Core ABM
Article | June 20, 2023
Account-based marketing has gained momentum incredibly in the B2B industry. ABM promises a higher conversion rate than any other marketing strategy. It is the best personal approach to B2B marketing.
If you are new to ABM, here is a little introduction to the strategy. ABM is creating a funnel of your clients and filtering the ones who have higher chances of conversion. Once you have the required data, your sales and marketing team can collaborate to create marketing campaigns for these exclusive clients. This strategy can overcome many challenges faced by the marketing and sales team.
Generally, the challenges faced by your businesses can be to
Drive retention with the key accounts
Deliver relevant content to exclusive customers
Boost conversion percentage with the clients most likely to convert
Build a strategy for a personalized marketing approach
Once you know what ABM is and implement it correctly, your business can easily overcome these challenges. Thus, we have provided some insights on how to overcome hurdles and excel in your ABM campaign.
How to Excel in Your ABM Campaign
According to B2B data-driven companies, personalization is the biggest challenge to succeed in ABM. Nowadays, B2B clients demand personalization like B2C clients. Now, this is a difficult task as business clients have access to business profiles. Thus, the sales and marketing teams have to develop unique ideas and make extra efforts to personalize campaigns.
So basically, this means utilizing the available data in the best way possible. But sometimes, that takes up a massive investment in terms of time and resources.
Abhi Yadav, Founder & CTO of Zylotech, says,
“Drawing intelligence from data is like pushing a boulder uphill. In most cases, it takes a team of data engineers & scientists an enormous amount of time that comes with a hefty price tag.”
So how do you minimize efforts and still excel in your ABM campaign strategy?
Well, we have six lessons that organizations have learned while implementing ABM in their marketing strategy. Some of these lessons are answers to why a particular strategy failed.
Put Yourself in Your Customer’s Shoes
If you have limited access to personal data but have plenty of professional data, put it to the correct use. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and look at the challenges they are facing at present. You can also think about their future problems and provide solutions to avoid them. Once you think like your customers, strategies and solutions become a simple task.
For example, if your targeted client is the MD or CFO of a healthcare sector. Determine how the pandemic has impacted their revenues or how they need to manage personal and government financing in these challenging times. Also, you can provide visionary solutions about future implementations for the healthcare sector.
Flip the Funnel
The traditional funnel of awareness, interest, consideration, and purchase needs to change. The implementation may work even today, but the conversion process takes time. Thus, it’s time to flip the funnel.
Flipping the funnel is the new strategy that is uprooting the traditional funnel. This method implies putting targeted organizations on the top of the funnel and then broadening it. First, it means to target the people of the organizations, then ways to connect them, and then the broadest part is to provide them with appropriate solutions.
This funnel strategy has proved to work wonders in the ABM strategy.
Personify is the leading constituent management and engagement (CME) platform. Their challenge was to create a funnel for better insights into their target market.
Their solution was to partner with product marketing and sales for an ideal customer profile (ICP). Thus the top of the funnel was sorted. Then they researched and set up personalized digital ad campaigns and sales strategies. Thus, these creative campaigns increased their brand awareness, engagement, and conversions.
They increased their on-site visitors by 39 times by implementing this strategy.
Make the Best Use of Technology
There are a plethora of tools available to strategize and implement ABM. But organizations do not make full use of these tools, leading to wastage of time, resources, and resources.
Survey the market and know there are tools developed to optimize ABM strategy and keep track of account-based metrics. Implement these tools, and you will notice that your work gets executed faster and in an intelligent way.
P.S. Human-assisted AI technologies help organizations to build compelling campaigns and optimize revenue operations.
Streamline Your Processes
Sometimes organizations do not realize that ABM requires streamlining processes with the regular ones. ABM strategies require experimentation. You have to select the strategy that suits you and your organization in the best way. Thus, ensure that your teams do not get overwhelmed by the process.
Thus, define roles, responsibilities, and the entire execution plan when the target accounts are shortlisted.
VersionOne, a cloud-based agile application life-cycle management (ALM) software provider, simplified the process by implementing data-driven approaches. Thus, VersionOne gave both teams access to monitor the ABM strategy and the success of the targeted accounts. Thus both the teams worked in collaboration and focused on segmentation. This helped in building a proper pipeline between the sales and marketing teams.
This doubled VersionOne’s sales by streamlining the processes between the sales and marketing teams.
