Account Based Marketing

The Power of ABM for your business

Firstly, what is ABM?

Account-based Marketing (ABM) is a focused growth strategy in which Marketing and Sales collaborate to create personalised buying experiences for a mutually-identified set of high-value accounts.

Account-based marketing allows you to weed out less-valuable companies early on and ensure Marketing and Sales are in complete alignment — in return, your team can leap into the critical processes of engaging and delighting those accounts much faster.

ABM helps your business work and communicate with high-value accounts as if they’re individual markets. By doing this — along with personalising the buyer’s journey and tailoring all communications, content, and campaigns to those specific accounts — you'll see greater ROI and a boost in customer loyalty.

The Key Benefits of ABM

Keep Marketing and Sales aligned.
Maximize your business’s relevance among high-value accounts.
Deliver consistent customer experiences.
Measure your return on investment.
Streamline the sales cycle.
Expand business through account relationships.

With cleaner, stronger, and more valued data, your ABM set up is fundamentally better to handle inbound marketing strategies. The alignment with sales means your data can be updated and your key promotion tools ready to promote your brand and updated services to your account customers.

Find out if an ABM strategy is right for your business today

An Effective ABM Strategy for your business - my 8 steps

Identify Target Accounts

Understand Buyer Personas

Begin by identifying high-value target accounts that align with your ideal customer profile. These accounts should have the greatest potential for revenue generation and align with your business objectives.

Understand Buyer Personas

Gain a deep understanding of the key decision-makers and influencers within each target account. Develop detailed buyer personas to tailor your messaging and content to their specific needs and pain points.

Personalise Content

Understand Buyer Personas

Personalise Content

Create personalised content and messaging tailored to each target account and buyer persona. This could include customized email campaigns, personalized website experiences, and targeted social media ads.

Leverage Channels

Align Sales & Marketing

Personalise Content

Implement a multi-channel approach to reach target accounts and engage decision-makers across various touchpoints. This may include email marketing, social media outreach, direct mail, personalized landing pages, and account-based advertising.

Align Sales & Marketing

Foster alignment between your sales and marketing teams to ensure seamless execution of your ABM strategy. Collaborate closely to develop account-specific messaging, coordinate outreach efforts, and track engagement metrics.

Engage with Content

Align Sales & Marketing

Develop and share content that resonates with the specific interests and challenges of your target accounts. This could include case studies, industry reports, thought leadership content, and product demonstrations.

Measure Performance

Continuously measure the effectiveness of your ABM efforts using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as account engagement, conversion rates, and pipeline velocity. Use these insights to optimize your strategy and refine your approach over time.

Iterate & Scale

Measure Performance

As you gain insights and refine your approach, iterate on your ABM strategy and scale your efforts to target additional high-value accounts. Continuously adapt to changes in the market and evolving customer needs to maximize the impact of your ABM initiatives.

ABM Case Study

Engaging Account Managers

ABM Case Study: Engaging Account Managers at DXC

Background: Brad Chuck spearheaded an Account-Based Marketing (ABM) initiative at DXC aimed at fostering relationships between central marketing and account managers. His goal was to engage 40 account managers based in and around London by inviting them to a breakfast briefing hosted and facilitated by him.

Strategy:

Identifying Target Audience: Brad identified 40 account managers as the target audience for the ABM initiative. These account managers were crucial stakeholders in driving business relationships and revenue at DXC.
Personalized Outreach: Brad initiated personalized outreach efforts, starting with email invitations to the breakfast briefing. Recognizing the importance of building personal connections, he followed up with direct phone calls to encourage attendance.
Relationship Building: Brad leveraged his relationship-building skills and "never say no" attitude to effectively engage with the account managers. He focused on understanding their needs and interests, positioning the briefing as an opportunity for mutual benefit.
Event Planning and Execution: Brad meticulously planned and hosted the breakfast briefing, creating an informal setting conducive to networking and relationship building. The event provided a platform for account managers to interact with central marketing and learn about DXC's partners.

Results:

Increased Engagement: Brad's personalized outreach efforts resulted in a high level of engagement from the target audience. The account managers responded positively to the invitations and actively participated in the briefing.
Relationship Formation: The breakfast briefing facilitated meaningful interactions between central marketing and account managers, laying the foundation for stronger relationships and collaboration moving forward.
Improved Alignment: By bridging the gap between central marketing and account managers, Brad's ABM initiative contributed to improved alignment and synergy within the organization. Account managers gained valuable insights into DXC's partners, enabling them to better serve their clients.
Event Success: The event was deemed a success, with positive feedback from attendees regarding its value and relevance. Brad's hands-on approach and commitment to fostering relationships played a crucial role in its success.

Conclusion: Brad Chuck's ABM initiative at DXC effectively engaged account managers through personalized outreach and a strategically planned event. By focusing on relationship building and collaboration, Brad strengthened alignment between central marketing and account managers, ultimately driving value for the organization.

ABM CASE STUDY

Working with Sectorlight Sales Team

"Sales and Marketing do not mix"

Was the final statement ushered by the departing CMO on maternity leave - such had become her disdain for trying to enforce a collaborative effort across the Sectorlight agency between sales and marketing.

Our mission was simple; look to form a collaboration between the account manager, business development, and marketing teams to cross-reference leads and incorporate a new account-based marketing strategy.

This is how we did it.

1. IDENTIFY THE RIGHT GROUP

Working with the client, we decided that the best target for them would be financially backed mid-market companies as the heads of these companies would be under tremendous pressure to perform with a poorly ranked website offering.

2. DEVELOP A COMPELLING VALUE PROPOSITION

We decided the best way to understand the unique value proposition of the product was to hear about it from their customers.

After watching a number of testimonial videos and reading what their customers said about them, it became clear to us that what they provided was an Intelligent Design Platform that enabled companies to deliver world-class website portals.

3. BACK THE VALUE PROP WITH WELL-RESEARCHED DIGITAL CONTENT

From this message, we created a white paper showing the challenges that mid-market SMEs face, the solution, and how Sectolight's product design strategy was benefiting multiple businesses across the world.

We then developed videos, case studies, blogs, and a nurture email campaign targeting CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and Chief Strategy Officers of mid-market companies.

4. EXECUTE HIGHLY TARGETED CAMPAIGNS

We then had a strong account base of leads that created a dedicated and structured marketing campaign that emphasised the offer and maintained sight of the brand and purpose with past and future client contacts.

The result was as simple in its execution as it was in the concept - I just needed to build the relationship and trust between sales and marketing.

Did You Know

"Marketing and sales teams that take an ABM approach together can be up to 6% more likely to exceed their revenue goals than teams less ABM-advanced"

“Researching Accounts” and “Identifying Target Contacts” are the top two tactics used by marketers within an ABM model

Act without expectation

Account Based Marketing (ABM)

"His innovative ideas shattered the frustration caused by account managers' dominance over key customers. Brad's strategies not only facilitated better communication of solutions but also fostered crucial integration between sales and account managers, revolutionizing our approach."