Account-based marketing guidelines for businesses

If businesses wish to succeed in the modern marketplace, they must develop a winning marketing strategy. Unfortunately, what most business owners find out the hard way is that there is no universal marketing plan you should adhere to. Larger companies that are mostly focused on B2B marketing and sales trends should consider account-based marketing. That marketing strategy can allow your sales and marketing teams to work together and generate more high-paying clients. To help you achieve your goals, we will cover account-based marketing guidelines for businesses.

What is account-based marketing?

Before we explain how to set up a successful account-based marketing strategy, we’d first like to define some core concepts. Working as a New York digital marketing agency, we’ve found that many of our clients aren’t sure what kind of campaign is best for their needs. Therefore, let’s see what ABM is and how to use it to grow your business.

Account-based marketing is a marketing strategy intended for businesses that want to target high-value accounts. It concentrates most of your resources toward targeting a small number of specific accounts in a given market. This allows your marketing and sales departments to collaborate and make personalized campaigns for each account.

The best use for this kind of strategy is to create a personalized shopping experience for high-end clientele. Therefore, we can most commonly see ABM used as a B2B marketing strategy. In B2B, the sales volume is much larger, making applying ABM cost-effective. Instead of taking a broad lead generation approach, you can focus on a smaller number of high-priority leads.

The main benefits of account-based marketing for business

#1: ABM isn’t an exclusive strategy

If you plan to implement account-based marketing, you don’t necessarily need to give up on other lead generation techniques. It is possible to cast a wide net and then have a separate ABM strategy for high-value accounts. Keep in mind that most traditional lead generation approaches rely on SEO. You will need an optimized website and ads campaign to create leads in the first place. If you need help optimizing your online presence, you can contact us for professional SEO services in New York. With the help of digital marketing professionals, you can efficiently pursue multiple different marketing strategies.

#2: ABM unites sales and marketing

The sales and marketing departments in most large companies are frequently at odds. Although those departments interact with the same leads, they do so at different points in the sales funnel. Unfortunately, this means that their goals and priorities won’t overlap, which can slow down communication. Thankfully, ABM can unite sales and marketing so they can work together to move valuable leads through the sales funnel.

#3: Speed up sales cycles

Additionally, since they are on the same page, your departments will be able to develop and nurture multiple leads simultaneously. This can be hugely beneficial for B2B marketing because closing a high-value deal requires multiple points of approval. ABM ensures that you are simultaneously nurturing all stakeholders for the deal.

#4: Account-based marketing has a high success rate

Since you’ll be designing a personalized campaign for individual accounts, you will need to do most of the work upfront. You will be focusing on a smaller number of accounts and doing a lot of research to ensure the sale goes through. This kind of dedication and research will typically yield more successful sales, giving you a good ROI.

Guidelines on how to implement account-based marketing for your business

#1: Identify the high-value accounts you want to target.

The first thing you need to do it so do extensive market research. You will need to identify which accounts you will target with your ABM. Since you will be developing marketing for them, it is critical to select the accounts accurately.

#2: Research their specific needs

Once you know who you want to appeal to, you should find out what there are interested in. Understanding the needs of your customers can be extremely helpful during negotiations. Some customers will be more interested in product discounts, while more flexible shipping options will sway others.

#3: Create a personalized marketing campaign

If you have gathered enough information on your desired clients, it is time to start developing a specialized ABM campaign. You will also need to have a plan on how you will launch and deliver your marketing. For some businesses, a direct pitch will be the best option. However, some companies aren’t open to cold pitch proposals. In those situations, targeted ads could give you a way to reach clients with your message. We have seen many new trends in the digital marketing industry, and you’ll easily find the right type of advertising.

#4: Monitor the performance of your marketing and optimize

Successful marketing campaigns always go through continuous cycles of evaluation and optimization. If you are using targeted advertising that leads users back to your site, you should also consider optimizing it. You can contact experts from a professional web design company New York to help make your website SEO-friendly. You should pay special attention to your landing pages since they are the first thing visitors see when arriving at your website.

Account-based marketing guidelines for existing accounts

Another often overlooked application of ABM is that you can use it to target existing accounts. For example, if you already have a high-value account as one of your customers, you can consider expanding your cooperation. There are two main ways to achieve this:

• Upselling. Offer improved or higher-end products to existing clients. Create unique offers based on their previous purchase orders.
• Cross-selling. Offer products related or complementary to what your clients are currently purchasing. Certain products or services go together well. Your clients might be interested in buying the complete set of services from you.

The bottom line

If you follow the account-based marketing guidelines for businesses we outlined in this article, we are sure you will be able to gain multiple high-value accounts as your clients. The large sales volume and the high value of individual orders should be enough to secure a stable income. Securing high-value clients is the best way to ensure a prosperous future for your B2B company.