Do you want to make your ABM strategy more effective? Utilize videos

The concept of account-based advertising (ABM) is a highly-targeted approach to B2B marketing, which focuses on specific accounts instead of segmentation of markets.

ABM in the past was companies deciding on a limited list of target prospective customers and dedicating a significant portion of their marketing and customer success resources to closing sales. The tactics were usually based on scraping of data, high-cost and expensive events that were geared towards small group, and marketing to salespeople via cold calls. They weren't always successful.

Nowadays, ABM is a more than just a Sales-plus-Marketing strategy to attract clients. It is a significant change as organizations are moving away from the stereotype which claimed that B2B Sales and Marketing usually were in a conflict.

When executed correctly, ABM helps both Marketing and Sales teams align on key target customers and help them win new business.

This document explains the basics of ABM is and the best way to leverage video in your marketing programs based on accounts, such as targeted communications, ABM videos, and other things.

What will you learn

1.    What exactly is account-based marketing?
2.    the ABCs of ABM The fundamental elements of an effective ABM strategy
3.    What not to do when you are using account-based marketing in your marketing strategy
4.    How do you customize ABM campaigns for your top-tier clients
5.    Closing ideas

What is account-based marketing?

To recap, account-based marketing (ABM) can be described as a method that allows an organization to tailor their marketing activities to focus on particular accounts instead of taking a more generalized method.

When it comes to ABM, it's essential to be able to comprehend the needs of the ideal client. In this way, you'll be able to design targeted marketing campaigns that are that are more likely to be a hit with those who make the decisions at your targeted accounts.

"How do you distinguish account-based-based marketing from conventional marketing?" you might ask?

Traditional marketing techniques the emphasis is usually on generating more leads than is possible. In ABM, the focus is on quality over quantity. This means instead of trying to connect with the maximum number of people possible it's about targeting the key decision makers with specific accounts who are that are more likely to make a change.

It's also important to note the fact that ABM is a team work. To be successful with ABM, Sales and Marketing must be in sync with their actions and goals.

It is crucial for ensuring that everyone is working towards the same goal: creating leads of high quality that convert into customers.

A day in the daily life of marketers who use accounts

Every day following are the things account-based marketers accomplish:

• They create and target specific customers' profiles.
• From there, they develop targeted campaigns and specific content designed for the target audience as well as companies.
• Together with Sales, ABM teams publish and distribute these material on different channels (depending on accounts that are targeted).
• Lastly, they track the results, analyze, and improve the results of campaigns to improve the effectiveness of their ABM approach over time.

So...why do you think it is important to prioritise account-based marketing?

There are many reasons why ABM should be a priority for your organization.

First, by adapting your marketing strategy specifically to each account, you can develop custom experiences and content that will be much more likely to connect with your target audience. This means you will be able to build stronger relationships with your target accounts and close more sales and increase retention.

By using ABM You can concentrate your efforts on accounts which have a higher likelihood of conversion which means a greater ROI for your company.

The second reason is that ABM aligns Sales and Marketing. In traditional methods of marketing There is a disconnect between what Sales desires and what Marketing does. But with ABM, both departments work to close deals on specific customers.

Thirdly, today's buyers--B2B and B2C--are more informed and sophisticated than ever. They aren't going to react effectively to general messages or one-size-fits-all campaigns. With ABM, you can tailor your message and approach for specific individuals and companies. The personalized approach is more likely to appeal to the buyers of today and lead to close transactions.

Additionally, ABM is trackable, perhaps more than traditional advertising and marketing. Since ABM concentrates on quality over quantity, you can measure the results of your efforts and evaluate whether you're making a difference. This level of transparency is critical to gaining the trust of your leaders, enhancing the way you conduct business, and ultimately gaining increasing numbers of customers in the process.

"The ABCs" of ABM: Core elements of an effective ABM strategy

Through ABM it is possible to treat each account as its own market.

To sustainably scale your business You need a secure Account-based Marketing (ABM) strategy. Here are the core factors to consider when you're considering developing an ABM plan for your company.

1. Segmentation

The initial step to develop an ABM strategy is identifying the accounts you want to segment. For this, you need to clearly understand the ideal customer profiling (ICP).

The information in your ICP should include details on demographics (e.g. the job title as well as company size and location) and psychographic information (e.g. the pain factors, motives, purchasing influence).

To gather this data, you can conduct first-person research using surveys and interviews with current and former clients. You can supplement your persona with additional research from trustworthy sources such as trade magazines and industry publications.

When you've got a good grasp of your ideal company/customer profile, you are able to start manually developing a list of potential accounts. Additionally, you can make use of market intelligence tools to build an inventory of businesses that match your criteria.

If you've conducted your own research, it's time to segment your accounts into distinct types of people. This can help you improve your message and ensure that you're targeting the right individuals within your account. For example, you might have a persona for decision-makers and influencers and one for end users.

