The Secret Formula to ABM Strategy

Recent years have witnessed an increase in the popularity of account-based marketing, and for good reason.
It’s simple! When sales and marketing teams are on the same page about which prospects to target, firms save time and clinch more deals.

On the surface, it seems to be concise.

However, without the most up-to-date information on your present customers and prospective customers, even the most well-thought-out account-based marketing strategy will fall short of its objectives.
This data-driven introduction to account-based marketing, often known as ABM, can assist you in ensuring that your company’s goals get off to a successful start.

This article covers

How It Works and What It Means to Use Account-Based Marketing
Account-Based Marketing: A Data-Driven Approach
Conclusion

#1. How It Works And What It Means To Use Account-Based Marketing

Account-based marketing is a strategy in which marketers:

Identify high-value accounts
Treat each account as if it were a market of one
Tailor campaigns to meet the specific needs of the buyers

Here are three reasons why account-based marketing is critical for any modern revenue team:

Improved customer experience

One of the most compelling benefits of ABM is the ability to personalise the experience for each customer.

Providing highly specific content to a customer ensures that you are speaking directly to their specific needs rather than to any other topic.

This level of personalisation results in a one-of-a-kind, hassle-free purchasing experience in which your customers feel understood and respected.
Campaigns that are more efficient

You will not waste time and resources on prospects who are not ready to buy because ABM is a hyper-targeted strategy.

By concentrating your efforts on specific accounts, you can ensure that only the most qualified and sales-ready buyers are funnelled through your sales pipeline.
Enhanced sales and marketing alignment

Account-based marketing (ABM) is more than just a marketing initiative.
It is a company-wide strategy in which both sales and marketing collaborate in order to target specific accounts and customers.

ABM makes it possible for departments to work together more effectively because it forces them to collaborate.

Due to the fact that your teams will be actively targeting accounts that have been agreed upon, you will not have to be concerned about poor quality inbound leads.

Read

How to Generate Leads using Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

#2. Account-Based Marketing: A Data-Driven Approach

When it comes time to develop an account-based marketing strategy, you’ll need to ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page.

Using the information that will serve as a framework for everything that follows, you complete this task.

In order to effectively use account-based marketing data, the following are the four most critical aspects to remember:

Data on prospects and customers allows you to tailor your targeting

The method by which you select your target accounts is critical to developing an effective ABM strategy.

When developing a plan, account selection is a vital phase, and it is totally dependent on the analysis of contact and client information.

To successfully target your key accounts, you must first create an Ideal Customer Profile, also known as an ICP.

Your most valuable customers and accounts are represented by an ICP. This is built from data collected from a combination of firmographic and behavioural variables.

Consider conducting a thorough analysis of your contact and customer database. Then identify commonalities among your most loyal customers.

This could include details such as the following:
- Industry and the size of the company
- Earning
- Location
- Budget
- Purchase Size
- What technologies are employed by them
Your ICP will, in the end, serve as a roadmap for the account targeting process that you will be putting into action.

If you make a mistake at this point, your entire strategy will come crashing down.
Contact and account information ensures proper coverage

A large number of key accounts must be identified, and then leveraged for adequate account coverage.

If you want to see your campaign succeed, this metric is critical.

The reason for this is: If you have a large number of target accounts but are unable to find the contacts within those accounts, you will not be able to convert those targets into paying customers.

However, if you only have a few target accounts and manage to
reach all of your contacts within each of them, you will only gain a handful of new customers at the most.

When it comes to providing optimal account coverage, there are two types of data that you will require:
1. Business structure information
2. Contact information
Business structure information

Data on a company’s organisational structure and decision-making process is referred to as business structure information.

Create an organisational chart that depicts the key stakeholders in a given account as well as their position within the overall structure of the company.

Contact information

If you do not have accurate contact information for key stakeholders, you will be unable to reach them.
- Direct dials are essential when dealing with top stakeholders and decision makers, as they allow for more direct communication.
- According to the study, using a direct dial increases your chances of reaching directors by 46% and vice presidents by 147%.
- Your account-based marketing strategy will fail if you lack information about a company’s structure or contact information.
Work with a B2B database or contact details provider to guarantee that you are well equipped and well-positioned to succeed in your endeavour.
Sales and marketing alignment are made easier with data.

There are no restrictions on what account-based marketing can be used for in terms of sales or marketing.
It’s a genuine team effort, with equal responsibility for sales and marketing, and you’ll need data to keep both teams on the same page.

The problem is that many businesses rely on systems and technologies that are incompatible with one another.
Sales and marketing data are frequently kept separate from one another.

As a result, marketers look at distinct indicators, run different reports, and don’t exchange data with sales.
Follow these tips to keep your sales and marketing teams aligned and sharing data:

Implement tools

Don’t store information in silos.

Make sure that both the sales and marketing teams have access to the same data by incorporating sales and marketing automation together.

Co-report

With different metrics for dashboards, your sales and marketing teams will be working toward different goals.

This can deepen the divide between the two teams leading to the failure of your account-based marketing initiatives.

Communicate honestly and openly

Make it a point to hold regular meetings between your marketing and sales departments.

Confirm your data understanding and how it impacts your account-based marketing (ABM) strategy.
Personalisation is made possible by data.

Any account-based marketing campaign’s top priority is to make each customer feel special.
When you don’t know anything about the account or person you are attempting to reach, it’s difficult to personalise your campaigns.

Because of this, having access to the right data can assist you in customising your messaging so that it resonates with the person you’re trying to reach.
Remember that your account-based marketing strategy must be tailored to the needs and interests of each account and key contact.

Look beyond basic demographics to learn about your buyer’s issues, stage in the buying cycle, and online behaviour.
This data will help you create content that directly addresses their concerns and interests.

#3. Conclusion

ABM is more than just a marketing tactic. Sales and marketing collaborate across the company to make it work.
ABM ensures that your sales funnel only contains the most qualified buyers. It also improves departmental collaboration.

Prospects and customers can be targeted based on their data.

A large number of key accounts must be identified and penetrated to ensure adequate account coverage.
Direct dialling increases your chances of reaching a director by 46%. Frequently, sales and marketing data are kept separate.

Account-based marketing initiatives may suffer as a result of this.

Use co-reporting and data sharing between the two teams and reap results which are unimaginable.