What is Account Based Marketing (ABM)?

Account based marketing (ABM) is a long-term marketing approach that focuses on key, targeted accounts. Essentially, the ABM approach involves identifying which accounts are the most high-value and the best fit for your business, collecting insight on these accounts and using it to refine your proposition, while crafting personalised client engagement.

ABM removes the wasted time dealing with unqualified leads and gets rid of low-value accounts, allowing more time to be spent on those with the most potential for revenue and growth. Communications can be tailored and the buyer’s journey highly personalised, leading to greater ROI and customer loyalty.

What are some of the benefits of ABM?

Sales and marketing alignment – With ABM comes better communication and collaboration between sales and marketing teams with a shared budget, goals and understanding of key stakeholders.

Consistent and personalised customer experiences – Because communications, campaigns and content are focused and tailored for each account, this increases the relevance of your business within these high-value accounts. As ABM is a long-term strategy requiring consistency, sales and marketing can align to provide this.

Clearly defined ROI – ABM is precise which makes it easily measurable, meaning that marketers can use data to prove its effectiveness to drive future campaigns. In fact, 85% of marketers say that ABM delivers higher ROI than any other marketing approach [ITSMA].

Greater efficiency – As resources are focused on a few select accounts that are more likely to convert, there are fewer wasted resources.

Streamlined sales cycle – Rather than prospecting from a large number of leads, ABM’s focused approach allows the nurturing stage to happen faster. With a better alignment of goals between sales and marketing and personalised comms, closing and customer retention are also more efficient.

Greater customer retention – The crux of ABM is about building relationships with potential customers who need the products or services that your business provides. As they become customers and continue to receive consistent and careful comms over the long-term, they in turn will be your advocates and brand ABMassadors, sharing your name with their networks and allowing you to build meaningful customer loyalty and brand recognition.

ABM in numbers

• Just 5.8% of respondents from the 2020 State of ABM Report had no active ABM programme, with ABM programmes now accounting for 79% of all sales opportunities
• According to the same report, despite 40% of marketing respondents having their budgets decreased in the wake of Covid-19, 80% of mature ABM programmes had their budgets locked or increased.
• 91% of respondents surveyed said deal size is larger with ABM accounts, with one in four saying it’s over 50% larger. (Forrester).
• 76% of account-based marketers report that ABM initiatives see higher ROI than other marketing investments, according to a 2020 benchmark survey by ITSMA and the ABM Leadership Alliance.

ABM in practice

Some examples of how you might choose to approach ABM include:

Lunch and learns

A highly focused and impactful webinar created specifically for a target account can be effective, especially if presented as a lunch and learn. Some marketers report success with ‘pizza-nars’, free pizza delivered to eat while watching the webinar. Of course, it could be any kind of wine and dine to gain attention. This approach can be useful for initial engagement, renewals, expansion or even reengaging at-risk accounts.

Personalised campaign

If you can gather as much information as you can on the contacts at your target account and find out their interests, you can send them merch, their favourite tea, tickets to their favourite movie etc, which is useful when pursuing initial engagement.

In-person events

Meeting in person is a traditional sales approach and personalised invitations to VIP events, gifts and a follow-up are tried and tested as useful tools for engagement.

Direct mail and email campaigns

These channels can be highly effective in nurturing relationships where messages can be crafted specifically for each account.

Paid advertising

Using tech such as IP targeting, PPC and paid social media ads on social platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn are a way to reach out to target accounts.

Web personalisation technology

Through data you can create compelling online experiences tailored to a specific audience. Tracking browsing data and offering tailored promotions, ads, triggered emails and more can mean a personalised rather than generic online offering.

Are you considering trying Account Based Marketing for the first time, or maybe it’s time to take your current ABM efforts to the next level? Why not contact us for a no obligation discussion on how MarketOne’s tried and tested frameworks have helped businesses scale at speed and drive measurable impact.