2. Individualized messaging and outreach

Once you've identified your target accounts and personas, the next step is to develop personalized message and content to each one. Be aware that when you use ABM the company treats each account as its own market therefore it's crucial to create content that is tailored for each account.

If you attempt to apply the same messages and contents for all of your accounts on your list but you'll not get the desired results. The best approach is to develop custom messages specific to each of the accounts on your list. It can be difficult as well as a heavy burden across teams, but it's well worth the effort--personalized messages result in significantly greater rate of response than generic messages.

It's equally important to be sure to align your go-to-market (GTM) strategy to that of the ABM strategy. This means personalised messaging as well as employing the correct mix of channels to reach your customers where they're engaging online. Like, for instance, LinkedIn would be a excellent channel for senior executives at large enterprises.

Personalized messages allow you to build relationships with your target accounts. Nowadays, people do business with the people they know, like and trust. By sending personalized messages on relevant channels, it is possible to develop relationships with your target accounts and make them more inclined to purchase from you when they're ready to make a purchase.

3. The alignment between sales and marketing

A third important aspect in a successful ABM strategy is creating multi-functional teams. That means forming teams that include people from various departments in the company, for example Sales, Marketing, or Customer Success. A study conducted by Bombora discovered that companies typically have five teams dedicated to ABM.

They aim to bring everyone within the organization around one goal: winning the business of your target accounts.

4. Customer lifecycle marketing

A crucial and frequently overlooked element of a winning ABM strategy is customer lifecycle marketing. This involves fostering your connections with the key people at your target accounts. You can do this in several ways like sending them personalized emails, offering the person a phone call on their birthday, or handing the recipient a list of useful resources. However you choose to go about it, you must make sure that you're adding value while remaining top-of-mind.

Most likely, you'll require at least one individual on a target account to sell your product or service to the one or two people at an account that you want to sell it to. Most likely, you'll have to involve several stakeholders from different organizations to help move the deal to the next level. This is the reason why creating specific information that is used throughout the buyer's path and throughout the lifetime.

If you have a mix of top-of-the-funnel (TOFU), middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) as well as bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) content accessible, you'll be able to connect with prospects at each stage of the sales process -- and post-purchase.

5. ABM software

One of the most important elements of an ABM strategy is to have the appropriate software. ABM software helps B2B marketers automatize and manage their account-based marketing processes. Popular platforms include HubSpot Sales, Terminus, Pardot and Marketo.

ABM software will help you monitor and evaluate engagement with your customers, a key metric in any ABM software (as we'll be discussing in the following). It is possible to adjust your ABM strategy accordingly by understanding the types of accounts that are in touch with your brand , and how. This can lead to increased account engagement with time. This could result in more completed contracts and more revenues.

ABM software can also help in automating repetitive tasks, in order to let you focus on more strategically ABM strategies. Automation also helps you execute targeted campaigns more effectively through ensuring all right contacts receive the right messages at the appropriate date and time. This can make your ABM system more efficient and affordable over time.

In the end, ABM software can help to improve the overall ROI (ROI). It can help you generate more revenue for your business through increasing account engagement as well as campaign efficiency. That means you'll be able to ensure that your ABM program will be able to generate more ROI. This will benefit the bottom line.

6. Measurement of performance

The last thing to mention is that you need to measure the results. Similar to any other type of marketing initiative, it's essential to monitor the success and results of ABM campaigns. To do this effectively ensure you are able to track and analyze the information that will tell you the way each step in your campaign was performed by each decision-maker within each target account.

You'll be able to gain a solid assessment of whether your ABM strategy is working for your business by tracking key measures like:

• Traffic to websites from specific accounts
• The conversion rate from MQL to SQL
• The number of meetings that are set by Sales
• New opportunities have been created
• Size of deal
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)

What you are not to do with your account-based marketing strategies

We've discussed some core elements of a successful ABM strategy. We'll now go over a handful of ABM mistakes to avoid as you get started.

Be careful not to make use of spooky and spammy ABM techniques

Ineffective ABM strategies like purchasing data for cold calls and cold emails are surefire ways to fall short of account-based marketing. If your cold-mailing campaign isn't personalized or doesn't demonstrate worth (e.g. by providing useful information or invitations to events) is it unlikely that readers will respond or even book a meeting.

Studies show that cold outreach can work...if done correctly. If you decide to implement cold outreach as an element the ABM strategy, you should encourage your team to follow best practices:

• Identify themselves-- 79 percent of calls that are not identified go without a response
• Use "we" statements--Successful cold calls include 65% more "we" statements
• Make the content relevant to every recipient-- 57 percent of buyers at the C level would prefer being contacted via phone

Don'trely too heavily on scraped information

Account-based marketers require data for building their ideal customers or company profile. But relying on purchased or scraped data could lead to illiterate ICPs. Furthermore, it may result in your staff contacting prospective customers without consent this is detrimental to your brand image and can cause prospects to unsubscribe or mark your messages as spam.

