7 Simple Steps to get Started with Account Based Marketing

Account Based Marketing Services have become increasingly popular in the last few years due to it’s effective results. The ABM technology has gained momentum with many best practices to do it. However, to carry out a successful ABM program isn’t easy. You need to have a well planned and researched B2B marketing strategy. Does it sound too much? If yes, then don’t worry we will help you out with your Account Based Marketing strategy. Keep reading the blog to know the 7 Simple steps to craft an ABM strategy successfully.

For creating a successful ABM strategy it is important to set up a core ABM team. This core marketing team for ABM would define the goals, expectations, KPIs and carrying out process. The members of this team can be the team leads of your sales and marketing department.

People who are experienced in sales and B2B marketing can better understand and form ABM strategy. They can apply their knowledge and experience of marketing to define goals and approach for the ABM strategy.

Once your ABM core team is assembled you can start with the planning process. First, the team needs to sit down and ask some basic questions. For example, What do you want to achieve with ABM? Your core team should come on the same page and define your ABM goals.

The basic goals that your ABM campaign should have are:

• Choosing and targeting the right accounts
• Reaching new markets, vertical or segments
• Increasing market share
• Gaining a competitive advantage

When you are just starting with the ABM campaigns, set your goals according to the size of your team and resources. Initially, you should focus on basic goals and once it works, you can gradually expand.

To perform ABM, there are four approaches that are generally used. You can use the most resource intensive way that is the 1:1 ABM program approach. The approach that you take depends totally upon the goals set and the resources available.

The ABM technology has helped the sales and marketing team to work progressively. The factors due to which the ABM software is effective are as follows:

• It helps you to engage with your customers on their terms rather than the cold emails and forced phone calls.
• Through ABM, you don’t actually engage with the lead but an entire account. This way you don’t need their contact information in your database.
• The ABM program is versatile. You can personalize your marketing campaigns and activities based on the buyer’s personas, sales stages and interests.

There are many Account Based Marketing tools available in the market. However, to select one seems to be difficult. You can make this comparison of ABM technology simple by using the following:

• Technology review sites: TrustRadius, Capterra and G2 Crowd
• Account Based Marketing Stack Grader: It is an interactive tool that grades the marketing technology stack. Using it you can identify the loopholes and overlap them in your ABM software.

Once your core team has defined goals and chose the right ABM technology. The next task is to identify and select the right target accounts. To choose the right accounts first you should make an Ideal Customer Profile or Buyer’s personas. This way you will have a clear idea and defined attributes that a target account should have.

Using ICP and Buyer personas you can prioritize your account lists. Next, you can determine what content is best suited for particular accounts and how you can target them more effectively. To identify the right fit accounts you can also use a number of predictive ABM technologies and data tools.

Account Based Marketing is a successful strategy as it allows you to connect with the right accounts directly. The best thing about ABM is that you don’t have to wait around for a lead to get qualified. However, before starting your ABM campaign you must make sure that you are using the right effective channels. There are many ways you can reach out  to the target accounts such as:

• Emails
• Social media
• Videos
• Blogs
• Search Engine advertising
• Infographics
• Webinars or Workshops
• Infographics
• E-books
• Whitepapers

To select the right channels you must have a look at the revenues obtained from each of them. Based on that you can invest and prioritize in each of the channels. After selecting the channels you must create targeted and impressive content that is relevant to your target accounts. You can also personalize these messages based on the individual accounts to create a comprehensive impact.

Once all the above steps are done, you are ready to go! You can put your messaging into the market! Using your ABM technology you can engage with the target accounts via web and direct mails etc.

Make sure that your message is clear and impressive to catch the attention of your target accounts. Once your message is out in the market ensure that the sales reps start to outreach through cold calling and emails. By this time, your marketing team should have already used ABM programs to generate brand awareness and engage with the decision makers. This will set the stage for more effective sales conversions.

One thing that you should keep in mind is that you must update your messaging and display ads from time to time. This will keep things fresh and interesting for your audiences. For more effective messaging, make your content relevant, educational and informative.

To lead a successful marketing strategy, it is very important that you should analyze it frequently.  This will help you to know the loopholes and where you need to improve in your ABM campaigns.

You must do A/B testing for your campaign, optimize your strategy and choose the right KPIs. This way you can measure the success of your ABM campaigns and understand what’s not working for you.

Account Based Marketing has gained popularity over the past few years. Now, there is an entire technological system for implementing the best ABM practices. Most of the B2B marketers aim at executing ABM in meaningful and effective ways. Using ABM, you can target the high value accounts and get a better conversion rate. ABM strategy makes sure that your sales and marketing efforts are put in the right direction. It might not be the only solution but it can help boost your marketing strategy.