Account-based marketing is the ultimate personalization tool.
Instead of spending time and money in marketing to broad swaths of the population, an account-based marketing strategy separate key business accounts and target them individually. By appealing to specific prospects and stakeholders who can benefit from what you are offering, you can make your marketing efforts more tailored and more effective.
This marketing strategy is not new but it has gained widespread recognition over the past few years. Marketing automation has made account-based marketing more measurable and affordable for businesses of all sizes especially small-medium businesses.
Account-based marketing is a remedy to the conventional lead generation program. According to a report, only 16% of marketers believe that their current efforts are effective and while the main objective of 70% of marketers is to generate high-quality leads. On the other hand, research suggests that ABM delivers better ROI than other strategies.
Marketing automation plays a key role in driving better results. It allows companies to target their relevant audiences based on their interests and actions. Through webpage tracking you can see the pages your visitor is visiting, actions he has taken on the page: what he clicks, when he bounces, etc and accordingly you can take action.
Here are four steps you can take to use marketing automation to drive ABM efforts.
Tag and Segment Accounts
CRM and marketing automation tools allow users to automatically segment contacts based on demographics, but you should also apply certain tags manually. Differentiate accounts from one another based on the criteria that are important to you-demographics, buyer buying a cycle, last activity on your website, etc. This allows you to identify the most promising accounts (ready to purchase or re-purchase).
Set up Automation Workflows
To make the most of your ABM strategy you have to automate certain tasks/interactions. To nurture leads, you have to set up automation workflows. Say, set up a system that automatically emails prospect/customer when they click a link in your newsletter. If they respond to that email, you can handover that lead to the sales team and the ABM approach will help them in the conversion task.
Tailor your Content
It means delivering the right message to the right audience. Create customized landing pages based on the prospect/customer database or last interaction they have made with your brand. After setting certain rules or conditions, tools can automatically message target accounts with relevant messages when they engage with you. It helps you build the connections that become conversions.
A/B Testing
After implementing the ABM strategy you need to check whether this strategy is meeting your goal or not. Measure your work at each stage and take corrective action if required. You can also monitor the performance of your marketing campaign in real-time and make rapid changes if a campaign doesn’t perform well.
Without automation, ABM becomes a scattered process of spray and pray. MA allows you to provide personalized content that encourages visitors to make a purchase. With the right execution, cold leads will soon convert into valuable customers.
Have you used marketing automation to improve your ABM strategy? Tell me about your experiences in the comments.
