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Account-based Marketing or ABM is treating an organization or account as an individual target market with the objective of either entering the account or growing business through that account.
While the concept is more than a decade old, organizations are still struggling to grapple with various approaches, as ABM has its own set of pros and cons that are generally not covered in regular marketing budgets.
A simple Google search for ABM returns more than 100 million results, enough to confuse marketers doing ABM for the first time.
Now that you are familiar with account-based marketing, let's learn about the common mistakes marketers make when building an ABM strategy.
Common mistakes marketers often make when developing an Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategy
1. ABM is not a tool
When you start searching for ABM, most top results on Google are from marketing automation platforms such as Marketo, HubSpot, etc. While these platforms offer powerful account-based marketing, the tool itself is not the strategy.
When you start searching for ABM, most top results on Google are from Marketing automation platforms such as Marketo, HubSpot, etc.
While it is beneficial to have marketing automation consulting to set up platforms like HubSpot for your ABM strategy, success primarily depends on your execution plan and how well you configure HubSpot with your sales processes.
2. Finding the Right Account
This is the core basis of setting up your Account-Based marketing strategy. How do you find the right accounts? A lot of research goes into finding the right accounts for an ABM approach. Here are a few steps that I recommend based on my experience as a marketing automation consultant
- Build a heat map of your existing clients and the projects that you do
- Get the value proposition right, choose a combination of what has been working well, and areas that you want to enter
- Identify your client's competitors and make a list of service offerings that you can pitch based on your experience
- Research on deals and contracts previously signed from multiple databases. Review their annual reports and investor decks to understand if they have any plans to invest in services and solutions that you sell this year
- If it is an existing account, the relationship manager can provide insights as well
Still unable to find the right account? We can help you with ABM Account Selection.
3. The outreach program
The outreach program is the manifestation of your entire ABM strategy. This defines the approach or the path of the prospect and its conversion to a lead.
It ideally mentions the various touchpoints one can have with a prospective client. Be it email campaigns, digital ads, social media platforms, cold calling, custom events, Snail Mail, and other channels.
The objective is to get the relevant intelligence that can help you get your point across to the prospective customer. This will depend a lot on the budget and the seniority at which you want to target
4. One Size doesn't fit all
You will need a combination of tools to get your Account-Based Marketing strategy off the ground.
Depending upon your needs and outreach program, you can use tools for Website Personalization, LinkedIn Ads, advertisement display platforms like Terminus, email platforms, Geo ads, IP-based targeting, etc.
A combination of these may be used based on how you want to approach your target audience.
5. Calculating ROI
An ABM approach doesn't guarantee you qualified leads or closed business. ABM can help get your customers' mind share. It is an ongoing effort to get the wallet share of the client.
Reporting on ABM efforts and calculating RoI is challenging if being done only based on leads or pipeline generated. It is important to measure all touchpoints at an individual level, account level, BU level, and organization level.
This can ensure that your efforts are accounted for and you can show progress being made on the ABM initiatives.
These are some lessons that we have learned while working in marketing for a decade, and some that we frequently hear while taking interviews. Happy to discuss more over a cup of coffee. Reach out to us.
At Markivis, as a certified HubSpot Partner, our ABM specialists can help you develop and implement account-based marketing with HubSpot CRM, combining strategic planning with the right marketing automation setup tailored to your B2B goals.