Focus On Retention
ABM is not only targeting exclusive clients and converting them. But you have to track and retain them. Many a time clients convert and the organization forgets to follow up. Thus, it creates a void for current and future clients, as the success rate is incredibly defined by retention.
For example, small gestures like regular surveys, emails regarding workflow, and more can play an essential role for the clients to know that you care.
Do Not Refrain from Outsourcing
Outsourcing is a great way to ease out tasks and get a filtered list of high-value clients. Also, companies that specialize in data-driven technologies can provide you with more relevant information about the clients than your in-house team.
So, avail services from experienced companies and industry leaders in providing you with the best list of relevant clients. These professional organizations know the pain-point of the clients, which helps you in planning your ABM strategy.
That’s All Folks
We hope we have provided you with solutions to the hurdles that you face while strategizing ABM. Remember, ABM strategy cannot be mastered overnight. So set goals, implement ABM, learn from the results and repeat- it is that simple!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the best way to succeed in ABM?
The key idea is to focus on the personalization and retention of the clients. Your ABM strategy is likely to succeed if you provide personalized solutions to your exclusive clients. Success in your ABM strategy depends on your team, your account-based marketing campaigns, and the level of experimentation you do.
Is it okay to outsource for account-based marketing?
If your organization does not want to invest the time, resources, and technology required for ABM, it is good to outsource it. These third-party organizations can help you provide you with a list of the best clients and their information.
How important is ABM strategy?
ABM is an essential strategy as it helps to shorten the sales process and increases the conversion rate. In addition, it helps an organization concentrate on the most exclusive clients and retain them, thus generating better revenue and ROI.
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Buyer Intent Data
Article | August 23, 2022
Targeted advertising has become the norm on popular ABM platforms. As a result, many marketers have forgotten ABM's principles. Leadership, marketing, revenue, sales enablement, customer success, and product teams should work together to hit ABM numbers instead of completely relying on platforms and demand generation strategies.
Here are three reasons why ABM platforms and demand generation campaigns shouldn’t drive your ABM strategy:
GTM Teams Cannot Advance
Companies focusing on targeted demand gen through technology make their ABM strategy campaign-based instead of focusing on the interactions the sales and marketing teams need to have with target accounts to deliver revenue growth. They struggle with winning multi-year contracts.
Ideally, the teams should focus on filling the gaps left by competitors with different content and messaging in order to turn accounts into sales.
Buying Journey Support is Limited
ABM is about getting key accounts to generate revenue. When teams rely on technology to put out content and messaging for target accounts but don’t change their sales motions, processes, and conversations, their win rates drop. They should change their prospects’ experiences at every stage of the buying journey to deliver an optimal customer experience.
Sales Cycles Continue to be Lengthy
An ABM strategy should be used to influence both selling conversations and internal conversations that the sales teams are not privy to. Creating demand and building a pipeline through ABM platforms won’t bring revenue growth if there is no follow-through to convert accounts. Teams should engage in account-based enablement and come up with a plan to engage accounts that go dark or get stuck in the buyer journey.
Use Technology and Demand Generation in Moderation
Remember that ABM platforms and demand gen strategies can enhance your ABM efforts, but they shouldn’t be the driving force behind your ABM strategy. Marketers need to start using ABM to fix the revenue issues in their organizations instead of treating it like a targeted demand-generation function.
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Account Based Data
Article | August 19, 2022
Uncover the foremost account-based marketing events of 2023 and embrace the opportunity to attend these essential events, meticulously curated to empower marketers and shape the trajectory of ABM.
Introduction
In the ever-evolving world of account-based marketing (ABM), staying ahead of the curve is paramount for businesses seeking to achieve marketing excellence and drive meaningful results. Attending industry events has become an essential strategy for professionals in the ABM realm to remain competitive and gain a competitive edge.
From thought-provoking conferences to collaborative summits, these carefully selected events offer a unique opportunity to gain invaluable insights, exchange ideas with industry leaders, and stay abreast of the latest trends and strategies in ABM. Businesses can position themselves at the forefront of ABM innovation by prioritizing their attendance at these industry-leading events, resulting in propelling marketing efforts toward unparalleled success.
