Account-based marketing (ABM) is the alignment of B2B sales and marketing people, processes, systems and technology to identify, engage and close bigger deals more efficiently. ABM is a focused go-to-market strategy that aligns B2B sales and marketing efforts to select the accounts best suited to realize value from the value proposition. ABM focuses all go-to-market resources on a sales and marketing agreed upon set of target accounts assumed to have a high probability of converting to customers.
At its Core, Pragmatic B2B Account Based Marketing (ABM) is Dependent Upon:
- Aligning sales and marketing
- Setting goals and objectives
- Selecting target accounts
- Creating customer journey maps
- Aligning content to the customer journey
- Structuring CRM and marketing automation
- Rolling out integrated ABM campaigns
- Growing customer advocacy
Aligning Sales and Marketing
- Put the right sales and marketing people on the initiative
- Document SMART objectives for all constituents needed to approve the effort
- Create a common language with specific terms and measurements
- Identify owners, contributors, a project manager, timelines and deliverables as well as a communication and action plan
Setting goals and Objectives for ABM
These should all be quantifiable and easily measurable, such as the:
- Percentage of sales pipeline for targeted or named accounts sourced from ABM strategies and tactics
- Close rate of sales pipeline for targeted or named accounts sourced from ABM demand generation
- Percentage of targeted or named accounts penetrated from ABM initiatives
- Percentage of targeted or named accounts expanded from ABM programs
- Velocity of sales pipeline for targeted or named accounts sourced from ABM efforts
Selecting Target Accounts
- The specific names of each company selected in the named or target accounts (including subsidiaries)
- The names and titles of all individuals thought to be involved in the customer buying process
- Full contact information for all individuals thought to be involved in the customer buying process
Creating Customer Journey Maps
A customer journey map is a detailed framework which describes each step a customer takes through the purchase process. It begins with how the concept or idea comes to mind through successful implementation and usage.
This is a process that continuously evolves. A stake is put in the ground as the marketing team works with the sales reps and sales managers with the most traction in selling the solution (or those with a clear idea of what they believe will work.) This premise should be based on specific use cases, differentiation and the value proposition that will resonate with each decision maker, recommender and influencer.
Aligning Content to the Customer Journey
The key here is to get to the right person, at the right time, with the right message and in the right format.
A content message map should be created for strategic, operational, IT and line of business (LOB) individuals. Flow chart the customer journey from content though successful implementation by role and by questions from each individual — and put in the most compelling format. Next, take inventory of the existing information and whether or not it is relevant. Then identify what information is required, who is best to produce it and a time-line for completion.
Structuring CRM and Marketing Automation
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While accounts and contacts may be standard entities within one’s CRM system, that doesn’t mean the CRM system can support ABM.
Ensure that both the CRM and Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) contain the right fields to enable segmentation, account selection and the ability to fully support your ABM efforts. And make sure the right rules and flows (lead scoring, prioritization, escalation and routing) are bullet proof so that sales and marketing can follow-up in minutes or even seconds.
Rolling-out Integrated ABM Campaigns
Rolling out an ABM campaign takes planning and collaboration between marketing (demand generation, ABM, demand management), sales (SDRs, ISRs, FSRs), and customer success managers.
Best-in-class ABM efforts are omni-channel and encompass both outbound and inbound demand creation and management techniques. In addition, a high / low and technical / business approach is usually most effective as it can connect with all individuals involved in a customer purchase.
The key is a pragmatic, systematic, methodical approach to deliver the right content to multiple channels and engage with the right people at the right time.
Growing customer advocacy
The goal of B2B sales and marketing goes beyond customer acquisition. The real KPI for sales and marketing is the Long Term Value of the customer and the share of a customer’s IT budget spent with your organization. With this goal in mind, the concepts of on-boarding, customer success, churn and expansion become very important. Organizations gravitate to the Net Promoter score — an attempt to align a customer’s success to customer satisfaction, referenceability and revenue optimization.
B2B sales and marketing teams need to nurture customer’s beyond the initial purchase to build customer loyalty. In return, internal customer advocates will become internal champions for your solution — which increases the potential for account retention, penetration, expansion and growth.
Net: Pragmatic Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
When deployed intelligently by truly synchronized B2B sales and marketing teams, ABM will close bigger deals more efficiently and effectively.
There is no better time for companies to embrace ABM. Digital technologies (CRM, MAP, Predictive Sales & Marketing) are mainstream. The promise of higher ROI, greater efficiencies and improved alignment are real and align to the corporate objective of most organizations. Granted, it may take some work, but the potential benefit outweighs “a few broken eggs and a little sweat.”
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