The right Way To Build Account-Based Marketing strategy in 2024

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a powerful approach that unifies sales, marketing and customer success efforts to engage and nurture key accounts and drive better results. However, many organizations struggle with implementing Account-Based Marketing (ABM) effectively, often due to a lack of strategy, proper execution, or complex technology stacks. In this guide, we will explore the right way to build your account-based marketing capability, drawing inspiration from industry insights and best practices.

Why ABM Matters to You!

ABM marketing was born out of the realization that B2B companies sell to committees and not just individual consumers. By targeting specific accounts instead of generic leads, ABM allows businesses to unlock a toolbox of ABM tactics and strategies to accelerate sales. Implementing ABM offers several benefits for B2B organizations, including increased ROI, improved customer acquisition, stronger customer relationships, increased customer lifetime value, and better alignment between marketing and sales teams.

ABM vs. Traditional Marketing Approaches

Traditional B2B marketing employs a wide-net strategy, casting messages to a broad audience, while ABM focuses on a select group of high-value accounts, tailoring messaging and campaigns to their specific needs. ABM emphasizes personalized experiences, relationship-building, an account-based strategy/approach, and closer alignment between marketing and sales teams, resulting in better targeting and higher conversion rates.

Benefits of Account-Based Marketing for B2B Organizations

ABM marketing strategy has shown significant impact and positive outcomes for B2B organizations. Studies have found that ABM increases ROI, improves customer acquisition rates, enhances customer relationships, fosters customer loyalty, and aligns marketing and sales efforts effectively. By leveraging the benefits of ABM, organizations can achieve better results and drive growth, acheiving their B2B demand generation goals.

Developing an ABM Strategy

To effectively build your account-based marketing capability, it is crucial to start with a well-defined strategy. Here are some key steps to consider:

1. Defining Objectives and Goals: Clearly articulate the outcomes you want to achieve with ABM, aligning them with broader business goals. Break down these objectives into measurable and actionable goals to provide a roadmap for success.
2. Aligning Sales and Marketing Departments: Foster closer collaboration and communication between sales and marketing teams by jointly defining target accounts and developing engagement strategies. This alignment allows for the sharing of insights, coordination of activities, and equipping sales teams with valuable assets for account-based selling.
3. Creating Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) and Target Account Lists (TALs): Identify your target audience at the account level by analyzing existing customers, identifying the buying committee, defining their key characteristics, and understanding their pain points. Translate these profiles into TALs, leveraging stakeholder and CRM data as well as intent data from predictive analytics platforms for effective content and channel decisions.
4. Adequately map the buying committees in TALs: Running successful ABM campaigns relies on two key things: targeting and freshness. First, make sure your CRM has accurate information on the real decision-makers. Targeting the wrong people wastes time and resources. Second, keep that data fresh. With around 25% of buyers changing jobs every year, regular updates through job change tracking are crucial to ensure your ABM efforts hit the right mark.
5. Evaluating Next Gen MarTech Tools for ABM: While intent data tools like 6sense and Demandbase is a must-have for analytics and prioritization. niche tools for champion tracking, copy personalization, and demo automation can drive high-quality pipeline conversion. Keep exploring the best ABM platforms and tools to enhance your efforts.

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Map out a content strategy for every stage

Identifying your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and Target Account Lists (TALs) is a crucial first step. But the real power comes from nurturing those relationships.  Digital media lets you directly engage with your target audience, building stronger connections. Plus, data from these interactions helps you personalize your message for maximum impact. Having an effective ABM content strategy can boost your ABM demand generation efforts even further.

Content is King, But Engagement is Queen in ABM

1. Content may be the foundation of ABM, but it's worthless if nobody sees it. Here's how to reach your ideal buyers where they consume information and build trust:
2. Social Media Ads:  While social media advertising can be expensive, it's often a necessary investment.  Learn the optimal balance between TOFU (Top of Funnel), MOFU (Middle of Funnel), and BOFU (Bottom of Funnel) marketing tactics to reach buyers at the right stage of their journey. Using Linkedin Account-Based Marketing strategies to generate awareness can go a long way.
3. Leverage Dark Social: Depending on your buyer persona, your target audience is likely having conversations in online communities and offline groups. Identify these "dark social" spaces and engage with potential buyers in a helpful, non-intrusive way. This can generate high-quality warm leads by reaching them in their comfort zone.
4. Tap into Customer Networks: Chances are, at least one of your existing customers knows someone at every target account. Partner with your customer marketing team to identify key champions and advocates.  By mapping their firmographics, network information, and encouraging them to connect with your target buyers, you can significantly increase the quality of your pipeline.

Conclusion

Building your account based marketing capability the right way is a strategic process that requires alignment between sales and marketing teams, defined objectives, targeted account selection, and the implementation of relevant account based marketing platforms. By following the steps outlined in this guide and developing a comprehensive account based marketing plan, you can harness the power of ABM to drive better ROI, improved customer acquisition, stronger relationships, and increased revenue growth.

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Remember, ABM is not a one-size-fits-all approach, so continuously evaluate and optimize your strategy to achieve the best results for your business. Experiment with different ABM campaign examples and ABM strategy examples to find what works best for your organization. Pay close attention to data quality throughout your ABM efforts, as it's crucial for success. By implementing these account-based marketing tactics effectively, you'll be well on your way to mastering ABM marketing and driving significant growth for your business.

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