Want to make your ABM strategy more successful? Use video

The concept of account-based advertising (ABM) can be described as a hyper-targeted method of B2B marketing that focuses on specific accounts instead of markets or segments.

ABM of the past involved firms generating a short group of prospective customers and directing a large portion of their marketing and performance resources towards closing contracts. But tactics often involved data scraping, expensive experiences for smaller group, and direct sales calls. These weren't always effective.

Nowadays, ABM is a more allied Sales-plus-Marketing approach to attracting consumers. It is a significant difference as businesses are shifting away from the perception that B2B Sales and Marketing usually were in a conflict.

ABM--when executed well--helps both Marketing and Sales teams align on the key customer segments and gain new customers.

This article explains what ABM is, and how you can utilize video to the account-based marketing campaign, including customized marketing, ABM videos, and other things.

What you'll be learning

1.    What exactly is account-based advertising?
2.    The ABCs of ABM: Core elements of a successful ABM strategy
3.    What is not acceptable in your account-based marketing strategy
4.    How to customize ABM campaigns to your most prestigious clients
5.    Closing ideas

What is account-based marketing?

In short, account-based advertising (ABM) can be described as a methodology in which an organization tailors their marketing activities to focus on specific accounts rather than pursuing an overall method.

With ABM the key is to be able to comprehend the needs of the ideal client. So, you're able to design targeted marketing campaigns that are more likely to resonate with people who are in charge of your target accounts.

"How do you distinguish account-based-based marketing from conventional marketing?" you may ask?

Traditional marketing techniques, the focus is typically to generate the most leads feasible. In ABM, the focus is on the quality of leads over volume. That means that instead of trying reach the maximum number of people possible You're focusing on key decision makers in specific accounts that are more likely to be converted.

Also, it is important to understand that ABM is a collaboration effort. In order to be successful in ABM, Sales and Marketing should be well-informed about their actions and goals.

This is vital to ensure that all are working towards the same goal: producing leads that are of good quality and convert into customers.

The day-to-day life of account-based marketers

Every day following are the things marketers who are based on accounts are doing:

• They develop and tailor customers' profiling.
• Then, they create personalized campaigns and content specifically to these specific audiences and businesses.
• In collaboration together with Sales, ABM teams publish and promote these campaign materials on various channels (depending on accounts that are targeted).
• Finally, they monitor, measure, and optimize outcomes of their campaigns in order to refine the effectiveness of their ABM approach as time passes.

So...why should you prioritise marketing based on account?

There are a few key motives for that ABM should be an important consideration within your business.

First, by adapting your marketing strategy specifically to each account, you can develop custom experiences and content that will be more more likely to connect with your target audience. In turn, you can build deeper relationships with your targeted accounts and close more sales and improve retention.

With ABM it is possible to focus your efforts on accounts that will convert more frequently, meaning a higher ROI for your business.

Secondly, ABM aligns Sales and Marketing. In traditional methods of marketing, there can be a disconnect between what Sales desires and the way that Marketing is doing. But with ABM and ABM, both departments aim toward closing deals for certain customers.

Thirdly, today's buyers--B2B and B2C--are more informed and sophisticated than ever. They're not going to respond well to generic messages or one-size-fits-all campaigns. Through ABM it is possible to tailor the message and strategy specifically to individuals or businesses. The personalized approach is more likely to appeal to the current buyers, and will result in closed transactions.

Finally, ABM is trackable, arguably more so than traditional marketing and advertising. Because ABM focuses on quality over quantity, you can measure the impact of your actions and assess whether you're making a difference. Transparency is crucial to get acceptance from the top management, improving the way you conduct business, and ultimately gaining increasing numbers of customers in the process.

"The ABCs" of ABM The fundamental elements of a successful ABM strategy

Through ABM You treat every account as an individual market.

For a sustainable growth of your company You need a secure accounts-based marketing (ABM) approach. The following are key elements to keep in mind when you're considering developing an ABM plan for your company.

1. Segmentation

The first step of developing an ABM plan is identifying and segmenting your accounts of interest. To do this, you must clearly understand the desired customer's ideal persona (ICP).

Your ICP should contain both demographic information (e.g. Job title as well as company size and place of business, etc.)) as well as psychographic details (e.g., pain points, motivations, and buying influence).

To gather this data to gather this information, conduct primary research through surveys and interviews with current and former clients. You can supplement your persona with additional research from trustworthy sources like industry trade publications.

Once you have a solid understanding of your ideal customer/company profile, you are able to start making a list manually of potential accounts. Additionally, you can employ market research tools to build a list of companies which meet your requirements.

After you've completed your homework Now it's time to divide your accounts into distinct types of people. This will allow you to refine your messaging and ensure you're targeting only the appropriate individuals within your account. For example, you might have a persona for decision-makers as well as one that targets influencers as well as one for the end-users.

