Account-Based Marketing Fundamentals

If you follow B2B marketing, you’re most likely aware of the momentum and impact Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is having within the B2B space.

There are multiple reasons why ABM is attractive to B2B companies. Companies who have implemented ABM strategies have better marketing and sales alignment, close bigger deals with target accounts, reduce wasted marketing spend and can tie marketing programs directly to revenue.

What Is Account-Based Marketing?

At its core, Account-Based Marketing is the process of identifying the companies most likely to buy, marketing to them and then measuring the results. ABM solutions typically include account-based data and technology to help companies attract, engage, convert and then measure progress against customers and prospects.

Why Is Account-Based Marketing So Popular?

While Account-Based Marketing has been around for a long time, it’s only recently started to take off as a key B2B strategy. In fact, data from SiriusDecisions shows that 92% of B2B companies recognize the value in ABM, going as far as calling it a B2B must-have. More companies are trying out ABM, with 52% having pilot programs in place (SiriusDecisions).

Companies employing an ABM strategy are also seeing results from their efforts. Data from a recent Demand Metric report show that 96% of B2B companies believe that ABM has an impact on marketing’s success.

What Do I Need to Build My Own Strategy?

While there are a number of ways you can build out your ABM strategy, the basic tenants are quite simple and can be implemented into your organization right away. You can approach ABM from a high-level perspective—broadly identifying companies you’d like to convert into customers—or go granular and focus your efforts on understanding the common attributes your customers share.

Once you understand the key fundamentals of ABM across the funnel, getting started, making progress, and measuring results become more accessible —and a gateway to broader, more successful ABM programs. Although there are a number of touch points across the funnel where ABM will play a big part, before you can execute on these things, you need a plan to identify, market and measure your target account list.

Identify

The first step to implementing Account-Based Marketing is to build your target account list—the companies with the most potential to your business, which can include customers, prospects, partners or a mix of all three. This list is usually made up of attributes such as industry, revenue and/or geography.

Market

Once you have your list of accounts, it’s time to build marketing programs that focus on accounts and move them across the funnel. You’re likely already doing persona-based marketing, so you’re familiar with the idea of tailoring your demand gen and outbound marketing to a particular group. When you’re targeting multiple stakeholders at an account, you need to rethink the way you approach each individual stage of the funnel.

Measure

The final step is measuring your results. Measurement should happen at every stage of the funnel and around metrics important to B2B rather than traditional metrics. As you do this, you demonstrate that ABM is more than just a best practice for your marketing team; it’s a foundational principle that should impact operations across your entire organization.

If you’re interested in learning more about Account-Based Marketing, join us for an ABM workshop.