What is Account-Based Marketing? A Guide to ABM Strategy

Goals are often not defined and agreed upon together, there is no alignment of marketing and sales budgets and breaks in customer data collection and analysis. This not only leads to frustration among employees, but also costs a lot of time, energy and money.

How about focusing all your energies on the sales process instead of dealing with unsuitable prospects (leads)? To concentrate on the important and qualified target companies instead of on a broad mass?

More and more industrial companies are recognizing the need for a customer-centric strategy, but which marketing strategy is the best?

Account Based Marketing, ABM for short, can be a solution here.

Account Based Marketing (ABM) is an approach in B2B online marketing in which companies target specific companies (accounts) in order to attract, attract and retain them with personalized marketing measures. This method differs from traditional marketing approaches that target a large number of potential customers (watering can) by focusing on a small number of strategically selected target customers.

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ABM is all about shifting your focus from large numbers of leads to precisely targeted accounts, which are very specific organizations and companies that are best suited for your product or service. Each account is considered an independent market and should have a strategy targeted directly at them. The real highlight of ABM is the one-to-one programmatic predictive positioning technology, which provides accurate information to a large number of highly defined and tracked target accounts, improving work efficiency.

What are Target Accounts?

In this new school of account-based marketing, the language used by experts also changed. Terms shifted, were merged or separated into different constructs. This also applies to the term target accounts . Ultimately, these are nothing other than the key accounts of key account marketing.

A target account is an identified company and its contact person with decision-making responsibility and central characteristics that qualify for account-based marketing. Due to the synonymy of the term with key accounts, we will only speak of target accounts in the following.

The right ABM tools

Ultimately, choosing the right tools is a core aspect of good account-based marketing. The collection of data, transfer and distribution of tasks and responsibilities as well as the concentrated power of marketing automation cannot be done manually. In addition, high-performance measurement and optimization tools are required so that problems and potential are always identified. A good CRM is key to an implementation of Account Based Marketing that can focus on the essential aspects of the strategy.

Why is account based marketing useful?

As already explained in the description of key account marketing, account based marketing is mainly about increasing the company's growth and sales and building long-lasting business relationships . In addition, by definition, the sales and growth of the company being looked after also play a decisive role.

Only if the cooperation between the supporting and the supported company bears good fruit can the cooperation last in the long term. Accordingly, short-sighted profit intentions have no place in account-based marketing.

The great relevance of the strategy in modern marketing also comes from the fact that marketers are always looking for new ways to better reach their customers and create positive experiences for customers. While for centuries marketing was a locally rooted affair in which marketers tried to sell something to those around them, over time a globalization of marketing has taken place, moving away from the personal towards profit maximization: marketers created large-scale target groups and marketing messages became more and more general and more interchangeable. This is also one of the aspects that made marketing so unpopular and repulsive in the years before inbound marketing was established.

Today the inbound method is the standard. The customer is once again at the center of marketing measures. However, the focus on a constructed mass individual still exists and robs marketing of its interpersonal nature.

At this point, account based marketing promises to be a new opportunity to reach people directly and personally . By returning to the origins of marketing - the personal consultation between two people without information asymmetry or power imbalance, but with full attention and individual fundamentals - companies hope to gain more authenticity, trust and ultimately long-term sources of sales.

In short: account-based marketing is intended to restore the win-win situation that has been widely discussed and yet only rarely achieved , and which can offer both sides the same amount of added value.

Account based marketing and inbound marketing

The previously mentioned win-win situation is also one of the declared goals of the inbound marketing approach: the focus is on the customer. With the help of targeted, customer-oriented measures that offer real added value, interest and willingness to buy are achieved. Nevertheless, inbound marketing and account-based marketing are often contrasted and often even described as opposites.

This doesn't get to the heart of the matter and misses the fact that both strategies essentially follow the same approach: a move away from impersonal outbound marketing , towards more value for the customer, appreciation from the general public and yes, also towards more intrinsic motivation on the part of the customer Marketers: Your own intention to make a profit is not wrong, but it is inextricably linked to the intention of enabling the customer to achieve the same or greater profit.

In addition, it is not uncommon and makes perfect sense to pursue both strategies in parallel. An account-based marketing model can be a company's sole strategy, but classic inbound methods are a perfect complement, for example to identify new target accounts. In this way, both strategies can complement each other, complement each other and ultimately improve each other. The result is an all-round marketing strategy that offers highly qualified target accounts the appropriate experience while at the same time forging new, looser but nonetheless promising connections.

What are the differences between inbound and account based marketing?

The difference between the two strategies mainly comes from the approaches to achieving this. While the inbound strategy is still aimed at delivering messages to large, predefined but general target groups, account based marketing is oriented towards individual target accounts that receive individual attention and advice.

