Account-Based Marketing Strategy: A Comprehensive Guide – Ciente

Sales and marketing teams work relentlessly to expand the customer base. How can you leverage ABM to garner high-value clients for brand amplification?

The tactics of an ABM strategy propel the dynamics of your marketing plan through strategized campaigns toward business growth. It shifts your focus from randomly targeting a pool of customers to implementing an audience-centric approach instead. According to 93% of marketers, account-based marketing is the secret ingredient for facilitating brand objectives.

There are three types of engagement programs: Strategic, ABM Lite, and Programmatic. Your brand objectives and customer pain points will decide the best fit.  Whether you invest a few cents or a handful, you must be clear on what clicks and what doesn’t.

Let us look into the nuts and bolts of the components of a remarkable ABM program.

Foundational principles

When we look closely into what works best for an  ABM framework, it can be found that its success rests on four principles:

• Collaboration
• Customer roadmap
• Lead generation
• CRM platform

Each of these pillars enhances the other, and unified they constitute a program that leaves a lasting impact on the audience.

A) Collaboration

A highlighting feature of an ABM strategy is bringing together the marketing and sales team, driven by the same goal of acquiring top-notch clients. When these two teams work in synergy, the success rate will likely be high.

B) Map the customer journey

This process involves looking into their previous purchases and business history. The purpose is to get a better understanding of the prospects and determine if there are any patterns in their decision-making. Conversely, you can modify your inbound marketing approach to synchronize with that of the clients.

C) Lead generation

This stage is an important marketing goal for 85% of companies. When you focus on sending personalized messages to high-quality prospects, the outcome will result in quality leads. 

D) CRM platform

You can build the desired client network, provided you utilize the right technology. Your best bet would be to sync ABM platforms with automation, AI-driven segmentation tools, and a CRM platform.

Key Benefits

There are several advantages of incorporating ABM in your marketing plan. Let’s take a glance at these:

Improved revenue cycle

Since it allows you to focus on a niche clientele, your ROI boosts rather swiftly than casting a net on clients who do not add much value.

Relationship with customers

A strong relationship with consumers will enhance the success of your ABM program.  This can be achieved by demonstrating to prospective customers your understanding of their needs and pain points, thus building trust.

Better deal size

This marketing approach is about lead quality over quantity, which results in larger deals, even if the number is small.

Brand visibility

You can improve business awareness and develop brand authority among the target audience, which also increases the chances of customer retention.

How to Design a Winning ABM Strategy

Adopting the program for effective results begins with evaluating the dynamics of customers— an initiative that would promote the delivery of tailored messages resonating with each account’s decision-making framework.

We have assembled a list of 5 steps that would facilitate the implementation of a successful ABM campaign.

Identify the target audience

Before developing a robust strategy, conduct thorough research to find your target customers. While filtering the ideal clients, make sure their preferences align with your brand’s offerings and values. These quick tips will help you identify top-notch customers:

• Select targets based on their size, annual revenue, or location
• Look into social media followers, blog readers, and other contacts who are interested in your business, and lastly,
• Network at industry events or conferences

After you have identified the accounts, understand their key considerations, needs, and pain points. At this stage, explore the existing solutions and understand why they did not work. 

Tier & Rank 

For an ABM approach to be successful, you require highly sophisticated and advanced lead-based targeting. Firstly, utilize a CRM to rank the clients and narrow down the relevant ones. The next step would be to segment highly valued and targeted accounts based on region, industry, company size, or other parameters. Segmentation helps customize your account-based marketing strategy, increasing the efficacy of campaigns. 

You can then rank the potential clients based on a list of categories. Run these questions:

• Which prospects have frequently visited your site?
• Who engaged in social media forums?
• Which of them are interested in your offerings?
• Within each company, which contact is more approachable?

Design personalized content

Customize your content as per the audience’s pain points, addressing innovative solutions. The curated content must specify how your brand addresses specific pain points and fulfills the requirements of targeted accounts. You can convey the solution through blogs, emails, whitepapers, ads, etc. Rolling out personalized campaigns will help you draw the target audience and get more leads.

Lastly, engage with your sales and marketing teams to ensure that proposed campaigns appeal to your audience. 

Select the best digital channels

The performance of your ABM campaigns could vary depending on the digital platform you select. Identify which social media channel is preferred by your B2B customers and craft a strategy accordingly. 

Track the performance

While implementing an account-based marketing program, monitor the responses and record which approach results in more leads. You can also use metrics for evaluating campaign performance and outreach. Tracking an ABM strategy will provide insights into what yields more leads.

Success Stories

Case studies of other companies can become an example of integrating the key ingredients that make up an effective strategy.

Take DocuSign, for instance — This company wanted to target six separate industries. They thoroughly researched the target audience and categorized their pain points. Once the data was collected, the brand decided to launch unique websites that would draw customers and promote communication.Salesforce is another example. This CRM software company improved customer interaction with its groundbreaking ‘Connected Tower’ experience. It created a virtual world where the users experience a tour of a smart building, highlighting their ability to help customers achieve their goals.

Final thoughts

High-value clients are an asset for your company, helping you accelerate to the peak of your business. However, getting the desired audience to sign up for your offerings may resemble an unpredictable cycle. A well-crafted ABM plan can transform the sales funnel, improving the success rate and overall ROI generation. What gives it a cutting edge is the sales and marketing teams working together to get high customer lifetime value, contributing to the expansion of the company.