Create Your High-performing ABM Strategy in 5 Steps

Looking for ways to maximize ROI as we deal with layoffs, and budget cuts? Our marketing budgets are too precious to be spent on audiences that won’t convert, which makes account-based marketing the best strategy for 2023.

More marketers are focusing on ways to stand out and engage their ideal customers rather than broad-reaching campaigns. Keep reading to learn how to craft a hyper-personalized ABM strategy that justifies budget increases and fuels your sales pipelines.

Why account-based marketing, and why now?

ABM campaigns have higher ROI because they use data to target fewer, higher-value accounts than traditional campaigns. According to the Terminus State of ABM report, marketers reported a significant increase in revenue from their ABM campaigns—even during economic instability.

With the B2B buying landscape becoming increasingly noisy, personalized outreach has become more critical than ever. Sendoso found that 96% of decision-makers felt overwhelmed by the number of salespeople trying to get their attention. With ABM, you can foster relationships with target accounts by gaining real insights into which messages resonate.

How to develop an ABM strategy

ABM campaigns are driven by intelligence, allowing you to use data from every touchpoint to understand target accounts better and develop tailored strategies. Here are the steps you can take to create a successful ABM strategy.

Step 1: Build out your target accounts

Target accounts should be carefully selected—not based on gut instinct alone. Revenue-critical teams must come together to determine who their target accounts are and set goals within these accounts.

Struggling with marketing and sales alignment? This free eBook reveals how to get everyone on the same page to create a powerful ABM strategy.

Use intent data to choose your accounts

When choosing the intent data you’ll use in your ABM campaign, prioritize accounts that are in the consideration phase or higher. Make sure these accounts are actively researching, understand what you do, and are aware of your competitors.

Assign tiers to your accounts

Your Tier 1 accounts will get the most time, budget, and resources. To select your Tier 1, think about the accounts that most deserve your people, attention, and effort. Remember that Tier 2 and Tier 3 accounts will still have a personalized approach, but you won’t be spending as much time and resources on them.

Choose your ABM tactics

Once you align with sales on target accounts and personas, it’s time to determine the outreach methods you’ll use to capture their attention. Outreach methods include social media, digital ads, email, podcasts, intimate events, sales outreach, and direct mail. Having the right mix of channels to engage with your audience and stay relevant is essential.

Pro Tip: Corporate gifting is the ultimate pattern-interrupt

Corporate gifting is one of the most effective ABM tactics and involves sending gifts to key decision-makers within target accounts. Your Sending Strategy aims to build relationships and ensure your message and brand stand out. You’ll measure the success of gifting by the number of responses received, the number of meetings booked, or the number of deals booked against the number of gifts sent.

Step 2: Target account research

Identifying decision-makers is one of the most critical (and time-intensive) aspects of any ABM campaign. Creating relevant, compelling messaging is critical in today’s noisy digital landscape filled with marketing messages. To create messages that convert, you must first understand what your target accounts care about.

“Search the top challenges and priorities of target accounts. For example, ‘top challenges or priorities of CMOs in the FinTech industry.’ Plus, in this day and age, everyone’s got an opinion, and they love to post it on LinkedIn. So do a bit of research and see what they care about. What do they share? What do they comment on? Be curious.” –Rachael Tiow, B2B SaaS advisor and ABM leader

Step 3: Align marketing and sales on messaging

A personalized message that resonates is the first step, but you must also ensure that your entire team is fully aligned on that message. Marketing and sales coordination lets you deliver cohesive messaging to target accounts.

“The key to an aligned ABM strategy is ensuring all of your efforts are rowing in the same direction as a unified front. Consistency creates a unified, seamless buying experience.” –Jessica Fisher, Director of Demand Generation at Sendoso.

Step 4: Personalized outreach to target accounts

The purpose of ABM is to unlock new opportunities for your business by providing targeted insights that help you have better conversations with your clients. Use the following outreach tactics to facilitate higher quality conversations.

Targeted content syndication: Analyze your account research to determine the type of content will be most valuable. Create content in the form of blogs, ebooks, case studies, and research reports.

ABM-centric email campaigns: ABM email strategies use curiosity-inducing subject lines and calls to action tailored to specific accounts. Include thoughtful content tailored to their pain points, current initiatives, and industry trends.

ABM-led corporate gifting strategies: Infuse personalized gifts in your outreach to key decision-makers throughout the customer journey. Corporate gifting strengthens relationships keeping your company top of mind throughout the customer lifecycle – plus, it’s an enjoyable perk for your customers.

Step 5: Measure and adjust your campaigns

Unlike traditional demand generation campaigns, ABM campaigns cannot be measured with traditional metrics like net-new leads, MQLs, and opportunities. Measuring ABM performance requires you to drill down and understand how tactics are performing at an account level.

Your reporting should show the number of decision-makers responding to marketing tactics, the quality of sales interactions, the velocity with which deals move through the pipeline, and overall account engagement.

For a full breakdown of the metrics you should use to measure your ABM campaigns and the easiest way to measure them, download our free ebook: Cutting Through the Noise: How to Create Your Hyper-Personalized ABM Strategy in 2023

Conclusion

Account-based marketing strategies are the clear winner as we face economic instability. An effective ABM strategy allows you to focus on high-value accounts with the highest chances of converting.

To create a powerful ABM , you’ll leverage intent data to build target accounts and tailor your outreach. ABM campaigns must include personalized gifts and consistent messaging to engage prospects. When it’s harder than ever to stand out, ABM strategies help you strengthen relationships with targeted accounts, generate more opportunities, and boost revenue.