Benefits and Challenges of Account-Based Marketing

Using certain techniques and slightly changing the rules of the game, you can achieve impressive results if you transform the faceless mailing to your entire list of users, making it personalized and targeted.

Account Based Marketing Concept

Using different communication channels and messaging is the basic logic of modern marketing. Its main goal is to attract the maximum possible number of leads to the sales territory. For this, protected content, webinars or outbound strategies are used. After using all the tools, the bottom line should be only customers who are really committed to making a purchase.

Among the strategies used is Account-based marketing (ABM). The essence of this marketing strategy is the emphasis on targeting key profiles. A personalized dialogue is built with the account based on its characteristics and requests. The ABM approach allows you to form a more complete understanding of marketing and not only generate leads, but also effectively develop your existing customer base.

Why do you need Account-based marketing

According to ITSMA, 85% of marketers highly value the benefits of Account-based marketing and believe that its use provides the greatest income compared to any other marketing approach. Translating the definitions into practical terms, we can say that “key customer marketing” will be useful in the following cases:

• Lack of demand for the product. At the stage of launching new, technologically advanced and/or expensive products onto the market, there may be no attention to them. The solution will be to select a company interested in the services and prepare a profitable commercial offer.
• The need for cooperation with large organizations, concluding contracts for significant amounts, when it is difficult to reach the decision maker.
• Long sales cycle. The cycle is shortened by working with a specific specialist on whom the conclusion of the transaction depends.

Increase marketing effectiveness through personalization

The start of an ABM strategy begins with identifying the market segments that are most significant to the business. Then personalized campaigns are created for each of them, using the most appropriate communication channels. This could be an event, website, activities or social networks. Moreover, each of these strategies is a unique mix of tactics that will be effective only for a specific account.

After all, the set of characteristics, market segment and communication channels through which it is convenient for him to receive information are individual for each client company. Marketing effectiveness produces impressive results thanks to a preliminary study of the characteristics of the client you plan to attract. This will allow you to devote more attention and time to a narrower circle of target accounts and ultimately personalize the content, making the messaging more personal.

The benefits of improving interactions with key customers

ABM is best characterized by the expression “it’s not quantity that matters, but quality.” The Account-based marketing vector is aimed at spending more time and resources on attracting and interacting with a group of carefully selected accounts, without trying to quickly close deals with less valuable leads. Taking the time to build strong relationships with your accounts will help you grow your business and retain valuable customers.

It is important to remember that attracting customers is much more difficult and expensive than retaining them. Loyal and long-term customers are the key to positive profit dynamics, who will be the best marketers, salespeople and brand advocates. That is, targeted accounts will “promote” the business through their own networks – through referrals, word of mouth, among partners or clients, recommendations.

The main mistakes marketers make when implementing ABM marketing

It is possible to achieve the desired results from implementing Account-based marketing if you avoid common mistakes. Among the most frequent, widespread and systemic:

• Lack of creative thinking. Staying within the usual framework is destructive.
• Wrong targeting. Wrong choice of key clients.
• Ignoring interviews. Poorly crafted personalized, relevant content.
• Ignorance of the client’s personal qualities. Incorrectly collected information about the ideal buyer.
• Neglecting the qualifications of decision makers, overestimating their capabilities.
• Emphasis on quantity instead of quality.
• Tendency to generalize, ignoring the individuality of the client.
• Discrepancy between marketing goals and customer goals.
• Lost contacts.
• Ineffective use of content.
• Using an out-of-date database.

Folding hemlines

In order to successfully overcome the inconsistencies that arise at various stages of account-based marketing, it is important to consider the concessions that marketers most often make, try to overcome them, or, in extreme cases, correct them. Well, first of all, you need to get rid of stereotyped views and start thinking creatively. And further, as it seems, behind the list – from the need:

1. Targets and products are responsible for each other.
2. First of all, it is necessary to sensually interact with a potential client directly, at the extreme – look-alike.
3. Information about the specific people being targeted is collected even before the strategy is developed.
4. It is necessary to set up a chant of who joins in making a decision and accepts it, at what time and how.
5. Don’t chase the big picture, stick to the details, clarifying goals, and strategy.
6. Introduce split testing and other tools that can help you better understand your clients’ business.
7. Regularly ensure the transfer of contacts to the company.
8. It is also necessary to direct the creation of custom content as much as possible from the point of view of selling a specific account. I, of course, gradually expand and update the database.

Software solutions that support account-based marketing

Today’s market offers several account-based marketing (ABM) software solutions. When choosing a platform, you need to focus on your budget and personalized needs. This will allow you to determine the optimal solution for a specific business.

There are several acceptable options, including ABM platforms:

• Terminus – comprehensively offers a number of functions, including account identification, advertising, web personalization and sales analysis.
• Demandbase is a leading marketplace offering account authentication, website personalization, advertising, and sales enablement.
• RollWorks – This ABM service offers account-based advertising, lead generation, and sales automation features.
• Engagio’s platform offerings include account-based advertising, sales support, and analytics features.

The importance of account-based marketing in modern marketing strategy

ABM marketing is a significant word in modern marketing strategy. Its concept is based on the well-known Pareto principle, when 20% of customers account for 80% of profits. The most important thing about this is that these customers should be key to the business and they should be the ones the company’s marketing should initially focus on.

This marketing is especially relevant for businesses that offer the market expensive goods and specific narrow-profile products. Having an understanding of the most common mistakes and possible risks, as well as ways and methods of overcoming them, marketers can successfully solve the primary and long-term tasks of ABM – establishing communication with decision-makers and stakeholders using targeted marketing techniques.

Related Posts:

The Impact of Augmented Reality on Marketing and Advertising

What Is Personalized Marketing, Its Importance For Business, And How To Use It

The Impact Of Social Media On SEO