5 Most Crucial Facts about Account Based Marketing You Need to Know Today

B2B marketers who are looking for high-ROI growth strategies in 2021 should consider Account Based Marketing (ABM). ABM is a business-to-business (B2B) growth strategy of focusing one’s time and resources on a clearly defined set of accounts within a market to drive potential leads for a significant revenue. Instead of a marketing approach for the mass or broader audience base, ABM crafts its tactics and messagings based on the needs of the target accounts, with the objective of engaging with key decision influencers and decision makers directly and effectively.

It’s one of the best tools for business growth these days, proven by results from a survey conducted by ITSMA and ABM Leadership Alliance, which states that 87% of B2B marketers validate ABM outperforming other marketing initiatives.

An example to illustrate this point is when Intel had an ABM programme that added a 2.5x in their year-over-year (YOY) pipeline revenue growth. It also grew their customer databases by 65% and engagement rates by 41%. 

Here’re some facts about ABM you might want to know before integrating it into your marketing mix. 

1. ABM delivers higher revenue and return-on-investment (ROI). 

As Albert Einstein said, “Genius is making complex ideas simple, not making simple ideas complex.” 

The idea behind ABM is genius because it’s simple yet highly effective: 

“Focus on the right people, and you’ll reap the rewards.”

In fact, research by ITSMA discovered that after B2B marketers rolled out their ABM programmes, more than 69% of them agree that it delivers results, out of which 35% of them stated that significant improvements were observed upon measuring its effectiveness. 

Moreover, as a ripple effect of a well-aligned ABM strategy, Demand Metric discovered that 60% of businesses engaged with such strategies for at least a year attribute to a revenue increase. Driven as a result of ABM adoption, the full sales funnel impact increases with prolonged ABM usage, during which the sales funnel experienced the highest impact in the mid-part of the funnel (32%) or the entire funnel equally (29%).

A study by SiriusDecisions also revealed that out of all respondents who adopted ABM strategies, 91% of them agreed that their average deal size increased by more than 50%, all thanks to ABM. 

2. Deploying an ABM strategy need not be complicated.

Contrary to what many believe, it doesn’t always take a lot of winding roadmaps to start with ABM. 

The guiding principle of ABM is to first identify key target accounts with a focus on the key decision influencers and decision makers, develop content that will resonate with the business needs and answer to the pain points of these target audiences, identify the platforms and channels to deliver the messagings and drive a call-to-action, and importantly be able to track and optimise results and success.

With that said, ABM isn’t without challenges, such as acquiring the right budget and justifying the cost, since ABM should be considered as a long-term strategy rather than a short-term one. 

3. ABM produces maximum impact when sales and marketing work together.

While good marketing attracts leads, it only becomes great when it works well with your sales strategy. 

This is because in an ABM strategy, the coordination of marketing and sales activities results in higher productivity and that marketing budgets are not spent unnecessarily. Through shared goals and account-focus, an enterprise will experience better synergy and success across the various teams involved in sales and marketing.

We have heard too many familiar stories from our clients about the constant battle between sales and marketing teams when it comes to unproductive prospecting, differing definitions of what qualifies a lead, and etc.  

ABM focuses on identifying, capturing and nurturing only the most qualified leads, resulting in better quality sales cycles, and ultimately increased revenue and higher-impact deals. 

Furthermore, Adobe reports that there is a 67% increase in closing deals when sales and marketing teams are aligned. 

4. Content is King.  

We all know content is king when it comes to marketing and this has never been more relevant when it comes to ABM marketing to a highly-targeted group of audiences. 

With an average of 5.1 decision makers and influencers in a typical enterprise buying committee and an average of 5.4 people having to sign off on each buy formally, it only makes sense to cater content that specifically answers to the business needs and pain points of these professionals, whom at the same time might be bombarded with a whole load of information out there in the marketplace. 

Defining the roles and personas of these decision makers and influencers will be the first crucial step in the planning process. 

5. Outreach to your perspectives need not be limited to only digital.  

Knowing how and where to reach the prospective accounts and the key decision makers and influencers is essential to make sure the efforts you make in creating all the great content do not go to waste.

By touchpoints, we can include digital ads, content syndication, email marketing, social media marketing, telemarketing, appointment setting, and even direct mail campaigns. 

It is imperative to understand that ABM is a long-term strategy, marketers need to focus accordingly on the drivers of long-term success and not just short-term revenue in order to lay the best foundation for success.  

Our team of highly experienced strategists, creatives, digital marketing specialists, and technophiles can help you in embarking on an ABM programme. Reach us by email at enquiry@strategicdigitalab.com or fill in our enquiry form to discuss. You can also take a look at our list of services.