Account based marketing (ABM) is a growth strategy and marketing model that unites sales and marketing teams in a coordinated effort to focus their resources on a mutually agreed set of target accounts. By using characteristics exhibited by these target accounts (such as how they have engaged with a website or specific piece of content), an ABM strategy enables marketing and sales teams to create and deliver highly personalised content and messages to a highly specific target audience.
[Image source: Aryan Jalan]
By starting with a small select group of target accounts, ABM flips the typical sales funnel associated with traditional marketing, resulting in a funnel that widens as accounts are nurtured downwards.
[Image source: TheB2BHouse]
With a successful ABM strategy, organisations can achieve sales and marketing alignment in an effort that focuses on high-value accounts that represent the highest potential business opportunity. This makes ABM ideal for B2B, technology, and software as a service (SaaS) companies
Why account based marketing tools are necessary
An ABM strategy acknowledges the fact that B2B purchasing decisions are often made by a group of individuals within a company, each of whom must be nurtured and targeted individually. This requires some precision and careful timing to enable marketing and sales teams to provide the knowledge, assistance, and guidance that key stakeholders need at every stage of their buyer’s journey. ABM tools automate many of the data and workflow processes that enable this approach.
Check out the ABM guide for startups for more
Indeed, a wide range of tools exists for automating and executing sales and marketing strategies for ABM. These include tools for data enrichment, predictive analytics, marketing automation, content and interaction management, and infrastructure management for campaigns and the ABM platform itself.
How tools for account based marketing can benefit the enterprise
There are several benefits that the use of ABM tools and an integrated account based marketing platform can provide. They include:
1. A personalised approach to marketing
With account based marketing software, you can find the target accounts that are the best fit for your business using data analytics and machine learning. An account based platform incorporating tools to help teams isolate targets that fit your organisation’s Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) helps you focus and optimise resources. ABM tools for personalisation also empower marketing and sales teams to deliver the right message at the right time to the right audience.
2. Fostering brand loyalty
With the right account based marketing tools, you can cater to specific accounts and create a personalised and consistent customer experience. By using ABM software to nurture customer relationships, you can build loyalty amongst those that resonate with your brand message and value proposition. Over time, these loyal accounts can become brand advocates who expand the scope of your campaigns by spreading the word about your products and services through referrals, reviews, social media, and other channels.
3. Promoting sales and marketing alignment
An ABM software environment with tools for effective communication and collaboration helps to foster the alignment between sales and marketing that is essential to successful account based marketing efforts.
For example, there are tools that provide functions and features that unite sales teams and marketing teams at both the strategic and execution levels. These include ABM market analysis tools, and software for running your campaigns and balancing impressions across accounts and individuals.
4. Automating your account based marketing efforts
Many account based marketing software platforms include dedicated tools for marketing automation. Some provide sales intelligence tools that enable sales teams to quickly identify their high-value leads and gain better insight into buyer behaviour. Some account based marketing tools provide integrated dashboards for multi-channel ABM, and a marketing automation platform with managed services. These marketing automation tools take on the burden of repetitive tasks and help take the guesswork out of account based marketing, while freeing sales and marketing teams to concentrate on the important work of engaging and delighting your high-value customers.
5. Monitoring your progress and success
You’ll need to continuously monitor your ABM activities to ensure that your account based marketing strategy is on point and yielding the kind of results that you expect. To this end, most account based marketing software will incorporate tools for monitoring and measuring key metrics, such as ROI, buyer behaviour, and engagement across your various outreach channels.
Get help and support when you need it
Account based marketing is a highly focused approach that requires much attention to detail, and considerable monitoring. While account based marketing tools and account based marketing software will take you so far, you may find that you need additional help, or a fresh set of eyes on your ABM endeavours. You may therefore consider partnering with a specialist marketing agency.
Here at Incisive Edge, we’ll match the things that make you great to the things your customers need most. We will work together to establish brand fit with your buyer personas, and assess your position in the market together with your value proposition.
We'll create the pillars on which your brand is built, and evolve your brand position to carve out your own space within the competitive landscape. With a firm understanding of your personas, our team of experts will create your messaging platform to speak to your audience directly, using your own brand language and tone of voice.
To find out more about how we can assist in your account based marketing efforts, get in touch with us.