We suggest creating your ICPs by conducting primary research, such as surveys and interviews with customers. If necessary, you can supplement your personas with secondary research from trusted sources like magazines for trade or industry publications, or even tools like Sparktoro.

Do not ignore the ROI

Calculating the value of the return on your ABM investment isn't difficult Particularly if you focus on these metrics and employ an ABM software program to assist.

Although certain ABM strategies (like the events) are more uncertain in terms of ROI measurement It's not a reason for using these strategies if there's absolutely no evidence to suggest they'll help bring about a change or make transactions.

Don't make the mistake of hosting large, expensive experiential events or spending money on swag to increase "brand recognition" without determining the relationship between these expenditures to your primary objectives and KPIs.

Beware of ignore accounts that aren't fit for you.

Even if an account doesn't seem to be an ideal fit for your business or product isn't a reason to dismiss it completely. Although an account may not produce a sale There could be additional benefits, such as publicity or valuable insights gained from interactions with the account.

The key is not to focus on short-term results and instead keep an eye on the game that will last for a long time ABM.

How to customize ABM campaigns to your most prestigious clients

While ABM can be extremely effective, it's also important to remember that every account is not created equal. Your top-tier clients--the ones who have the highest potential for revenue for your business--deserve special attention.

If you're trying to choose the most suitable accounts, you must make sure you focus on a group of high-value accounts offering the greatest growth opportunity.

The top clients of your business are used to receiving the very best of the best, so your content and experiences must reflect that quality. This doesn't mean that you have to blow the bank--but it does mean making the effort to produce appealing, quality material that is sure to draw the attention of your audience and produce the desired results.

Here are a few ways to customize your ABM campaigns to attract top customers. (Hint: They include video!)

Account-based marketing videos

Marketing videos that are based on accounts tell your brand's story through a personable and interactive manner, which is more than written marketing campaign. Videos are a great opportunity to present your product or service as it is and provide potential customers a better sense of its features and benefits.

What do these look like on the job? When you're first trying to break into a new account, it can be beneficial to introduce your staff by presenting a brief video. The decision-makers from the business a chance to give a face to the name, and start creating a connection with your team.

Your video doesn't need to be fancy--a quick tour of your workplace and some introductions from each team member can suffice. Just make sure it's clear and professional. It should also highlight what makes your company most suitable for the account.

Screen recordings that are personalized

Improve engagement and increase sales by creating custom screen recordings. Instead of making a general recording, you can take time to create a custom demo with the ICP's needs and your company's information in the back of your head.

A custom-made recording can be an easy way to delight the potential customer. In enhancing the user's interaction, you establish confidence and improve the chances of them continuing through the funnel.

Video campaigns via email

Utilize account-based marketing video in your emails to nurture. Rather than sending yet another generic "Look at what we can offer us!" message, try creating your own emails using an engaging video that is specific to the person receiving the message.

Videos that highlight the pain areas of the company you are targeting as well as explain exactly what your product or services solve issues for customers are likely to resonate more deeply.

It will allow you to distinguish yourself from your competitors and prove that you're ready to go above and beyond in order to add quality. High-quality video campaigns through email could move potential customers to the next step in the funnel, and help them book appointments with your sales team.

Virtual events

Today's buyers are different--they deal with individuals they know, like and believe in. A way to foster camaraderie and trust among your customers is to host curated activities. A good example of this would be an online VIP experience or an executive experience.

Avoid creating cookie-cutter events for your most valuable clients. Take the time to get to know their specific requirements and issues so that you can develop tailored virtual events that offer relevant solutions and networking connections.

In putting forth an extra effort in the beginning by putting in the extra effort upfront, you'll have the ability to establish yourself as a trustworthy business partner that is committed to helping their business succeed over the long haul.

Programs to reduce the amount of chaff

ABM does not stop once you've sold. Considering that your ICPs represent your "perfect" clients It's a good idea to communicate with them even after the buying.

Encourage Customer Success to touch contact with the target customers regularly, either bi-annually or quarterly to make sure that their experience was positive. Open feedback loops to gain important feedback and gain an understanding of what they are using the product for. It is possible to request that they participate in Beta testing groups to test future features, or to play a role of consulting with your product team.

Treating your target accounts as important customers will reduce the likelihood of losing customers and boost retention. customer LTV.

Ideas for closing

A successful account-based marketing approach involves careful planning and implementation across multiple dimensions and teams.

If you take time to get to know your ideal buyer and creating customized campaigns, as well as personalized video content, you can establish deeper relationships with them and seal more deals.

Furthermore, since ABM can be tracked it is possible to measure the results of your efforts and map back new customers to the custom-designed, innovative marketing campaigns.