Improve Customer Experience with Account Based Marketing

Account Based Marketing, or ABM, can enrich your customer experience, drive prospects through the customer journey more efficiently, and build deeper customer relationships. Our introduction to account based marketing focused on the benefits of ABM and provided a brief primer on how to get started. Now it is time to delve deeper into the nuts and bolts of this powerful marketing tool.

“Account-based marketing is no longer just a digital marketing tactic, or a digital advertising tactic. It is an all-encompassing marketing strategy … it’s about driving authentic customer engagement, nurturing trust, realising value, and building relationships.”  - Liz Demers, Partner Manager, Channel Sales, LinkedIn

How Popular Is ABM as a B2B Marketing Tactic?

If your organisation, professional services firm, creative agency or charity has not incorporated ABM as a central part of its marketing plan, you might be falling behind competitors who have. Old school, or traditional mass marketing strategies, focused on wide-spread marketing tactics like television, radio, print, and untargetted digital. The hope was that their sliver of the target audience would somehow be part of the multitudes consuming that particular media at that precise time.

Digital communications are now the new norm and have become an integral part of the marketing mix. So to find an edge, more and more creative companies are beginning to leverage the value of communicating in a more personalised and targeted manner, basically to an audience of one. Because of its efficacy, the concept has rocketed from almost non-existent to the top of the B2B sales heap.

• An ABM Leadership Alliance survey found that B2B marketers saw an average annual contract value increase of 171% after implementing an ABM strategy.

• ABM turns the 80/20 Rule on its head, and purposely directs marketing efforts to the top 20 percent of prospects who are most likely to turn into long-term, profitable customer relationships.

Best ABM Tactics That Dramatically Improve the Customer Experience

Account-based marketing means creating content with just the right message and delivering it via the most effective and convenient communications channel for the target recipient.

Personalisation is Key

Think of the volume of marketing offers and messages that the average consumer receives through multiple channels every single day. Your high-value B2B prospects, like all consumers, have become extremely adept at sorting through this information overload and making immediate judgment calls about whether something is of interest to them. If it has no appeal, they move on to another message in a matter of just seconds. That is why it is so important to use a name, cite a company, and provide a specific reason to stop and read the entire message. They want to know very quickly how your product or service will solve a particular problem they have. Use copy, headlines, and images tailored to appeal directly to them that stops them dead in their tracks, so they will possibly take the next step of clicking through or placing a call.

Provide the “Why,” Not Just the “What”

Compelling messaging is all about the “what is in it for me” strategy. Marketing strategies can no longer rely on “puffing” and brand marketing to attract attention. They must instead help identify the problem that a target consumer is experiencing and show in no uncertain terms how their product or service can help alleviate that pain.

Lead the Way on the Customer Journey

For most B2B marketers, it is not a simple matter of a “one and done” communication strategy. Few business decisions are made based on one message unless it is the very smallest or most routine of details. Big deals take big thinking, so it is up to the marketing and sales teams to build a journey that leads prospects safely through the customer experience. Carefully map out a strategy that coordinates communications across all touchpoints. If there is a personalised e-mail with a website link, it should take the prospect to a personalised web page that provides information that appears to have been created just for this person. Any telephone calls or messages from the sales team should build on this unique messaging. How jolting would it be for the prospect to get intrigued by the marketing approach, and then hear an entirely different message from the sales representative? Neither team can operate alone in an account based marketing environment. They must both work in tandem to gently move the prospect to the next stop on the journey.

Creativity Counts

Today's marketers need to be much more creative than using simple marketing tricks or word plays to try to catch the attention of their prospects. They need to respect their consumers and not waste their time or add to their information overload. ABM allows users to engage prospects creatively and respectfully, tailoring messages that are relevant and engaging on an individual level. Artfully chosen words can stick in their minds, and cause the pause that motivates a desire for a specific product or service. They need to begin to think in terms of how your offering makes their life or their business better. Keep in mind, though, that the message also needs to build and be consistent across all media. You cannot have an e-mail message that makes one point without reinforcing it on your website or through your content marketing strategy. Slow, steady and consistent is the approach that wins the ABM customer race.