Go-To-Market Made Simple Roadshow 2023 – Quarter 2
June 23, 2023 | Boston (USA)
The Go-To-Market Made Simple Roadshow 2023 – Quarter 2 presents a compelling opportunity for go-to-market leaders to gain valuable insights and strategies in an ever-evolving landscape. This event acknowledges the rapid evolution of go-to-market design, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach that encompasses sales, marketing, product, and customer success. With the emergence of trends such as product-led growth (PLG), ecosystem, and account-based marketing (ABM), alongside traditional inbound and outbound motions, revenue leaders are seeking a more holistic way to run their businesses. Additionally, this event offers a valuable networking platform, enabling go-to-market leaders to connect with their executive peers and collectively tackle the most pressing challenges in the dynamic business landscape.
Breakthrough 23
October 16–19 | Frisco (USA)
Breakthrough 23 is an exceptional event that brings together marketing and sales leaders to explore breakthrough strategies and techniques in intent-based advertising, prospecting, and accelerating sales. With a lineup of esteemed speakers including Jason Zintak, CEO of 6sense, Latane Conant, CMO of 6sense, and Dylan Schick, Senior Account Development Manager at Exabeam, attendees can expect insightful presentations and valuable insights. Topics covered range from revolutionizing intent-based advertising to leveraging advanced prospecting techniques with 6sense and driving pipeline growth through coordinated campaigns. This conference offers a unique opportunity for networking with over 1,100 industry leaders and features engaging product sessions to stay at the forefront of marketing and sales innovation.
Collision Conference
June 26–29, 2023 | Toronto (Canada)
Collision Conference, renowned as one of the largest global tech conferences, invites professionals to immerse themselves in an exceptional networking and learning experience. Attendees can anticipate engaging with thought leaders and industry experts, including Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services; Sarah Guo, Founder of Conviction; and Dave Rogenmoser, Co-founder and CEO of Jasper, among others, to gain valuable insights and knowledge. With an impressive media presence, including over 1,200 journalists from renowned publications like Bloomberg, Financial Times, Forbes, CNBC, and the Wall Street Journal, Collision Conference provides unparalleled exposure for participants. By participating in the Collision Conference, professionals position themselves at the forefront of innovation, collaboration, and investment opportunities that shape the future of the tech and business landscape.
Inbound 2023
September 5–8 | Boston (USA)
A highly anticipated event, Inbound 2023, sets the stage for marketers to explore cutting-edge innovations, develop world-class content, and prepare their strategies for the upcoming AI boom. Embodying an incubator's energy and an accelerator's intelligence, Inbound propels the industry forward for the collective good. It serves as a launchpad for careers, a catalyst for business growth, and a catalyst for positive community transformation. With speakers, including Reese Witherspoon, Founder of Hello Sunshine; Morgan Debaun, Founder and CEO of Blavity Inc.; and Derek Jeter, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist, among others, on the deck, attendees can expect to be immersed in a transformative experience to elevate their marketing endeavors and forge meaningful connections. Inbound 2023 provides exclusive insights that assist marketers thrive, businesses scale, and the collective power of the community to drive positive change.
SaaStr Annual 2023
September 06–08 | San Francisco (USA)
SaaStr Annual 2023, one of the world's largest SaaS community events, unites over 12,500 SaaS executives, founders, and venture capitalists for an immersive experience. This three-day event features 100+ tactical sessions presented by renowned founders, emerging voices, and rising stars in the industry. With representation from 250+ speakers hailing from top SaaS companies worldwide, attendees can expect to gain actionable advice and insights to drive business growth from zero to $100M ARR with reduced stress and increased success. Sponsored by industry-leading organizations such as G2, Google Cloud, Greenhouse, and Vendr, among others, every session at the event will deliver practical insights and actionable strategies.
Outreach Unleash 2023
October 03–05 | Seattle (USA)
Outreach Unleash 2023 is an exclusive event centered around unleashing accelerated growth through a comprehensive RevOps approach. Emphasizing the importance of an abundance mindset, participants will explore how sales professionals can take ownership of their destiny and execute with the precision of a CEO, shaping a future of success. Renowned speakers and industry experts, including Em Falk, Director of Revenue Operations at Reylance.Ai; Donna Sanborn, Senior Leader of Digital Sales Effectiveness at Cisco; and Annie Lewis, Sr. Product Manager at Outreach, among others, share insights across a diverse range of topics, including metric myth-busting through data sharing between Outreach and Snowflake. This will enable attendees to harness the power of GenAI to achieve a competitive advantage. Furthermore, the event will delve into the strategies employed by top-performing sales professionals who approach their craft with passion and consistently provide solutions to executives' most pressing strategic challenges.
