When it comes to the B2B sector, converting high-value leads into customers is a top priority. In this case, a well-thought-out account-based marketing strategy is one of the most effective tools for achieving your business goal.

Conceptually, ABM is a strategy for sales and marketing departments where the two teams must be actively involved to interact with specific target accounts that are of interest to your brand. This approach is quite clear and targeted because the main task is to convert leads into sales in this case. Today, account-based marketing is one of the leading practices in B2B marketing as it allows you to directly interact with the accounts that are most suitable for your organization.

At the same time, account-based marketing can vary depending on the needs and goals of a particular business. Let’s take a closer look at what account-based marketing is and what you need to do to create your ABM strategy.

What is Account-Based Marketing?

Account-based marketing is a B2B strategy where the main focus is on specific organizations and accounts that are of greatest interest. The company’s sales and marketing departments are responsible for the execution and success of the ABM strategy, working on the overall strategy and coordinating efforts to achieve set goals.

To implement the strategy, it is necessary to create a personalized customer experience, which is an essential aspect of any ABM consulting. After all, to grow and develop a business, it is not just about successfully converting decision makers in B2B, but it is also critical to ensure a high return on investment (ROI).

Any ABM strategy focuses on a few key accounts, cooperation with which should bring higher profit for the business.

The main difference between account-based marketing and traditional marketing is the targeting of specific people within an account. In other words, most marketing strategies rely on inbound strategies (content marketing or lead marketing) to cast a wide net. Account-based marketing, on the other hand, focuses on a small group of people who make decisions. This approach helps maximize the effectiveness of your efforts.

In the case of ABM marketing, teams focus on creating content that will most attract the attention and interest of specific prospects in specific organizations with whom you would like to cooperate. Thus, ABM is a perfect tool that allows you to target several decision-makers within your strategy.

Steps to Create an Account-Based Marketing Strategy

As mentioned, account-based marketing strategies can vary slightly depending on the needs and goals of a particular company. However, any strategy includes a number of key aspects necessary to achieve the goal. These aspects are common and fundamental when creating a strategy.

Below are some of the essential steps needed to build an effective account-based marketing strategy.

Identify Your Accounts

The first thing you need to do when developing an ABM strategy is to decide which accounts you want to focus on. You should think about the businesses you would like to work with. After that, you need to focus your efforts on drawing the interest of your target audience to your brand.

The process of selecting companies can take some time and requires active effort, so it is worth choosing accounts with high potential depending on your goals and the types of deals you would like to make.

To identify your target accounts, you can use the following practices:

• Look for accounts similar to those you are working with now or have collaborated with before
• Determine the profile of the companies you are interested in (size, income, geography, etc.)
• Research your existing audience to identify patterns and tendencies
• Analyze the accounts your competitors cooperate with
• Research your market to understand trends and needs
• Use networking tactics by attending industry events

With a set of target accounts in hand, you can begin assigning roles and responsibilities. Some companies choose to assign a certain number of accounts to each team member, while others may decide to work on all accounts as a team.

Rank Your Prospects

The next step is to search for contact information of employees and decision-makers in the companies you are interested in.

Advanced lead-based targeting practices work best here. You should target a specific person as a representative of a larger account, such as an organization with which you would like to partner.

Having contacts of potential clients, start ranking them. Priority should be given to accounts that have the authority to make decisions. Then, add contacts to your CRM to focus your marketing and sales efforts on the decision-makers in the organizations you’re targeting.

Align Your Teams

To successfully implement the strategy and achieve your goals, the marketing and sales departments must work together. Therefore, align your teams to nurture your highest-ranking accounts.

Your teams must work together in the following processes:

• Creating an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
• Communication and messaging at every stage of working with target accounts
• Tracking Performance Indicator (KPI)
• Selecting technologies and practices to implement the strategy
• Quantitative assessment of lead readiness to cooperate

Executing an ABM strategy can often mean that marketing and sales teams can perform tasks that they have not previously encountered. Therefore, it is essential to hold regular meetings between departments to share ideas.

Create Personalized Content

Account-based marketing focuses on specific employees of specific organizations. Therefore, your key goal is to create hyper-personalized content that is tailored to the needs and concerns of the particular decision-maker.

The value of a personalized approach can’t be overstated here since key people in any organization typically receive a lot of marketing content. This means you need to use personalization to convince them to cooperate with your brand.

You can use the following practices:

• Creating targeted advertising for specific roles
• Use dynamic content
• Send personalized emails
• Interact with prospects at industry events
• Mention accounts and companies you are interested in
• Work with accounts that may become decision-makers soon

Learn more about account-based marketing at Elevated Third.