What Account-Based Marketing is and Why You Need to Try It

Account-based marketing (ABM) has gone from being "the next big thing" to a tested, trusted alternative to traditional lead-gen, consistently delivering better ROI and larger sales. This is ABM 101 for integrated marketers.

Any integrated marketer who's ever tried traditional lead-gen marketing knows it leaves much to be desired - it's expensive, there's a lot of waste/duplication, and it's highly inefficient. Enter account-based marketing (ABM), one of the latest marketing trends that's already winning fans in the SMB sector, yielding results that include:

• Dramatically higher ROI
• Increases the value of every client - in fact, some companies using ABM generate 208% more revenuefor their marketing efforts
• Creates efficiency by aligning your sales and marketing efforts

With ABM, instead of cold-calling and "spray and pray" tactics, you identify your best clients, and then treat each of these companies as a market of one, creating highly customized marketing efforts that target their needs.

What ABM Looks Like

Marketing guru Neil Patel likens ABM to fishing with a spear: instead of casting a wide net that brings you back a lot of junk, you're honing in on a whopper of a fish using a tool of great precision and power. Here's how it works, by the numbers:

The first step is learning as much as possible about your ideal target business, including their decision makers and pain points.

Gather Data to Focus Your Content and Creative.

Good data is the key to making ABM work. Some of it can be derived from existing metrics (e.g., gleaning intel on where customers go on your website and how long they spend there), but the rest of it you'll collect the old-fashioned way: doing your homework on LinkedIn and Web searches. This is where your 'little data' skills will pay off.

Execute That Content Really, Really Well.

Good research and a bullet-proof list means you can focus your creative efforts. Priority #1 will be developing truly personalized content that can be repurposed for emails, brochures, and other needs. Because you're marketing to fewer contacts, you can use high-impact tactics such as dimensional mailers to stand out.

Like any marketing discipline, there's a whole science around the numbers. Conversions are still important, but also consider the length of the sales cycle (typically longer with ABM), the size of the deals, and velocity - or how quickly your prospects become real opportunities.

Here's one more number to consider: one survey showed that 60% of B2B marketers are planning on trying it in the next year - so you better get out there before they do!

Last modified: January 3, 2019