Today, as more businesses are migrating online to meet consumer needs, B2B marketers continue to face the ever-growing challenge of maintaining a competitive edge in a market that continues to get more interconnected and competitive. How do you differentiate your business to break through the information overload and win the attention of potential clients? Here’s where account-based marketing (ABM) comes in.
What is ABM?
ABM is a process that aligns your marketing and sales strategies to boost long term growth by expanding your client base. What distinguishes this type of marketing from others is that ABM strategies help B2B marketers proactively focus on targeting qualified, high-value prospective clients instead of broadly appealing to as many companies as possible and then waiting to see if any leads will pan out. For instance, instead of marketing to a group or an industry, you market to 5-20 very specific companies.
Why more B2B marketers are embracing ABM
ABM helps B2B companies optimize their marketing efforts, which can boost ROI. For example, ABM focuses on investing time and resources on campaigns that are specifically targeted to your most promising prospective clients, which enhances efficiency and results. After all, given how tailored ABM is to individual clients and their business’s specific needs, they are more likely to engage with your content.
How to implement a winning AMB strategy
Here are 3 tips to help your business implement a successful AMB strategy:
Review your current client base & make a wish list. Review your current client base to find your best clients. Consider what makes them such good clients and what market segment they’re from. Use this data to make a list of ideal prospective clients to target. Include those who are already “on the cusp,” who you think have the best chance of becoming clients as well as current clients whose scope of business you think you can increase.
Create and Refine Your Message. An effective ABM strategy uses tailored content that addresses specific business challenges that are unique to each client. However, even before you create strategic messaging and content that can distinctly address and appeal to each respective target client, consider the following: just the act of allocating media spend and other marketing efforts to these prospective clients brings its own reward. There is a much better chance that they will see your messaging, and this visibility has a huge effect. The most important aspect of ABM is for the relevant target clients to feel that you are in the many places they look (although don’t overdo it). Then, if you also tailor a message specifically to their needs, you will be doubly effective.
Implement Your ABM Strategy – and Promote It Weekly. Make a concerted effort to connect to your target clients weekly. Be sure to engage with them on their preferred channels, be it mobile, web, email or via a newsletter. Here are some ABM tactics to consider using:
Connect via social media – reply to their posts and/or repost them. And don’t forget to tag them.
Email marketing
Engage in retargeting once they are interacting with your website and social posts. Retargeting has a much higher chance of eliciting a reaction from users.
Invite them to attend an event or participate in a panel for your webinar.
Look beyond digital. Think about creative materials you can send them. Maybe a holiday-related giveaway or gift, or specific messages related to a company event. Here, your thinking needs to be bold and outside of the box, because sending basic marketing materials will not only be ineffective but will also make you appear outdated.
Register for their newsletter and add them to your newsletter’s mailing list.
Integrate them into your online content by linking to their articles or writing about/answering their themes.
Mention them in your PR efforts.
Create a dedicated LP for a specific tracking pixel
Measure Results
ABM’s use of strategic, targeted messaging will proactively help you expand your client base and drive growth. And for marketers specifically in the B2B sphere, where sales is often a long cycle, the ability to link a deal to a specific marketing activity, which is not always available, is a huge asset for the marketer. And don’t forget to measure and analyze the results of your individual ABM marketing campaigns. Doing so will provide detailed data you can use to help you identify trends or insights that may increase your long-term effectiveness.