To stick with the image of the funnel: Inbound marketing shows the funnel tapering downwards, while in account based marketing the same funnel tapers wide downwards.

You can find more detailed information on this topic in our blog post “ Account Based Marketing vs. Inbound Marketing ”.

What are the advantages of account based marketing

The advantages of ABM are obvious. With ABM, both departments – marketing and sales – receive a clear roadmap to achieve their goals. There is a unified view of the customer and their needs so that both sides know exactly what needs to be done. This creates efficient communication between those involved, which enables both teams to achieve the desired results. Not only can you increase sales, but you can also improve customer loyalty, reduce costs and ultimately increase employee satisfaction.

5 Key Benefits of Account Based Marketing

1. Improved customer experience: With ABM, companies can create personalized buying experiences based on the customer's specific needs.
2. Better Sales Cycles: With ABM, companies can shorten the sales cycle by leveraging specific customer data to optimize customer touchpoints.
3. More sales: Marketing and sales working together makes it easier to increase sales by generating more leads and closing more deals. With ABM, companies can improve lead quality.
4. Better efficiency: By making all relevant information available through one account, both departments can work more efficiently and achieve more results.
5. Higher ROI: With ABM it is possible to achieve a higher ROI because you can react better to the market and more leads are generated. This also means cost savings for your company compared to other strategies.

Who benefits? When is ABM worthwhile and when not?

It becomes clear that account based marketing is a strategy that can have a decisively positive impact on the growth and operations of a company. However, it cannot be denied that the necessary measures are quite complex

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Accordingly, a prior assessment must be made that compares the previously mentioned advantages but also the disadvantages of the strategy. In addition to the large amount of research, this mainly includes the (re-)alignment of company processes , the maintenance or acquisition of expertise in the company and the full dedication to customer partnerships and projects with no time limit . It's worth doing a self-check based on a few points, because not every company is suitable for using account-based marketing per se.

In principle, of course, account based marketing is designed for use in the B2B sector. This is the only place where it makes sense and efficiency in the long term to build such relationships. While the basic idea of account based marketing is slowly gaining a foothold in the B2C sector, there are still many restrictions and basic requirements that make classic account based marketing measures hardly seem fruitful.

Additionally, you should ensure that the products or services you offer are suitable for account-based marketing. Are repeat purchases or licensing planned? Products that are only purchased rarely or only once and then used for a long time can only be subject to account-based marketing to a limited extent, as the effort would otherwise exceed the added value.

It also makes sense if the product is complex in nature and has a long sales cycle. This means that there is a need for advice right from the start and your efforts to build a long-term relationship potentially meet more open ears.

Pro tip: Implementing an account-based marketing strategy becomes even easier with a system that makes implementation easier. We have compared four of the largest providers in this white paper:

Account Based Marketing Tactics

At the end of this article, we would like to give you some tips on how to build an optimal account based marketing strategy . This process can be divided into several phases, which we will describe in more detail below.

Step 1: Creating the Account Based Marketing Strategy

Before you start any action, you need to be clear about where you want to go:

If you don't ask yourself these questions and immediately start with the next points, you may get lost in your task and miss important basic requirements for correct implementation.

Step 2: Assemble an Account Based Marketing Team

A full ABM team requires representatives from all relevant departments of the company . At least one marketer and one salesperson must be appointed centrally to look after the target accounts. It makes more sense to designate a sub-team at the same time. In addition, all other positions that you consider necessary must also be filled. For example, you could have an employee who monitors customer satisfaction and the progress of your team.

Step 3: Ensuring seamless collaboration

As already mentioned, alignment between departments is the key to successful account based marketing . This means that all internal members of your ABM team have internalized the strategy and are committed to the transparent flow of information and accountability. Without this alignment, you cannot ensure a consistent experience for your customers and ensure account-based marketing works.

Alignment is not always easy in account based marketing. We have put together a few tips accordingly:

Step 4: Identify and select the target accounts

The next step is to move from the planning phase to active account-based marketing. First, find suitable contacts. Get information about ideal customers via LinkedIn, filter leads according to their fit and sort the contacts clearly in your CRM. Use successful deals from the past as a benchmark for search criteria for new contacts. From the contacts you have found, select those who have particularly good qualifications as target accounts and start researching and preparing.

Step 5: Identify the Key Players of Your Target Accounts

A target account without a good and reliable touch point is worthless. What good is a qualified prospect if they're a black box? So analyze the structure of the account (for example via LinkedIn or using suitable data analytics tools) and identify the right experts, those responsible and, above all, the decision-makers in the company.