Product Marketing Summit
September 21 - 22, 2023 | Oakland (USA)
The Product Marketing Summit, organized by Product Marketing Alliance, brings together the world's largest community of product marketers in a collaborative gathering focused on sharing valuable insights. The industry leaders and experts, including Sudha Ranganathan, Director of Product Marketing at LinkedIn; Emma Stratton, Founder of Punchy; and Apoorva Sharma, Head of Global Cross-Product Solutions at Google, among others, will share valuable insights on navigating complex go-to-market strategies, optimizing product launches, establishing a strong market position, which will leverage ideal customer profiles and segmentation, and others. Product Marketing Summit promises to be a transformative experience, providing attendees with a clear roadmap for professional growth and enabling them to amplify the differentiated value of their products in today's competitive market.
MarketingProfs B2B Forum
October 04–06, 2023 | Boston (USA)
Discover the pinnacle of marketing events at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum, where marketers gather to unlock the strategies that drive growth, elevate brand reputation, prove ROI, and navigate the ever-evolving marketing landscape. B2B Forum is an ideal venue for marketers who want to improve their skills, grow their professional networks, and spark their imagination. It has a carefully chosen lineup of tactical sessions, inspiring keynotes, and memorable networking opportunities. With leading industry speakers on the deck, including Nilofer Merchant, Cofounder of The Intangible Labs; Moni Oloyede, Director of Marketing at Fidelis Cybersecurity; and Michael Brenner, CEO of Marketing Insider Group, among others, the B2B Forum will act as a catalyst for career development, idea generation, and celebration of the art of marketing. Attendees can expect to unlock valuable strategies, expand their professional networks, and be inspired by industry experts.
B2B Summit APAC 2023
September 19–20, 2023 | Singapore
B2B Summit APAC 2023 is the premier event dedicated to driving business growth and fueling the revenue engine in the Asia-Pacific region. With a focus on Forrester's B2B Customer-Obsessed Growth Engine, this summit delivers groundbreaking research, models, and frameworks tailored to meet the priorities of organizations. Marketing leaders can expect a comprehensive agenda featuring insightful breakouts, hands-on case studies, inspiring keynotes, and valuable peer connections. By attending B2B Summit APAC, Participants will gain the knowledge and strategies necessary to empower their marketing strategies and achieve results that surpass their goals.
B2B Marketing ABM Conference
November 02, 2023 | Austin (USA)
The B2B Marketing ABM Conference is an eagerly anticipated event dedicated exclusively to Account-Based Marketing (ABM). With a thoughtfully curated agenda spread across four stages, this conference offers a high-caliber program designed to cater to a wide range of marketing needs. Through hand-picking the big thinkers from hundreds of 'call for speakers' submissions, Stefano Lacono, Marketing Director of 6Sense; Ryan Almond, Global Vertical Marketing and ABM Director of Henkel; and Rebecca Powell, Senior ABM Marketing Manager at Showpad, among others, will provide attendees with actionable strategies and valuable insights to propel their ABM efforts forward, regardless of their current stage in the journey. From pinpointing areas of improvement to refining ABM strategies, participants will leave the conference armed with the knowledge and tools needed to unlock the true potential of ABM.
Conclusion
Attending account-based marketing events is an essential step in staying ahead of the curve and refining your ABM strategies in today's dynamic marketing landscape. These events provide unparalleled opportunities to gain insights from industry experts, discover emerging trends, and network with like-minded professionals.
By participating in these conferences, marketers can equip themselves with the knowledge, strategies, and tools needed to drive successful ABM campaigns, engage key accounts, and achieve remarkable results. Businesses must capitalize on and be part of these transformative events that are shaping the future of account-based marketing.
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Targeted Account Strategy
Article | January 11, 2022
ABM is B2B marketing with a higher ROI. It involves going after fewer accounts with a more personalized approach. So, account selection is vital. No matter the budget, if you fumble the ball in the account selection process, your campaign is bound to fail. Guesswork is not an option. You need to stringently research your ideal accounts based on your ICP (ideal customer profile).
In an interview with Media 7, Maliha Aqeel, Director of Global Communications at Fix Network World, talked about the common mistakes companies make while implementing brand strategy. Not budgeting your ABM strategy correctly may be one of them.
"One of the most common mistakes companies make is implementing a brand strategy that isn’t aligned to the organization’s overall business goal."
