Why Account Based Marketing Can Improve Your Target Account Selling

If you read sales blogs. If you get newsletters that cover sales trends. If you are researching target account programs. Then you've heard about account based marketing.

It's a strategic approach to business marketing in which an organization considers and communicates with individual prospect or customer accounts as markets of one. It's a hot topic. Why Account Based Marketing? Because when you employ proven tactics, like segmenting and personalization. When you provide content that's meaningful to each unique decision maker. When you harmonize your program with sales. You increase your account success rates.

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If you have a target account program today. A sales driven program. One that doesn't align the value that both sales and marketing provide, you are missing out on revenue opportunities. Here's why account based marketing can impact your operation.

Size Doesn't Matter

Companies in all revenue categories - with a few employees and with 1000s of employees -have all adopted successful ABM strategies. SiriusDecisions researched companies using ABM and found that:

And

What This Means To Your Business

Account based marketing is an effective tool that can be used by any company, regardless of size. For smaller companies, ABM can be used to scale growth. Large companies can accelerate their expansion. Perhaps it's an underutilized opportunity for those companies in-between.

With staffs that are typically more limited, smaller companies may consider ABM unrealistic to implement, given other programs and responsibilities. However, it's proven to impact revenue and worthy of further consideration.

Where ABM Fits Best

Acquiring one contact at a time, through either inbound or outbound marketing efforts, is an ineffective way to approach a target account. Targeting the enterprise, like a market of one, is a better approach. That's why account based marketing can improve the outcome. It's ideal for companies that target:

Although any type of sales force will benefit from the marketing and sales alignment that ABM provides, a direct sales force is by far the most common.

What This Means To Your Business

Unlike many programs that are either sales driven or marketing driven, account based marketing aligns the two. When both organizations are in sync, closing deals and increasing revenue from those combined efforts increase significantly.

Why Account Based Marketing Impacts Target Accounts

ABM is more than targeting key accounts. It's about knowing which key contacts to engage and how to engage them. The average target accounts contains 17 influencers and five buyers. The influencers and buyers span the organizational chart. From, C-level to a front line professionals charged with implementation, they have different needs and decision criteria. An effective account based marketing program provides precise, targeted and personalized to each influencer and buyer.

And, it works. Data compiled by SiriusDecisions found that companies with an ABM program had significant increases in target account activity.

Implemented with the needs of a specific target prospect at a specific target account in mind is why account based marketing succeeds.

Account Based Marketing Scales

Using effective automation tools in an ABM program allows you to scale business development. Automation makes it easier for a rep to target, market to, convert, and upsell a much larger number of contacts at each account. This expands the reach of the business development team and decreases the need to hire additional account managers.

If you employ a target account program today. If you call on accounts with many influencers and decision makers. Then combining resources of both sales and marketing through an account based marketing program will impact your business.

Need more information? Learn how to set up and implement an account based marketing program for your company.

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