Account-based marketing (ABM) has emerged as a go-to strategy for B2B marketers looking to increase pipeline quality, retain top accounts for longer, and boost account revenue. And it’s easy to see why.

Unlike traditional marketing methods, which often cast a wide net, ABM focuses on identifying and engaging high-value target accounts through highly targeted, personalized campaigns. Your marketing team no longer needs to waste time trying to market to unqualified leads; instead, they can supercharge the sales process and move straight into the engaging and delighting phases.

But for businesses new to this approach, starting an account-based marketing strategy can be daunting — especially when looking down the barrel at $50,000 or more in platform costs. But it doesn’t have to be!

Throughout this guide, we teach you how to build an ABM strategy and the essential ABM tools and assets you need to get started. We’ll provide actionable advice for your marketing and sales teams on starting and optimizing your account-based marketing campaigns for maximum ROI.

Understanding the Basics of ABM

What is ABM?

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a strategic approach to B2B marketing that focuses on identifying and targeting high-value accounts rather than casting a wide net to attract a broad target audience. It involves creating personalized marketing campaigns that cater to the specific needs, pain points, and goals of an individual target account or group of accounts. This targeted approach is particularly effective in industries with long sales cycles, high-value transactions, and complex decision-making processes.

The shift from traditional marketing methods to ABM represents a broader trend in B2B marketing: the move towards more personalized, customer-centric strategies. In traditional marketing, the goal is often to generate as many leads as possible, regardless of their fit or potential value. In contrast, ABM prioritizes quality over quantity, focusing on accounts most likely to deliver significant long-term value. This makes a lot of sense, considering that less than 1% of B2B leads ever become paying customers!

LinkedIn’s “Relationship-Driven ABM” definitely comes to mind when we think of well-known account-based marketing examples.

LinkedIn utilized ABM to drive engagement and adoption of its LinkedIn Marketing Solutions among large enterprises.

They leveraged their platform’s extensive data to create personalized campaigns targeting decision-makers at major companies. LinkedIn used personalized InMail messages, tailored ads, and content that addressed the specific business needs of the target accounts.

This approach significantly increased engagement with high-value accounts and led to substantial growth in the adoption of LinkedIn Marketing Solutions among enterprise clients.

Why ABM?

There is certainly no shortage of benefits associated with account-based marketing, but there are some clear winners when it comes to the positive impacts on your business.

Perhaps the most compelling reason to adopt ABM is its ability to deliver a higher return on investment (ROI) compared to traditional marketing methods. Because ABM targets specific accounts with tailored messaging, it often leads to higher conversion rates and more efficient use of marketing resources.

ABM can also streamline your sales cycle with the benefits seen in your bottom line. The typical sales cycle looks something like this:

1) Prospect → 2) Connect → 3) Research → 4) Present → 5) Close → 6) Delight

By focusing your efforts on specific high-value target accounts, account-based marketing streamlines this cycle. Your sales team can spend their time focusing on stages of the cycle that positively impact your bottom line:

1) Identify Target Accounts → 2) Present to Target Accounts → 3) Close Target Accounts → 4) Delight Accounts

Another key advantage is the alignment it fosters between sales and marketing teams. In an ABM strategy, marketing efforts are closely coordinated with sales activities, ensuring that both teams work towards the same goals and target the same accounts. This alignment improves campaign effectiveness and enhances the overall customer experience, as prospects receive consistent messaging and support throughout their journey.

ABM also allows for a more personalized and consistent customer experience. By tailoring content and messaging to each account’s specific needs and interests, ABM helps build stronger relationships with customers, leading to increased loyalty and higher lifetime value.According to Salesforce data, B2B companies with ABM programs report a 38% higher sales win rate and 91% larger deal sizes, leading to 24% faster revenue growth.

Defining Your ABM Strategy

Different Types of ABM Campaigns

One of the first steps in developing an ABM strategy is defining the campaign type you want to run. ABM is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Different kinds of ABM campaigns are suited to different goals and business types. 

