Read the previous blog post where we discussed the steps involved in creating an ABM strategy: Account-Based Marketing (ABM): All You Want to Know (Part 3/4)
Here are some of the tips and tactics for running successful account-based marketing campaigns:
- Define the right accounts for you
The first step in creating an ABM strategy is to define the accounts that are relevant to your business. This will help you narrow down your target audience, which makes it easier for you to focus on them instead of wasting time on irrelevant leads.
- Identify your top 20% of contacts
Focus on the people within the organizations aka your target accounts who influence purchase decisions. Start by gathering data on all of the people who are likely to be involved in various aspects of the buying process - including sales reps and executives - then prioritize your list based on how much influence they have over purchase decisions (e.g., C-level execs).
- Identify key criteria for success
Once you have a list of target accounts, another good practice is to determine which characteristics matter most for each one. For instance, are some companies based in specific regions? Do some need more help with customer education than others? Make sure you understand what makes each account unique before deciding how best to reach them with your messages.
- Understand your customer's journey
Once you have identified your target accounts, it's important that you understand their journey from discovery through conversion. This will help you create content that’s relevant and targeted at every stage of customers’ journey.
- Know the metrics you're tracking
Before you start building your account-based marketing strategy, it's important to know what metrics you want to measure as part of your campaign. These can include things like lead volume, sales pipeline, and revenue generated from each account. When you know the KPIs that matter the most, you would be able to track the efficiency and impact of your campaigns much better. And this will unlock opportunities to optimize and improve your campaign.
- Double down on content marketing
Content marketing is a big part of ABM. It gives marketers an opportunity to build effectual relationships with key accounts before they even make contact with them. It also helps build credibility within the industry, which makes it easier for marketers to reach out when they are ready for the next stage of engagement (i.e., social selling).
- Prioritize lead nurturing
Create a nurturing campaign that targets prospects in each stage of the buyer's journey. You can use email automation tools like HubSpot or Marketo to build personalized emails based on different stages of the buyer's journey or use a tool like Klaviyo that integrates directly with Salesforce for ABM campaigns.
- What matters most to your target accounts?
Define your strategy based on what matters most to your target accounts. Focus on how you can add value to their journey – and not on selling products or services directly. For example, if one of your target accounts has been considering switching from one CRM solution to another, then focusing on providing them with insights around how their current solution compares against others may be more valuable than selling them.
- Be channel-driven
Determine which channels work best for each persona. By identifying your target accounts’ specific needs and pain points, it will be easier to determine which channels they use most often - social media, email, or phone calls. This will help you tailor messages accordingly.
- Create smart content at scale
Develop content for each persona based on their interests and preferences. The more personalized your content is, the greater chance you have of engaging with someone at an account level rather than just sending generic emails that everyone gets from any vendor they do business with regularly (which is not very effective).
- Research on competitors
You can learn a lot from your close (and successful) competitors. After you have a thorough idea of who your target accounts are, find out how your competitors are targeting and engaging accounts similar to yours. You will need this information later when creating content for these target accounts and trying out different strategies that can help you win them over.
- Start with the end in mind
One of the fundamental steps to creating an effective account-based marketing program is to clearly define your goals and objectives. This will help you determine which accounts to target and how much budget you have to spend on each segment. For example, if you're looking to generate new leads or increase sales volume, then it makes sense to focus on larger accounts that have a greater opportunity for growth.
- Set up your ABM team
Account-Based Marketing requires specialized skills and expertise. You need to hire people who understand how to execute the strategy effectively and efficiently. Your team should also be able to manage relationships with all stakeholders involved in running your account-based marketing campaign, including sales, marketing, customer success, and technical teams. In contrast, if you're not ready to build an in-house team, you can also outsource a digital marketing agency Kolkata based. There are many digital marketing companies in Australia, India, USA, and Canada that specialize in ABM. Find one such agency and tap on the third-party team.
Takeaway
These are some of the tips and tactics for creating and implementing a successful ABM strategy. If done right, account-based marketing can bring you exponential ROI. So, taking some time out in initial planning and strategizing is very well worth it in creating an effective system that drives your lead generation and sales in the most cost-effective way.
Recommended Reads:- What is Account-Based Marketing? (vs. Inbound Marketing) (Part 1/4)
- Key Benefits of Account-Based Marketing (Part 2/4)
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