Businesses that want to transition into ABM are often confused and have several questions about ABM implementation. One of the most important questions they have is about budgeting.
According to a 2016 report by SiriusDecisions, 33% of companies allocated at least 30% of their marketing budgets to ABM. In 2017 that number increased up to 52% — a 57% year over year increase. Their 2019 State of Account-Based Marketing Study showed that the average ABM budget is around $350,000 excluding head count costs.
Going by these statistics, how much should you invest in your ABM strategy? It is common to finalize a strategy way in advance. Allocating budgets to a certain strategy and then deciding to execute ABM can be a pain.
Before deciding on your ABM budget and streamlining your ABM funding strategy, consider the following factors:
Factors to Consider for ABM Funding
Know Your Target Accounts
Business size, decision-makers, departments, positions, interests, demographics, get all the information you can on your target accounts. Make sure you are investing your money in the right target accounts. The bigger your target account, the more stakeholders, and departments there are to manage. This may considerably increase the cost and complexity of your campaign.
Your Advertising Budget
Zero in on the platforms you want to use to engage your target audience. Once you do this, you will get an idea of how much you need to spend to reach your audience on these platforms and get maximum engagement.
Additional marketing techniques like seminars, webinars, conferences, and other events should also be considered in your ABM funding.
Brand Awareness
Gather information on how well your target accounts know your brand. If they already know your brand, then you are saving time and money on creating a new relationship from scratch. However, if your brand does not have a good reputation or reach, creating new leads requires more resources than creating new opportunities.
Your Product’s Complexity
If your product or service complexity is high, you need to work harder to explain its advantages and benefits to convince the stakeholders of your target accounts. This effort is directly proportional to the amount of money you need to spend.
Your Customer’s Needs
The customer’s need for your product or service defines how much you need to spend on advertising. If there is no urgency or if there are many similar solutions that they have used in the past, it becomes difficult to convince them to use your product or service. In short, if they don’t need your product, you need to spend a better part of your budget on impressing them.
Your Competition
The more competitors you have, the more aggressive your campaign needs to be. An aggressive campaign will need a bigger budget. It gets trickier if your competitors already have an established relationship with your target account.
However, if you have the target account’s CLV (customer lifetime value) figured out, you can easily determine how much you need to spend on pursuing a particular account.
Technology Integration
To deliver hyper personalized account-based experiences, you need to find suitable technological platforms to launch your ABM strategy. Platforms like ABM Unified Workforce are an ideal start because of their unified approach to strategy implementation. Consider allocating a part of your budget to technology integrations so you remain up-to-speed with modern implementations like marketing automation. It will also help you optimize your campaign results.
ABM Partners
You need knowledge, human resources, and technology to launch and successfully run account-based marketing campaigns. Alternatively, you can also hire new staff or train the people you already have. Partnering with an ABM agency is also a great option. It not only saves you the time and effort of finding the right marketers, but it also delivers the results and metrics you expect. There are many service providers in the market who can help you kick-start your ABM campaign.
Funding Your ABM Strategy
Now that you know the factors that should be considered for your ABM funding, let us look at some tips to enhance your budgeting.
Identify Target Account CLV
In ABM, less is more, so identify target accounts based on their CLV. It may require three or more years for your ABM campaign to show results, so make sure you periodically assess your target account’s CLV before making big investments.
Harness Technology
Tie your technology budget with sales. Support your goals and streamline your processes by using martech. Collaborating with specialized agencies that have talent and technology can uplift your ABM campaign. Not only do agencies quickly launch your campaign, but they also save you the trouble of recruiting new staff. However, make sure you engage a trustworthy agency with the best technology offerings and expertise.
Get Approval and Support from Stakeholders
Get your stakeholders on your side by justifying your budget with a list of target accounts and their projected value. If you are planning to implement ABM, then you should already have a preliminary version of your ABM funding proposal ready.
Measure Your Performance
Use relationships, reputation, and revenue, the three crucial R’s to measure your performance. These should be your benchmarks and should be assessed periodically.
Conclusion
ABM funding takes effort and time but doing it diligently can bring an increase in ROI, brand awareness, revenue, and confidence in ABM.
FAQ
What is the first step in your ABM funding strategy?
The first step in your ABM funding strategy is to know your target accounts through stringent research.
What are the three important Rs for measuring ABM performance?
The three important Rs for measuring ABM’s performance are relationship, reputation, and revenue.
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