As the Americans say, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is not so much rocket science as it is an unstoppable trend that makes perfect sense in the world of business. The ABM method is a way of working that's already used by many Marketers, sometimes without them even realizing it.
Account Based Marketing is a hyper-segmentation strategy for targeting or going after a specific account, usually in the B2B sector.
To do ABM successfully, we must establish 5 steps, namely:
1. Key Account Identification
This involves the identification of key accounts and the key contacts in each of them. It makes sense when we're doing business with large companies, with different points-of-contact, and when we have long, drawn-out sales processes where decisions can sometimes be shared among many people.
2. Customization of Content & Messages
As its name states, customization involves segmented and personalized content for each of these key contacts, taking into account their interests, motivations, where they're at in the “Buyer´s Journey”, and their role within the company.
3. Choose the right channels for Account Based Marketing
Remember, ABM revolves around personalization, deep knowledge of company contacts, and building trust. If your client is a digital dinosaur, you shouldn't put much effort into a blog post on the platform Medium that they will never read. As a general rule, LinkedIn is the best social platform for Account Based Marketing. Learn more about doing ABM on LinkedIn.
4. Alignment with Sales
You should always be doing this in your general Marketing efforts, but in ABM strategies it's more important than ever. It is crucial to create relationships of trust between each of the Account Managers and your potential future clients.
5. Create Measurement KPIs
You should have KPIs for each of the individual actions you're performing. Pay attention to measuring every small indicator, as it will be easier to see what you''re aiming for, what you've done right/wrong, and readjust your strategy. Don't wait to measure only the final ROI. Everything matters at every point in time.
It can be said that Account Based Marketing is the most "business" version of Inbound Marketing, applicable and recommended in cases where the complexity of the account and/or your offer make it necessary. However, ABM should be just one part of your overall Inbound Strategy. Contact mbudo to learn more about Inbound Marketing and HubSpot account based marketing.
David Romero
David has more than 20 years of experience directing Marketing teams in national and multinational companies. He has over 10 years of experience implementing Inbound Marketing strategies with a commercial focus for B2B companies. His motto is: always be learning.