One thing that is constant in the marketing world is change. New technology gives rise to new opportunities, which gives way to new trends. Something new is always waiting to happen in the marketing sphere. In this competitive world, companies that can stay abreast with the modern trends are the ones that stand a higher chance of prosperity.
Amidst the entire high-tech hullabaloo, one thing that a lot of organizations are paying attention to is ABM (Account Based Marketing). As many as 60% companies plan to launch an ABM campaign in the next year.For all the talks about ABM, it still appears to be a fairly new conceptto a lot of people. Perhaps the reason behind that is the existing misalignment between marketing and sales department across organizations. For ABM to be successfully implemented, what’s required is proper alignment among marketing and sales goals. But first –
What is Account Based Marketing?
Account based marketing often referred to as Key Account Marketing, is a strategic approach to business marketing based on account awareness where organizations communicate with an individual customer/prospect or group of individuals/prospects as a singular market, rather than an industry as a whole. Essentially it is a kind of marketing that is based on a specific customer or prospect. Largely, ABM is most preferable for B2B marketing endeavors. This is because the number of prospects to be dealt with is fewer – mostly a group of stakeholders who need to be communicated on a common agenda.
For all its perks, Account Based Marketing should not be manifested as the only form of marketing practice. It could be a supplement to the overall digital strategy that is quintessential today. ABM is most effective when multiple buyers at the same company are the target audience. Here is a look at a few benefits associated with Account Based Marketing
1. Personalization – Make Everyone Happy
As mentioned before, ABM is for an intimate cohort of people and not for a large group. This is why the campaign can be made highly personalized to feed the rather small contingent. Generally, marketing campaigns are quite extensive and directed to a large group of people and hence tough to meet every individual need. That’s not the case with Account Based Marketing. ABM surely does not allow the generation of leads from a large audience. But when it comes to personalization, it’s quite convenient and easy. Because the target audience is definitive in terms of characteristics and small in size, it is possible to make everyone happy. Besides, the fact that every customer kind of expects the same sure helps.
2. ROI–Ensure complete monetary awareness
A small cohort of people also means that it’s easier to measure the kind of return on investment that can be expected. In case of a large industry-level marketing campaign, it’s not easy to determine the ROI as chances of things going both right or wrong is endless due to the large number of possibilities involved. With Account Based Marketing, it’s easy to track and measure exactly the amount of money that is being spent on the campaign and wherefrom the returns might come. This makes the whole campaign expenditure process more compelling and committed as it instills more confidence and vigor inthe overall marketing efforts.
3. Sales –Enable quick conversion
Every marketing endeavor is injected with tactics and strategies to ensure that ample leads are generated. However, marketing does not guarantee the conversion of every lead into a customer. It is then up to the sales team to assess whether further persuasion to convert the leads is feasible, or should the unresponsive leads should be shelved for good. Well, it’s not nearly the same when it comes to account based marketing. The leads generated by ABM are more qualified and more time is devoted to ones that are interested, leading to a quicker closing of sale.
4. Team Morale – Achieve perfect sync between the sales and marketing team
Since time immemorial, there has been a constant tussle between the sales and marketing team. The sales team always expects prospective or better leads from the marketing team which are easier to convert. On the other hand, the marketing team craves for more insight and visibility on the customers so that they can approach them in a more tactical and strategic way. Fair to say, that there exists a lot of misalignment between the two teams. But when it comes to ABM, the sales and marketing teams are inherently aligned owing to the shorter campaign size and the prior insight of the target audience.
5. Client Relationship–Make connections for a lifetime
One of the most important aspects that all organizations emphasize on is customer retention. It’s an integral part of every marketing endeavor to ensure that old customers don’t part ways. The customer service team is entrusted with the responsibility to achieve a high customer retention rate every year. Account Based Marketing provides fair opportunities to both the sales and marketing team to ensure a high retention rate. In a way it’s easier in ABM to acquire retention as the pool of customers is curtailed and everyone’s need is laser-focused on. ABM helps in fortifying client relationships for a lifetime.
Stats you cannot ignore
Account Based marketing is not completely new in the marketing sphere. However, for some reason it has not yet gained full traction. In the time ahead, the propensity of organizations resorting to ABM is bound to increase. The following statistics will certainly validate this fact.
- As many as 90% marketers believe ABM to be essential to B2B marketing
- As many as 60% of companies around the globe are planning to implement an ABM program by next year.
- 92% of B2B marketers believe that ABM is extremely important to their marketing efforts.
- 41% of B2B marketers across the globe plain to increase their expenditure on Account Based Marketing.
- According to 85% marketers, while measuring return on investment, felt that ABM is head and shoulders above all other marketing investments.
Aditya is the founder of Digital Polo a unique design company that provides unlimited design work for a simple, affordable fee. He also heads a full-service digital agency called Nico Digital.