2. Personalized messaging and communication

Once you've identified the target accounts and personas The next step is to develop personalized messages and contents for each of them. Remember, with ABM, you're treating each account as a market for itself, so it's important to adapt your content to the specific needs of each.

If you decide to utilize the same generic messaging and information for all your accounts on your list You won't achieve the results you want. The best approach is to develop custom messages relevant to each account that you have on your list. This can be a challenge as well as a heavy burden across teams, but it's well worth the effort--personalized messages produce significantly higher responses than generic ones.

It's equally important to ensure that you align your go-to market (GTM) strategy with your ABM strategy. This means personalised messaging as well as using the right combination of channels to connect with your buyers where they're already spending their time online. Like, for instance, LinkedIn would be a excellent channel if you're targeting senior executives in large companies.

Personalized messages help you build contacts with the people you are targeting. In today's world, people do business with the people whom they trust, love and trust. Through sending out personalized messages to relevant channels, it is possible to establish relationships with your target accounts, making them more likely to purchase from them when they're ready make a purchase.

3. Alignment between marketing and sales

A third important aspect of an effective ABM strategy is creating multi-functional teams. This means creating teams made up of individuals from multiple departments within the company, for example Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success. A study conducted by Bombora revealed that firms generally have five teams who are dedicated to ABM.

These teams aim to align everyone within the organization around their common goal, which is to win the business of your target accounts.

4. Customer lifecycle marketing

An important and often overlooked element of a winning ABM strategy is the lifecycle of the customer marketing. This involves fostering the relationships you have with your key contacts who are in your desired accounts. You can do this through a number of methods, such as sending personalized emails, giving them a call on their birthday, or sending an email with helpful information. What ever you decide to do, be sure you're adding value and keeping them in mind.

It's likely that you'll need at least one individual at the target account in order to market your service or product to the one or two people at a target account. You'll most likely have to involve several stakeholders from different organizations to help move an offer ahead. This is the reason why creating specific content can be used throughout the buyer's journey and customer lifetime.

By having a mix of high-of-the-funnel (TOFU) as well as middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) as well as bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) information available, you'll be able to engage prospects at every step of the sales process as well as after purchase.

5. ABM software

One of the most important factors of any ABM strategy is having the right software in place. ABM software assists B2B marketers to manage and automate their account-based marketing activities. Popular platforms include HubSpot Sales, Terminus, Pardot Marketo, and Marketo.

ABM software is able to help monitor and evaluate engagement with your customers which is a crucial metric to track in any ABM software (as we'll be discussing in the following). You can adjust your ABM strategy accordingly by understanding which accounts are engaging with your company and the way they're engaging. This can lead to increased account engagement over time, which could result in more completed deals and increased revenue.

ABM software also helps you automate repetitive tasks in order to let you concentrate on strategically ABM strategies. Automation can also help to run targeted campaigns with greater efficiency through ensuring all right contacts receive the right messages at the right moment. This can make your ABM system more efficient and economical over time.

Additionally, ABM software can help you improve your overall ROI (ROI). It can help you generate greater revenue for your business by increasing the engagement of your customers and the effectiveness of your campaign. It means the ABM program will yield more ROI. This is good for your overall bottom line.

6. Evaluation of performance

Not least of all, you need to measure your results. Similar to any other type of marketing campaign, it is essential to keep track of the performance in your ABM campaigns. For this to be done effectively ensure you are able to track and analyze the information that will tell you what each touchpoint of your campaign was performed by each decision-maker within each target account.

It is possible to get a clear idea of whether you ABM strategy is helping your business through monitoring key indicators such as:

• Traffic to websites from specific accounts
• The rate of conversion from MQL to SQL
• The number of meetings set by Sales
• New opportunities have been opened up
• Size of the deal
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)

What you are not to include when you are implementing a marketing plan based on accounts

We've discussed some core elements of a successful ABM strategy. In this article, we'll go over the most common ABM mistakes to avoid as you start.

Be careful not to make use of spooky and spammy ABM techniques

It's spammy ABM tactics like buying data for cold calls and cold email are guaranteed to fail at account-based marketing. If your cold email isn't tailored or has no worth (e.g. by providing useful content or event invitations) is it unlikely that recipients will reply or book an appointment.

Studies show that cold outreach may work...if done correctly. If you opt to conduct cold outreach as part in your ABM strategy, you should encourage your employees to use the most effective practices:

• Name themselves. 79 percent of unidentified calls go without a response
• Use "we" statements--Successful cold calls include 65% more "we" statements
• Customize your content for each recipient-- 57 of from C-level purchasers want being contacted via phone

Do notrely too heavily on scraped data

Account-based marketers require data for building their ideal customers or corporate profile. But relying on purchased or scraped data could cause a lack of knowledge ICPs. Moreover, it can result in your staff contacting potential customers without their permission, which is bad for brand image and can make prospects opt out or report your messages as spam.