Here are two common types of ABM campaigns:

1. Targeting Existing Accounts for Growth:

ABM can be an effective tool for deepening relationships with existing customers and driving account growth. This type of campaign focuses on cross-selling or upselling additional products or services to current clients. By understanding each account’s unique needs and pain points, you can create personalized offers demonstrating how your solutions can add even more value to their business.

2. Targeting New Accounts:

ABM is also a powerful strategy for acquiring new high-potential accounts. This type of campaign involves identifying and engaging prospects that closely match your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). The goal is to attract and convert these accounts by demonstrating how your products or services can address their specific challenges and help them achieve their goals.

Setting Clear Objectives

Before launching an ABM campaign, it’s crucial to define success. Whether your goal is to grow existing accounts, acquire new customers, or improve engagement with key prospects, having clear objectives will guide your strategy and help you measure your progress. Some of the common objectives for ABM campaigns include increasing account revenue, improving customer retention, and generating higher-quality leads.

Essential Assets for an ABM Campaign

Account Selection and ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)

The success of your ABM campaign hinges on selecting the proper accounts to target.

This process begins with developing a detailed Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) outlining the characteristics of accounts most likely to benefit from your products or services. Your ICP should consider the industry, company size, revenue, location, and buying behavior.

Once you have a clear ICP, you can begin the account selection process. This involves identifying specific accounts that match your ICP and have the potential to deliver significant value to your business. The more precise and thoughtful your account selection process, the more effective your ABM campaign will be.

Content and Messaging

Content is the cornerstone of any ABM campaign. To effectively engage your target accounts, you need to create personalized content that speaks directly to their needs, pain points, and goals. This content should be tailored to each account’s specific stage of the buyer’s journey: awareness, consideration, or decision.

Your campaign can use different types of content, depending on the needs of your target accounts. For example, case studies and whitepapers can demonstrate how your solutions have helped similar companies succeed, while webinars and demos can provide in-depth insights into how your products work.

Sales and Marketing Alignment

For an ABM campaign to succeed, businesses must align their sales and marketing teams and ensure they work towards the same goals. This alignment ensures that both teams target the same accounts with consistent messaging and coordinate their efforts to move accounts through the sales funnel.

Establishing clear communication channels between sales and marketing is essential to achieving alignment, setting shared objectives, and defining roles and responsibilities. Regular meetings and collaboration sessions can also keep both teams on the same page and ensure everyone is working towards the same outcomes.

ABM Toolkit to Get Started (Without Breaking the Bank)

The upfront cost can often be the biggest blocker for businesses looking to put greater marketing and sales efforts into ABM.

Luckily, launching an ABM campaign doesn’t have to involve a massive upfront investment. While many sophisticated (expensive) ABM platforms are available, you can start small and scale your efforts over time by leveraging affordable account-based marketing tools that deliver strong results.

Here’s an ABM toolkit that can help you create an account-based marketing framework without breaking the bank:

HubSpot CRM:

HubSpot CRM is a powerful, easy-to-use platform that can be the central hub for your ABM activities. It allows you to manage contact forms and emails and track account activity in one place. HubSpot’s marketing automation features make it easy to nurture leads and engage with your target accounts.If your business uses an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy or is suited for ABM, HubSpot offers out-of-the-box features that help you execute the plan. Here’s how.

Apollo.io:

Apollo.io is a robust tool for building a database of target accounts and facilitating outbound email and LinkedIn outreach. When you use Apollo.io, you can rest assured that your data is reliable. Apollo syncs account-based data every 60-120 minutes, so you can rest assured that your CRM data is 100% up-to-date!

Apollo.io allows you to search for contacts based on specific criteria, making identifying and engaging high-potential accounts easier. Its integration with CRM platforms also ensures that your outreach efforts are tracked and managed efficiently.Learn How to do Strategic Planning for ABM Using Apollo.

