What is Account-Based Marketing

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a strategy used by businesses to focus on certain target accounts that match well with their brand. Both sales and marketing teams work together to engage these specific accounts. It’s a powerful way to target important potential customers and turn them into sales.

ABM is becoming popular because it helps businesses concentrate on the right accounts. However, and it can be a bit tricky to grasp at first. In this guide and we’ll explain what ABM is and why it is helpful and and provide steps for creating your own ABM strategy.

What is account-based marketing?

Account based marketing is when the sales and marketing teams in a business focus their efforts on specific organizations and or accounts in the B2B world. They work together to create a strategy and then coordinate their marketing and sales activities to reach their goals. They choose key accounts and work together and and win more business.

Normally and marketing uses strategies like content marketing or casting a wide net to attract leads. But with account based marketing and the focus is on targeting specific people within an account and working closely with the sales team.

Instead of reaching out to a broad audience, ABM aims to create content tailored to specific prospects at particular organizations that the business wants to work with. This is especially useful for businesses serving big clients, as ABM helps target multiple decision-makers.

The Benefits of Account-Based Marketing

Account-based marketing isn’t for every business, but it can work wonders for B2B companies aiming for big clients. Let’s explore some of the benefits ABM brings.

1. Bring sales and marketing together

Normally, sales and marketing work separately, causing confusion and lower results. ABM joins them, making teamwork smoother and campaigns more effective.

2. Consistent customer experiences

Customers want consistent experiences. ABM aligns sales and marketing efforts to give leads a uniform experience across all interactions, boosting trust and conversions.

3. Boost ROI

Marketing needs to pay off. ABM delivers, with 76% of marketers seeing better returns than other strategies. 70% of big or midsize B2B companies plan to try ABM.

4. Speed up sales cycles

B2B sales take time, but ABM focuses on accounts ready to buy. This shortens the sales process, turning leads into customers faster.

5. Relevant content builds trust

Leads want tailored content. ABM makes it easy to provide, like sending personalized reports. When you meet their needs, trust grows, leading to more sales.

Types of Account-Based Marketing

Strategic ABM

This type focuses on building relationships with specific, high-priority accounts. It’s very personalized, with marketing campaigns tailored to each account to show a deep understanding of their needs.

ABM Lite

ABM Lite lets you do ABM on a larger scale. Here, the focus is on lightly customizing campaigns for groups of similar accounts. For example, accounts of similar size facing similar challenges might get similar messages.

Programmatic ABM

Programmatic ABM combines elements of both strategic and lite ABM. It uses technology to personalize marketing campaigns for many accounts at once, often focusing on a specific industry or type of business.

You might choose one approach or use a mix, depending on your business and how advanced your ABM program is.

How to Create an Account-Based Marketing Strategy

When marketing and sales have similar goals – like targeting and landing accounts – they can work together better. The first step is making an ABM strategy so sales and marketing can team up as one “account team.”

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Identify high-value accounts

Look at your current customers to find the best ones. These are the ones who are profitable and stick around and and love working with you. Also, look for new accounts that fit your criteria for success.

Step 2: Map individuals to accounts

In big business deals, lots of people have a say. Find out who these key people are and what they care about. You want to persuade them to choose your product.

Step 3: Define and create targeted campaigns

Once you know your target accounts and people and make campaigns just for them. These campaigns should show you understand their needs and challenges.