Like most B2B marketers, you probably cast your net far and wide in an attempt to appeal to as many leads as possible. But maybe it’s time you switched to a more efficient way of doing things. You know, instead of trying to reach anyone and everyone, why not target your campaign at prospects who’d actually be interested? That’s where account based marketing (ABM) comes into play.
What is Account-Based Marketing? ABM is a strategy where marketing resources are directed towards a specific set of targets. Instead of running a broad lead generation initiative, marketers work hand-in-hand with sales to identify key prospects for whom the campaign will be tailored. ABM goes much deeper than traditional marketing in terms of personalization, and this consequently calls for closer coordination between the two departments.
On that note, let’s see why account-based marketing beats the standard approach:
- Focus: Once you switch to ABM, your marketing team will no longer waste time chasing ‘junk leads’ whose chances of conversion are practically nil. They’ll focus on your most valuable clients instead. Limiting your efforts this way will effectively do away with basic (read unconvincing) sales pitches.
- Effort Synchronization: As noted before, ABM yields better effort synchronization between marketing and sales. Both departments are forced to adopt the same mindset, thereby creating initiatives whose goals are aligned. This high level of coordination makes it easy to hold each other accountable.
- Quicker Sales Process: Having your teams in sync will also shorten your sales cycles. Because everyone is on the same page, decisions can be finalized in less time. You’re also able to expedite the decision-making process on the other side by nurturing key stakeholders from the very start of the marketing cycle.
- Higher ROI: ABM is inherently poised to fetch higher returns on investment compared to traditional marketing. Your resources are directed towards high-value prospects, and sales cycles are shortened considerably. And because initiatives can be tied to specific accounts, it becomes easier to track which strategies generated the highest revenues.
- A Chance to Get Personal: It’s difficult to engage individual prospects in a meaningful way when you’re running a “blanket campaign.” ABM should be a good fit if that sounds familiar. Once you identify your key accounts, you can create content that’s specifically aimed at their business needs — content that your prospects will no doubt find valuable. Justifying the time spent fine-tuning your campaign shouldn’t be difficult once the numbers start trickling in.