What Is Account-Based Marketing and How Does It Work?

According to Gartner, account-based marketing (ABM) is a marketing strategy that incorporates a “synchronized, continuous set” of sales and marketing activities. Unfortunately, this definition does not paint a very clear picture of what ABM entails or how it works.

In order to shed some light on the highly effective B2B sales and marketing methodology known as ABM, we have created this introductory guide. Below, we explore what ABM is, explain how it works, and showcase some of the benefits of this marketing strategy.

What Is ABM?

Account-based marketing takes everything you thought you knew about digital advertising and turns it on its head. 

Traditionally, digital marketing efforts are focused on optimizing your reach so that your content is viewed by a broader audience. While this approach can be great for consumer marketing, it is not the optimal way to connect with B2B clients.

ABM involves identifying a few prime prospects and crafting custom marketing materials to address the specific pain points that those businesses are facing. You can use ABM to target potential clients and existing accounts. 

When directing ABM efforts at existing clients, the goal is to increase the value of their contracts and encourage them to purchase additional goods or services from your organization.

How ABM Works

ABM works by creating a list of high-priority accounts. This list should include prospects that have a high likelihood of purchasing services from your company. In addition, your list should include your most valuable current clients.

Once these accounts have been identified, it is time to research the specific challenges that each business is facing. Next, you should create tailored marketing content and target these clients with material designed just for them. Personalized marketing materials are often more impactful than generic content.

The key to a successful ABM campaign is determining which accounts to target. For instance, you should avoid targeting accounts that have a low chance of making a purchase, as your marketing efforts will be all but wasted on these entities. 

Instead, you should devote virtually all of your energy towards connecting with top-tier accounts and prospects, as this approach will maximize your return on investment.

Benefits of ABM

Account-based marketing offers substantial benefits for B2B businesses when compared to traditional sales tactics. One of the most notable advantages of ABM is that it increases the average deal size. On average, deals that are struck using ABM strategies are 171% larger than contracts that are won using other marketing methods.  

In addition, ABM improves client engagement. Keeping your clients engaged and nurturing your relationships with them is essential to the long-term success of your business. ABM boosts client engagement by presenting your target audiences with customized content that speaks to their unique needs and challenges.

As an added benefit, account-based marketing is a great way of maximizing the return on investment of your advertising dollars. Instead of wasting time, money, and resources marketing to poor-quality leads, you can focus your efforts on targeting tier one accounts.

How to Leverage ABM for B2B Sales

If you are interested in incorporating account-based marketing into your sales strategy, Insights ABM is here to help. Our experienced team of digital strategists offers an abundance of solutions to help you get noticed in the virtual marketplace, including B2B marketing services.

With us in your corner, you will be able to craft a winning ABM strategy that produces measurable results across key performance metrics. Intrigued yet?

If so, then connect with Insights ABM and learn more about our B2B marketing services. We’re looking forward to helping you start down the path to improved sales growth today.