NeverBounce:

Validating your email lists regularly is critical to ensure your email campaigns reach the right inboxes. NeverBounce is an email validation tool that can help you clean your lists and reduce bounce rates, ensuring your messages are delivered to the right people.

Budget Considerations:

Being mindful of your budget when starting an ABM campaign is essential. You can begin by using the abovementioned tools and scaling your efforts as needed.

By starting small and gradually increasing your investment, you can build a successful ABM program without the high costs associated with some ABM platforms.

Executing Your ABM Campaign – Account-Based Marketing Tactics

Building Your Campaign

Once you have your assets and toolkit in place, it’s time to build your ABM campaign. Start by creating a detailed plan that outlines the steps you’ll take to engage your target accounts and achieve your campaign objectives.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

1. Identify Target Accounts:
Use your ICP and account selection criteria to identify the accounts you want to target in your campaign.

2. Develop Personalized Content:
Create content that speaks directly to your target accounts’ needs and pain points. Each piece of content needs to be tailored to each account and aligned with their stage in the buyer’s journey.

3. Plan Your Outreach:
Develop a sequence of outreach activities to engage your target accounts and move them through the sales funnel. Some things to consider are email campaigns, LinkedIn outreach, personalized ads, and more.

4. Align Sales and Marketing:
Ensure your sales and marketing teams are aligned and working together to engage your target accounts. Meet to set shared goals, define roles, and coordinate efforts.5. Launch and Monitor:
Once your campaign is ready, launch it and begin monitoring its progress. Use your CRM and analytics tools to track engagement levels, conversion rates, and other key metrics.

Monitoring and Measuring Success

Regularly monitoring its progress and measuring its impact are important to ensure that your ABM campaign is successful. Here are some key metrics to track:

Engagement Levels:

Engagement is the heart of ABM. It’s about reaching your target accounts and how they interact with your brand across various channels.

Monitor how your target accounts engage with your content and outreach efforts by tracking email opens, clicks, website visits, and more.

Key engagement channels include:

• Content
• Ads
• Website
• Email

Conversion Rates:

Measure the percentage of target accounts that move from one stage of the sales funnel to the next. This will give you insights into your campaign’s effectiveness in driving results.

ROI:

Calculate your ABM campaign’s return on investment (ROI) by comparing the revenue generated from target accounts to the cost of running the campaign.For a deeper dive into measuring your ABM success, read Your Guide to Measuring the Success of Your ABM Initiatives.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Aligning Sales and Marketing

One of the most common challenges in ABM is aligning sales and marketing teams. Your campaign efforts may be disjointed with alignment, leading to inconsistent messaging and missed opportunities.

It’s important to foster collaboration between these teams to overcome this challenge. Regular meetings, shared objectives, and clear communication channels can all help ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals.

Resource Constraints

Another common challenge is resource constraints. Many organizations, especially smaller ones, may not have the budget or personnel to execute a full-scale ABM campaign. To overcome this challenge, consider prioritizing high-impact accounts most likely to deliver significant value. It’s also worth leveraging existing content and tools to maximize your resources without overextending your team.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is the future of B2B business

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a powerful strategy that more and more B2B marketers are turning to to drive growth through highly targeted, personalized campaigns. By focusing on high-value accounts and aligning sales and marketing efforts, ABM has been proven to deliver higher ROI, improved customer experiences, and stronger relationships with key accounts.

If you’re considering making ABM a key part of your marketing strategy, remember that you don’t need to invest in expensive platforms to get started. By leveraging affordable tools like HubSpot CRM, Apollo.io, and NeverBounce, you can build a successful ABM program that scales with your budget and needs.

How do I get started?

If you need help implementing ABM initiatives for your business or want to develop a strong strategy, talk to the team at Farinella.We are a client-first creative communications agency with a 30-year track record of delivering work that inspires connection and drives business. Let’s talk!