Automation Assistance

Because ABM is such a detail-oriented and individualised marketing process, it can be challenging to control the specific elements carefully, so they reach each target in the proper sequence. This is where it can be helpful to take advantage of a marketing automation platform. Schedule communications so that recipients receive the appropriate message at their specific point in the customer journey. Use segmentation and dynamic content to increase personalisation and adapt communication styles. Track responses and use automation to feed the lead generation and sales pipeline.

Customer Relationship Management

The journey from interest to sale can be a long trek. All that work can go to waste if your customers do not feel like you are delivering on the promises your marketing messages made. The account based mentality needs to permeate the organisation from the top down. Customers are your company’s most prized asset, and you need to treat them as such. Continue building engagement and communications, and use any customer insight gathered to strengthen the relationship.

Account Based Marketing in Action

Account based marketing is used to personalise marketing channels to have a more meaningful impact on the intended audience. As you better understand the attributes of your target prospects, the message and the delivery system can be carefully crafted to achieve your desired marketing and sales goals. Here are some examples of using ABM in B2B marketing:

Event Marketing

Companies, associations and organisations often hold events to provide a one-on-one meeting opportunity. These events can be in the form of a sales meeting, product presentation, or conference. The problem with current event marketing is that it is still based on a “one size fits” all strategy. ABM takes it to the next level by personalising the event journey for key prospects. You can start with a drip sequence which explains a number of key benefits of attendance, based on intelligence you have about your prospect’s needs and interests, and includes tailored invitation messaging for that specific individual. At the event, the sales team can meet in-person to provide product demonstrations and answer questions unique to that person’s situation. This approach is far more effective than presenting the same message to all attendees. Post-event, a personalised follow-up program can build on the momentum you've established. Of course the right marketing automation platform will keep track of invitees, acceptances and attendees so you can have the relevant communications scheduled and sent automatically.

Webinar Marketing

Webinars can be a very effective way of imparting information and answering questions but, once again, they usually fall victim to the generic marketing strategy. Instead of putting on a webinar that has bland content for a broad audience, a webinar that is part of an ABM strategy is customised to be extremely relevant to a specific audience. Content is created with the needs of particular attendees in mind so that they are willing to invest time in participating.

Direct Mail Marketing

Mail got a bad reputation in the mass marketing realm because it involved sending the same message to everyone on a list and hoping that a small percentage would respond. It was not a very efficient way of marketing. However, in an age of Variable Data Printing, ABM can enhance the effectiveness of mail and bring it back into the fold. Once you establish a glimmer of engagement through other marketing efforts, a personalised offer delivered through the mail can have a significant impact. A generic “10% off” or “save now” type of communication will most likely be discarded. Referring instead to a specific problem that you've identified, and showing how your product or service can alleviate that pain, will increase the chances of your communication being opened and read.

E-mail Marketing

E-mail marketing is not dead; it just needs a fresh approach. In an age of spam and questionable content, Marketing Automation can control the pace of release and adjust the messaging based on specific triggers, such as visiting a pricing page or requesting a white paper. It can also personalise the e-mail with dynamic content based on progressive profiling activity, such as the prospect providing additional information about industry niche, job function, or seniority level.

Social Media Marketing

ABM can be used to both gather information about target prospects and to encourage engagement and conversation. A careful reading and interpretation of social media posts may reveal an understanding of the target’s challenges. A marketing automation platform can also gather data through clicks on links, which can contribute to lead scoring. ABM can then deliver valuable content through the social media network in response to this increased understanding.

Perhaps most importantly, don’t get stuck in a one-way ABM rut. Contacts, targets, messages and strategies change continually, so your organisation must be prepared to change and evolve as well. Set goals and track progress towards achieving those goals. Share results of what worked and what did not work. Make adjustments to the plan as needed, so that you are continually striving to improve the customer experience for your customers.

When appropriately implemented, account based marketing:

• Is efficient at making and maintaining contact.

• Presents the perfect message at precisely the right time.

• Sets the foundation for building better conversations.

• Shortens the sales cycle.

• Establishes a positive customer experience and deepens relationships.

• Increases internal alignment between the marketing and sales teams.

• Provides a solid long-term return on investment.

• Moves an organisation from mass marketing to strategic marketing.

“86% of marketers surveyed believe that predictive analytics is central to account-based marketing success.” - Forrester Research, Inc.

Account based marketing can propel your business or organisation toward higher levels of success, but is it right for you? find out more about using technology to enable this powerful approach and improve your customer experience.