Please note: You often have to deal with different contacts. A particular challenge of account based marketing is that you have to make personalized offers to different personalities that everyone likes. This requires the appropriate psychological tact to actively support your counterpart's decision-making.

Please also note: In the EU, some restrictions due to the GDPR apply. In B2B, you are allowed to contact companies, but there are several other pitfalls you need to be aware of.

Also test alternative options for harmless contact. These include, for example, offers for guest lectures in your podcast or webinar, direct contact via social media, setting up targeted landing pages and advertising campaigns, etc.

Step 6: Select appropriate channels for marketing

The next point is to select suitable channels to reach the key players. Many account-based marketing guides prefer to develop campaigns or playbooks ahead of this step. However, this is a wrong approach in many ways.

Campaigns depend heavily on their respective channels. Every platform, every contact option has its own requirements, special features, advantages and challenges. Developing a quality campaign requires this information.

Research accordingly which channels your target accounts use , where your key players can be found and how you can optimally reach them .

Step 7: Create high-quality marketing campaigns

Now comes the creative step: define your content and your personal message. Deliver value while remaining precise and focused on the needs of your target audience. Explain your expertise and share why you do what you do. Stay authentic and convey to those around you that they are the sole target of your message.

Step 8: Make contacts and connect to target accounts

You will see the relationship with your target accounts strengthen over time. This step can take months or even years. It takes time until long-term success can be measured. Nevertheless, it is an ongoing process whose sections are of equal relevance. So don't cut it short, it's worth the wait.

Step 9: Measure, analyze and optimize your ABM results

It is not enough to conduct a good research and marketing campaign. This process must also be recorded, reviewed and optimized if necessary. No strategy is perfect immediately. Requirements are individual and lead to different approaches and strategies. With the help of suitable measurement and analysis tools, you can map your progress in account based marketing using KPIs and, if necessary, report them in the form of ROI.

Please note: Your team is responsible across departments for the success of your measures. Accordingly, different requirements apply to measuring and distributing success than for regular marketing measures.

Step 10: Create a playbook

Record your findings. This not only simplifies later projects and the training of new colleagues, but also enables further sales opportunities. For example, you could offer your playbook to your customers as premium content . After all, they know from their own experience that your strategy works well.

What makes account based marketing so effective?

Account-based marketing is becoming increasingly popular because purchasing decisions in companies are becoming increasingly complicated and time-consuming. In order to reach consensus, different people with different motives and expertise must coordinate in the buying center. It is therefore important to find the right contacts in the respective company departments and convince them of the advantages of your own product. This is where account based marketing offers the key advantage: by focusing on individual companies and the target people within those organizations, the marketing team can deliver the right message to the right person at the right time. This increases the likelihood that a purchase will be made and, as a result, sales will increase.

How do you implement account based marketing?

The first question you should ask yourself when setting up an account-based marketing strategy is: Which companies should you target? Here it is important to focus on a specific target group and select those companies that best suit your own products and services. Once these companies have been identified, it is important to find out who exactly within these organizations makes the purchasing decisions. Once you know who to target, you need to find the right message to convince them of your products or services. It should be borne in mind that each person in the buying center has different needs and therefore needs to be addressed differently.

How to start with Account Based Marketing?

The step towards account based marketing is a decision for more growth, personalization and customer focus . But it is also a decision for more effort, a streamlined marketing funnel as well as long-term responsibility and a promise of continuity. For all of this to work well, the right tools must be used. In this context, HubSpot presents itself as a pioneer in the industry.

With a combination of powerful, free CRM and expandability through the marketing, sales, service and, last but not least, the CMS hub, HubSpot offers an all-round package that also includes various tools for effective account-based marketing. On the one hand, this includes comprehensive list functionalities at company level, extensive reporting options and workflows, AI-controlled target account recommendations and special market-leading ABM reporting. All of this can be found in the usual tidy HubSpot interface, easy to use even without in-depth database knowledge. In one of our blog posts we address the question “ Can you do account-based marketing (ABM) with HubSpot? ”.

If you would like to take a closer look at the possibilities of the all-in-one platform, then simply contact us directly and without obligation. We will then look together to see whether the system provides the right solutions for your application and is used sensibly.

Conclusion

Account-based marketing is a great way to market your business more effectively and increase your customer growth. With this approach, you can reach specific desired customers by creating tailor-made brand campaigns. By working together between marketing and sales, account-based marketing initiatives can be unique and generate maximum value. If you want to advance your company on this path, you should deal with the topic of account based marketing: an effective strategy for specifically acquiring new key customers in times of complex purchasing decision processes and thus increasing sales. By concentrating on a few but more suitable companies, The marketing team can deliver targeted and individualized messages to the right contacts. This not only increases the likelihood of a purchase, but also ensures satisfied customers.