It is recommended to create your ICPs through primary research like surveys or customer interviews. If necessary, you can supplement your personas with research from trusted sources like magazines for trade or industry publications, or even instruments such as Sparktoro.

Don't overlook the ROI

Measuring the return on your ABM investment ought to be simple particularly if you concentrate on these metrics and employ an ABM software to help.

While some ABM strategies (like events) are more uncertain in terms of ROI measurement, there's no excuse for selecting these methods if there's absolutely no evidence to suggest they'll help move the needle or close deals.

Don't make the mistake of organizing large, costly event or spending money on swag for "brand recognition" without determining how these investments tie back to your primary goal and objectives.

Don't ignore accounts that aren't fit for you.

Just because an account isn't an ideal fit for your product or service does not mean that you have to ignore it entirely. If an account does not produce a sale it could have other benefits, such as publicity or valuable insights gained by interacting with these accounts.

The key is not to concentrate on the short-term outcomes but instead focus at the longer-term game of ABM.

How do you customize ABM campaigns to your most prestigious clients

Although ABM can be very effective but it's important to be aware that every account is not created equal. Top-performing clients -- those that represent the biggest revenue potential for your business--deserve special attention.

If you're trying to choose the most suitable accounts, be sure to focus your efforts on a group of premium accounts with the highest growth opportunity.

Top-end clients have a tendency to getting the best of the best, so your website and your services should reflect the same standard. It doesn't mean you have to blow the bank--but it does mean taking the time to create quality, high-quality content that attracts attention and deliver the desired results.

Here are a few methods to tailor your ABM campaigns to attract top clients. (Hint: They include video!)

Account-based marketing videos

Marketing videos that are based on accounts tell your brand's story through a personable and interactive manner, which is more than text-based message. Videos are an effective opportunity to present your service or product at work and offer your potential clients a greater understanding of the benefits and features.

What do these look like in practice? When you're first trying to establish a new company, it's helpful to introduce your team through a video. This gives the decision-makers at the company a chance to make an individual and to begin creating a connection with your staff.

Your video doesn't need to be elaborate. A quick overview of your office and introductions from each team member will suffice. Just make sure it's clear professional and professional. Also, it should highlight why your team is most suitable to manage the account.

Personalized screen recordings

Increase both engagement and sales by creating custom screen recordings. Instead of sending a customer-agnostic recording, you can take time to record a tailored product demonstration with your ICP's issues as well as your company's details keeping in mind.

The ability to watch a customized recording is an effective way of delighting your potential customers. Through enhancing your end-user's interaction, you establish trust , and boost the chance that they will move further through the funnel.

Video campaigns via email

Make use of account-based marketing videos for your nurture emails. Instead of sending another generic "Look what we can help us!" message, try creating your own emails using an engaging video that is specific to the person receiving the message.

Videos that show the weak areas of the company you are targeting as well as explain the specifics of what your product or services solve the problems of potential customers will make a stronger impression.

This will help you make yourself stand out and prove that you're ready to go that extra mile to deliver the best value. Videos that are high-quality and delivered via email can move prospects to the next step in the funnel, and motivate them to schedule appointments with your sales team.

Virtual events

These days, buyers prefer to do business with those whom they trust, love and believe in. One way to build confidence and camaraderie with the accounts you want to target is through curated virtual occasions. A good example of this would be an online VIP experience or an executive experience.

Don't create cookie-cutter experiences for your top clients--take the time to to know their specific needs and pain points so you can design custom virtual events that provide appropriate solutions as well as networking opportunities.

If you put in an extra effort in the beginning by putting in the extra effort upfront, you'll have the ability to establish yourself as a trustworthy business partner that is committed to making their company successful in the over the long haul.

Programms for reducing the number of times you have to eat

ABM does not stop once you've sold. Since that your ICPs are your "perfect" customer and you want to keep them engaged, it's best to engage them after purchasing.

Inspire Customer Success to keep in touch the accounts you want to target regularly, either bi-annually or quarterly to make sure the satisfaction of customers. Use feedback loops for feedback to get important feedback and gain an understanding of how they use the product. It is possible to request that they participate in group testing for beta versions of future features, or to play a role of consulting with your Product team.

Treating your accounts' customers as important customers will reduce churn and increase retention and the LTV of your customers.

Ideas for closing

A successful account-based marketing approach requires careful planning and execution over a wide range of teams and dimensions.

If you take time to get to know the ideal client and creating customized campaigns, as well as personalized video content, you can develop deeper connections and close more sales.

Furthermore, since ABM is trackable and trackable, you are able to always evaluate the results of your efforts and map back new customers to the custom-designed, innovative marketing efforts.