5 Account-Based Marketing Misconceptions Clarified

B2B Marketers have come a long way from casting wide nets with hopes of getting as many leads as possible, to a hyper-targeted strategy called Account-Based Marketing; where the nets are replaced by spears.

According to ITSMA, 85% marketers who measure ROI say ABM delivers higher returns compared to other marketing tactics. ABM is a strategic marketing strategy where key business accounts are marketed to directly as one. High-value accounts or prospects are identified, main stakeholders are targeted, and then marketing strategies are implemented through various channels, appealing to their interests, needs and personas. With ABM, you can eliminate unqualified buyers right away. This leads to a shorter sales cycle since your focus and efforts are on accounts that are more likely to buy. A study from SiriusDecisons, 92% of B2B marketers cite ABM as extremely important to their overall marketing efforts.

Companies are pouncing on the ABM buzz, and they are doing it for a reason; experimenting with different types of ABM objectives, strategies, tactics and initiatives. According to research, more than a third marketers said they are experimenting with an account-based approach or getting started with ABM. However, there are many misconceptions about ABM that have caused B2B Marketers to move ahead with ABM. here are some of the most common misconceptions clarified:

# ABM is for Large Accounts

ABM is not only about spearing those large accounts, but also medium and small size companies. ABM is scalable variably while being a more personalized and individualised approach. As a large picture, ABM focises on a few target accounts that can generate higher revenue than others.

# ABM about Marketing, Not Sales

Since ABM is a strategy that is pursued by the Marketing team, this is a  common misconception that its not a Sales Strategy. But ideally, ABM efforts will be waste without the Sales Team cordianting. It is teh Sales Team that helps identify those target account to go after and engagement levels. ABM requires and equal effort from both the Sales and Marketing team.

# ABM is not compatible with Inbound Marketing

ABM is highly misinterpreted to be only  Outbound Marketing Strategy. But, Inbound too makes ABM Campaigns successful. For ABM to be successful, it needs to be about engaging relevant inbound traffic and directing that account engagement to specific outcomes. Personalised content like Whitepapers, Case Studies, eBooks can be very valuable to forming a relationship with target accounts.

# There is just one type of ABM

ABM is customisable according to company size or vertical. As per ITSMA, there are three types of ABM that are executed by B2B Marketers – ABM, ABM Lite, Programmatic.

ABM follows the 1:1 model where one marketer has one account, ABM Lite has one marketer to few accounts framework. The Programmatic makes use of technology to target multiple contacts at multiple accounts with highly personalized communications.

# ABM is hard to Implement

The misconception of ABM being hard to impelment is because of the thought that it is meant for only large accounts and need a heavy investment for execution. But ABM as a strategy can be implemented in small, medium and large accounts as well. Since ABM is used to target specific accounts, there will be maximum benefits for efforts put in.

AMB adds value to your business as it allows you to focus your time and resources on accounts that are more likely to convert and drive more revenue.  Technologies from Terminus and Engagio help companies to  measure, manage campaigns and determine impact, and get ROI from ABM.  You can:

• Choose your audience- people, accounts, opportunities; based on real-time engagement
• Be reactive to multi-channel capabilities — all available directly from within the system
• Create scenarios s to automatically run right actions at the right time
• Receive alerts on target accounts to trigger action both automatically or on demand

To know more about how Vsynergize is helping Enterprise firms with their ABM efforts reach us now by simply giving us a call on +1-732-481-9424 or email at info@vsynergize.com