How to Use Account-Based Marketing to Accelerate B2B Growth
How B2B Companies can Get Started with Account-Based Marketing to Accelerate Growth
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Haven’t heard of Account-Based Marketing (ABM)? Well, it’s been around for the past decade, and right now is the perfect time for you to get acquainted with it especially if you run a b2b business.
Here are some ABM-related statistics that can prove why it is an effective marketing strategy:
- 87% of B2B marketers reported that their ABM initiatives deliver better ROI than their other marketing efforts.
- 91% of companies using ABM increased their average deal size by as much as 50%.
- Companies using ABM saw an increase in revenue of as much as 208%.
- 85% of marketers are able to retain and expand their existing client relationships.
- 80% of marketers reported an improvement in customer lifetime values.
If you want to accelerate your B2B company’s growth, read the rest of this post to see how you can use account-based marketing to achieve it.
Account-Based Marketing: Definition and Benefits
ABM is a marketing strategy wherein you concentrate your efforts and resources on a set of target accounts. This is made possible through the abundance of information and personalized campaigns.
It also goes beyond generating leads to cross-selling and upselling your services to your existing clients.
ABM can help you reap the following benefits:
- Sales and Marketing Alignment. ABM encourages your marketing and sales team to work together. This includes identifying target accounts, developing customized campaigns, and moving client accounts through the sales pipeline.
- Better ROI. ABM is precise and measurable, allowing you to determine an ROI that you can achieve and more.
- Maximized Marketing Resources. Since you are focusing your resources on a small number of target accounts, you are likely to close deals.
- Personalized Marketing. Since you are maximizing your resources, ABM lets you create personalized messaging for your target accounts.
- Short Sales Cycle. ABM allows you to nurture all prospects at the same time, reducing the length of the sales cycle.
6 Steps to Running a B2B Account-Based Marketing Campaign
Now that your are sold on what Account-Based Marketing can do for your B2B business, here are six steps you should follow to implement it:
Step 1: Assemble Your Team
One of the first steps to successfully implementing account-based marketing is to build your team.
Various people are involved depending on your B2B company’s needs. However, this should include someone from sales and marketing. That’s because they will be the ones who will run the entire campaign.
In addition, your sales team knows your target accounts well, while your marketing team has an insight into what efforts are working so far.
Step 2: Determine Your Goals and Strategy
Now that you have your team, the next step is to ensure everyone is on the same page. This is where determining your goals and laying out your strategy comes in.
Some examples of ABM goals are:
- Targeting strategic accounts
- Entering new market segments or verticals
- Successfully launching a new product
- Carving a market share out of an existing niche
- Maximizing your current clients
Depending on your resources, we suggest working on one marketing goal at a time. This is also the best time to identify what account-based marketing metrics you should measure.
Step 3: Know What Technologies You Will Use
Thanks to the growing landscape of marketing technology, Account-Based Marketing is now possible. As such, it is imperative to know what martech you will use to run your ABM campaign successfully.
Luckily, there are a plethora of ABM-related resources that you can use to identify what technology will suit you.
First, you can check online review sites to see what other marketing companies say about a specific tool. Second, look for a collection of ABM-based technology that aligns with different parts of the marketing funnel. Last, you can visit a stack grader website to check your marketing technology stack. That way, you can identify the gaps and overlaps in your marketing software.
Step 4: Identify Your Target Accounts
Now that you know your marketing goals and laid out your strategy (including your tools and metrics), the next step is to identify your target accounts.
You can do that by developing an ideal client profile (ICP). Doing so makes identifying which accounts you should zero in on more straightforward for your team.
Next, you should also define your buyer personas. That’s because an account is made up of individuals with diverse roles and priorities.
If you own a SaaS company that helps businesses gather, collect, and analyze marketing data, perhaps you need to focus on Chief Marketing Officers or Head of Marketing.
Step 5: Run Your Campaign
What makes account-based marketing effective is the fact that you can proactively engage with target accounts. These are businesses that need your products and services.
However, how do you make them aware that you exist?
Well, it starts with crafting targeted content. It can be a marketing asset or a one-on-one messaging. Next, you should identify what marketing channels to use. This includes the following:
- Social media
- Website
- Blog
- Display ads
- Search ads
- Online and offline events
From there, you can use your ABM tool to deploy your marketing message.
Step 6: Evaluate and Optimize
No marketing campaign is complete without analyzing whether it brought you the results you need.
Luckily, ABM is measurable. This means that you can optimize your ABM campaign where needed.
Nonetheless, this part of your campaign can be complicated. Hence, you need to make the most out of your ABM tools to help you collect, organize, and evaluate data relevant to your campaign.
Doing so can help you improve your campaign and your revenue.
Get Started With B2B Account-Based Marketing Today
When it comes to B2B marketing, there is no going backward. It is not a one-way street, either.
Fortunately, account-based marketing allows you to engage in active dialogue with your target accounts. Hence, now is the best time to get started with ABM if you have not done so yet.
To do that, just remember these six steps:
- Assemble your team
- Assemble your goals and strategy
- Know what technologies you will use
- Identify your target accounts
- Run you campaign
- Evaluate and optimize
When you do that, you can expect an improvement in your ROI, generate more leads, and nurture your existing client relationship ‒ anything that can help accelerate your business’s growth.
