The Role of a Successful Strategy in ABM
Account-based marketing for B2B companies always starts with a well-thought-out strategy. With that in place, your stagnant marketing system will evolve from “kind of working” to dynamic and indisputably successful.
of companies using ABM increased
their average deal size. (SiriusDecisions)
Below, The ABM Agency President Vincent DeCastro and Senior Campaign Analyst
Jason McDaniel explain ABM strategy in our biweekly webinar series.
How to Create an ABM Strategy in 5 Steps
At The ABM Agency, we know a solid end-to-end ABM strategy, one that takes your marketing efforts to the next level, entails five key stages:
- Define buyer personas in the purchasing committee
- Map buyer journey from awareness through evaluation
- Collaborate on engaging assets for each journey
- Unify messaging across all platforms and channels
- Track accounts as they engage with the campaign in order to push them down the funnel
Let’s take a deep dive into creating an account-based marketing strategy.
Defining Buyer Personas in Purchasing Committee
ABM requires multiple departments in your organization coming together from start to execution—sales, marketing, and customer success. Each member of the team will interact with different targets within an account at different points in the sales funnel—so you want everyone to know the accounts inside and out.
This begins with defining whom exactly your company wants to target.
- What other companies are in a similar industry?
- How big is this company, and who are its competitors?
- Now, who’s in charge? Have any new C-level executives just joined the team?
- What’s the organizational structure? Who actually has the buying power?
- What does the procurement process of a product in your space look like?
Figure out their buying habits, priorities, pain points, go-to industry publications, and current buying positions within their company.
Map Buyer Journey from Awareness Through Evaluation
Mapping the buyer’s journey is one of the most important parts of an ABM strategy. Without defining your buyer’s journey maps, you won’t be able to effectively nurture and engage each member of the buying group with the right content. Each buyer persona will be associated with different stages of the funnel, so you must identify who is consuming your messaging and which channel/asset will be most engaging.
In the beginning stage (awareness), you’ll use intent data to inform your decisions. As accounts move down the funnel, you’ll measure engagement (did they or did they not engage, was it effective) and adjust your content accordingly.
Collaborate on Engaging Assets for Each Journey
Assets, including copy and graphic design, are everything. They need to be tailored and hyper-focused for every account, on every platform, at every stage of the sales funnel.
Remember:
Unify Messaging Across All Platforms and Channels
In order for an ABM campaign to succeed, there must be the unification of messaging across platforms and channels. Yes, it will change as the account moves through the funnel, but consistency is key.
Content marketing messaging should be in line with the message the account sees in marketing automation channels. The landing page messaging should align with the buyer persona message when the account reaches the consideration stage. In the final evaluation stage, there should be 1-to-1 messaging and design that includes the particular buyer persona’s pain points as well as graphic identifiers for the account—all while maintaining a consistent, trustworthy message.
Track Accounts Engaging with the Campaign in Order to Push Them Down the Funnel
Now we’ve reached the strategic step that sets what The ABM Agency does apart from others in the ABM game. In order to push accounts down the funnel (and keep track of them), we use something called account scoring, an amalgamation of data points (including intent data and on-site interaction) used to advise sales and marketing teams about funnel placement, effectiveness of content, and where to spend more (or less) of the budget.
ABM efforts (all of the data) can be tracked closely and adjusted in real-time with a user-friendly dashboard and effective reporting tools. If a target starts to flounder in your funnel, cross-reference that performance with the personalized content they’ve received and update your outgoing content accordingly.
Interested in developing an ABM strategy for your business? Check out our blog, or reach out to our experts today.
