Account-Based Marketing – from just a buzzword to “a must” in B2B
- ABM is not a trend or a tactic; rather, it is a strategic approach that orchestrates personalized outreach across marketing, sales and customer success to drive engagement and revenue for a target set of accounts
- A research from the Altera group found that ABM had a somewhat higher or much higher return on investment than other marketing initiatives
- As mentioned in Forbes, 83% of businesses report that the main benefit of implementing ABM has been increasing target account engagement
Business to business (B2B) marketers are often focused on their marketing campaigns in hopes of appealing to as many companies as possible in their target market.
For this, Account-based marketing (ABM) is an alternative B2B strategy that concentrates sales and marketing resources on a clearly defined set of target accounts within a market.
With ABM, the marketing message is based on the specific attributes and needs of the account that a person is targeting, hence the name account-based marketing.
Companies, particularly those seeking to acquire specific high-value customers find that they are better served with an ABM strategy rather than taking a broad-reaching approach to their sales and marketing effort. According to SiriusDecisions, 92% of B2B marketers consider ABM “extremely” or “very” important to their marketing efforts (Source: Forbes).
ABM also works in personalizing the messaging and communications to specific accounts so that the campaigns resonate with the target audiences. Targeted customers are more likely to engage with content that is geared specifically to them, and is relevant to their business and stage in the buyer journey.
Chris Golec, CEO of Demandbase, shared his thoughts on his company’s annual conference and what an ABM marketing strategy can achieve. According to a research by Demandbase, as mentioned in Forbes, 83% of businesses report that the main benefit of implementing ABM has been increasing target account engagement.Golec added, “Companies that have been practicing ABM for two years or more have actually changed the way they measure and compensate marketing teams. The potential business impact is incredible but requires organizational change and commitment by senior levels to reap all benefits.”
Because ABM is so targeted, it allows marketers to focus their resources efficiently and run marketing programs that are specifically optimized for target accounts.
According to ABM Industries Incorporated, ABM’s customized solution is projected to save El Paso Independent School District more than $14.8 million in energy and operating costs over a 15-year period, which the school system will utilize to upgrade its infrastructure in 14 schools. The project is scheduled for completion in June 2020.
When you’re analyzing the effectiveness of campaigns, whether email, ads, web, or events, with ABM it is easier to draw clear conclusions, because you look at a smaller set of target accounts instead of a vast set of metrics. Also, effective ABM drives clear business results. Compared to other marketing initiatives, the ITSMA Account-Based Marketing Survey found that ABM delivers the highest return on investment of any B2B marketing strategy or tactic.
ABM has far surpassed the buzzword phase. It is not a trend or a tactic; rather, it is a strategic approach that orchestrates personalized outreach across marketing, sales and customer success to drive engagement and revenue for a target set of accounts.
