For many businesses, especially in the B2B space, account-based marketing (ABM) is key. An approach that focuses marketing efforts on individual accounts instead of broad audience segments is a better fit for some business models, especially those which deal with large projects or long-term client relationships. So, what tactics would a digital marketing agency employ to maximise the effectiveness of an ABM campaign? Keep reading to find out.
Understanding ABM and why it works
Account-based marketing is a targeted and strategic approach to marketing focused on engaging and nurturing individual high-value accounts – more like spearfishing than casting a net. It entails identifying accounts that fit the ideal customer profile and ultimately forging meaningful relationships with them through key decision-makers. There are many basics to get right for ABM to yield results, and tactics are indispensable. Such as…
1. Be precise about identifying target accounts
Precise target account identification is crucial for the success of an ABM campaign. An agency would work closely with a client’s sales team to define an ideal customer profile, focusing on those with the highest potential for conversion and revenue generation. This requires data and market research but will ensure that resources are focused only on the most promising prospects.
2. Personalise your content and messaging
Once you know who you’re trying to reach, you can focus on capturing their attention with tailored content that speaks to their specific pain points and challenges. The trick is to foster meaningful engagements by aligning directly with their interests. This can be done effectively with case studies and success stories that feature businesses with a similar profile. You can even use account-specific landing pages and dynamic website content that displays different copy and images depending on the account or individual visiting. This way, you can make personalised offers that are just too good to pass up.
3. Monitor client priorities
Businesses change and evolve with market changes and other variables, so it’s important to remain agile to keep content and messaging relevant. Account-based marketers need to keep an eye on engagement patterns and social intelligence and be ready to make adjustments as new information comes to light.
4. Employ account-based advertising and retargeting
Targeted digital ads get your message in front of the right audience segment, and retargeting – using cookies to serve your ads on other sites – will help you stay top-of-mind with a prospect that has visited your site.
5. Make use of social media, video and influencers
To engage a prospect’s attention, it helps to use an engaging format. Start by reaching them where they are – the social media channels they use – and deliver content in eye-catching ways. Video is an effective option and affords the opportunity to speak directly to a prospect, and the use of influencers may also prove to be rewarding. Using influential voices to vouch for a business is a great way to boost credibility.
6. Measure, iterate and learn
It’s important to keep measuring your performance using key metrics such as account engagement and conversion rate. This will help you to optimise your tactics. ABM is an iterative process, which means you can fine-tune campaigns, try new tactics and adapt to changing market dynamics with each iteration.
The value of ABM
As any decent digital marketing company knows, ABM, when done right, yields great ROI. In fact, according to research by the ABM Leadership Alliance, 76% of marketers in 2020 saw higher returns with ABM than other marketing strategies, and 71% of B2B organisations were able to improve relationships with target accounts, leading to higher revenue and improved brand reputation. Personalisation is paramount in ABM strategy, but digital marketing offers a host of ways to make it work.
We can help your business put the most effective ABM tactics into practice to build stronger customer relationships, improve conversion rates and generate more revenue. Come and learn more about the digital marketing capabilities we can offer.
