You have probably seen the crazy stats about how effective ABM can be (such as the one a the start of this article). Those stats fueled your curiosity and now you are here to learn more. But is ABM the right choice for your B2B business? Yes, it can deliver incredible results, but it's not for every business.
Account-Based Marketing Is a Great Option, If:
ABM works best with B2B audiences. If you have both B2B and B2C customers, save the ABM for the former
Newer companies have a harder time implementing ABM. You need an established reputation to back up your value proposition
ABM works really well when you have a small and specific target audience – for example SaaS companies with a £30 million + annual turnover.
You cannot do ABM without one
You have the time and resources to build strong personal relationships
ABM is all about getting personal. You need to have the time and team to be able to form strong and long-lasting relationships with your clients.
ABM tools do not come cheap. You will need the budget to invest in advertising campaigns and ABM platforms, which may come to £1000’s.
ABM is an excellent strategy and can deliver unbelievable ROI. But it needs to be used in the right way. It works best for B2B businesses that are targeting high-profile and lucrative accounts. As a strategy, it can take a lot of time and resources so needs to be implemented only on accounts that will deliver a high long-term value.
See inspirations here:
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