An effective account based marketing program starts with data.

The data necessary to:

Chasing opportunities that don't match your capabilities, value and even culture result in wasted time and frustrating outcomes. A few failed attempts can sour a company on the entire target account process diverting resources and budget to other areas.

How Do You Choose Target Accounts?

It's easy to support a target account program. The sales and revenue upside from a key account win can be company changing. Yet, target account programs often veer off course starting with account selection. Here's how:

Sales Driven Account Selection
A sales based selection process may err on the side of short term sales wins discounting the long term potential return on investment. Self imposed sales and quota pressures create a bias for accounts that can be sold quickly. But, target account selection goes beyond quick win opportunities.

Marketing Driven Account Selection
A marketing based selection process will discover ample accounts that "fit the profile." However, it takes data points that go beyond a typical list of companies to produce a viable account list.

Account Based Marketing Program Account Selection

So rather than undermining your target account program, use a broad range of data with a sprinkling of human intuition, to formulate the best outcome!

1) Start With Historical Data

Account wins.

An effective target account list starts with past account wins. Identifying common characteristics that these accounts share allow you to find your future best fit prospects. Although the information may not reside in a handy database, take the time to compare details like:

2) Overlay Firmographic Data

What demographics are to people, firmographics are to organizations. Combining firmographic data with your key insights allow you to identify A-List accounts. The clients on your dream list where a deal can change your company.

Data sources such as Zoom Info can take your key data differentiators and deliver a list of accounts with similar attributes. Although it requires additional analysis, it will get you closer to an optimal target account list.

3) User Experience And Account Based Marketing Account Selection

Although it's a term synonymous with technology, it's not just for app development. Applying UX  can make the difference between sales wins and losses. And integrating it into an Account Based Marketing program can transform your target account wish into target account reality.

Evaluate the user experience from recent wins.

A good data source provides key contact information including the decision makers and influencers crucial to gaining traction in the account. It elevates strategically-important customers, and it produces measurable business benefits.

4) Evaluate. Narrow. Define.

There's no algorithm that takes the human element out of target account selection. Instead it requires you to:

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Modest budgets. Smaller staffs. Fewer resources. Just some of the challenges small and mid size companies face when competing against larger organizations. You can't duplicate their manpower. You can't duplicate their capital. But you can compete for the biggest and best accounts. Use account based marketing to equalize the playing field, capture target accounts and grow your business.

Account Based Marketing

Just like a target account initiative, account based marketing programs start by building an account list. But instead of contact based interactions, account based marketing is designed to understand and market to the collective needs of an account. For example, a typical enterprise purchase involves C-Levels, directors, managers and front-line professionals from numerous departments. Some contacts are influencers. Others are buyers. But as your contacts look online to learn about you and the competition, you often don't know if you are connecting or being ignored. Account based marketing leverages technology to understand these interactions. And, it allows you to provide relevant, timely and personalized follow up addressing universal challenges while targeting needs specific to each individual.

Use Account Based Marketing To Counterpunch Competitors

But, account based marketing isn't just for deep pocket, big staff companies. Effective program execution is size agnostic. Technology has leveled the playing field. Small and mid size companies can operate with the same sophistication, tools, savvy and scale of large companies. Here's why.

Access To Data

How do you select target accounts? By modeling your customer database using current accounts, firmographics and industry information fed into an analytics engine that spits out the best opportunities?

Probably not. But, large companies with big databases can spend tens of thousands of dollars to do just that.

Fortunately, your database is much smaller. So is your target audience. And, account based marketing programs don't target 1000s of prospects. They focus on a few of the best opportunities. Using a process ensures the best account selection. But, an analytics tool? Unnecessary.

Once you select the targets, identifying contacts is inexpensive. Combine online sources like LinkedIn. Business contact databases including Zoom Info, Jigsaw and YesData. And, the sweat equity of your sales team to develop a very accurate robust list of contacts, at a very low cost.

ABM Program Development

Websites and online tools provide opportunities for all businesses. But they are especially relevant for small and mid sized companies that use account based marketing. Online channels are the cornerstone of your plan. An effective website allows you to rival large competitors.

Understanding your target audience is another key factor. Developing personas to identify pain points and customer needs require contact with your sales team and a few customers. Both very achievable for companies small and large.

Armed with this information you can build a plan. It doesn't take a big staff. Instead, it takes thinking through how to construct a campaign to reach your audience. And determining the online and offline tactics that connect. Ultimately, it takes sales and marketing common sense.

Learn How To Develop A Campaign Matrix - Download The Account Based Marketing White Paper »

ABM Program Cost

Large companies appeal to a large audience. But it costs money to get in front of that large audience. Even electronic campaigns using email, SEO, SEM and social media can take a bite out of a budget. An account based marketing campaign is different. It combines a variety of online and offline tactics targeting a small audience. For example, if you use account based marketing for 20 accounts, you have under 1000 total contacts.

That lowers your program costs. When you use account based marketing you target a small group of key contacts with highly personalized information. Websites, other online channels and content assist your prospects as they learn about you. Very similar to the practices you are using today. Although personalization is critical, adapting or expanding current resources keep additional investments low.

Offline tactics including direct mail, information kits and brochures are an expense you should incur. But, small quantity digital print technology will keep costs in check.

ABM Program Execution

Large companies have more red tape. It’s harder to get decisions made. Small and mid size companies are nimble. There are fewer layers to coordinate and convince.

An effective ABM program combines the best attributes from both sales and marketing. The two groups may not see eye-to-eye on every issue. But, reconciling differences and working together is far easier in a small and mid size company.

Although an ABM program contains a number of moving parts, planning and executing the plan trumps specific expertise. Although you do need knowledge about online and offline marketing tactics, specialists aren't required. You don't need a direct marketing specialist. You don't need an event planner. Or a data analytics expert.

Marketing automation programs further simplify the process. The firepower available for small and mid sized business rivals big company systems.  Coordinating personalized marketing and sales efforts open doors and deepen engagements in target accounts. When sales and marketing work effectively together, account success rates increase exponentially.

Effective marketing programs don't materialize, launch and succeed at the snap of your finger. When you use account based marketing, it's no different. Learning, planning, testing and executing are critical elements. They are also elements small and mid sized companies can execute to compete against the big guys and capture more business.

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Account Based Marketing Tactics You Need To Succeed

Target an account, rather than an individual. Combine the best attributes of sales and marketing. Address all decision makers from the beginning of the buyer’s journey. That's how ABM differs from a target account program. Use the following account based marketing tactics to elevate your position and close deals more quickly.

Develop Personas

A persona is a semi fictional representation of your ideal customer. Through market research and actual data about your existing customers, a persona helps you:

A persona also uncovers your customers key sources of information. Publishing content in the channels where your customers go to learn increases the probability of connecting them to your solutions.  "ABM isn't just about knowing companies to target but about which decision makers to engage at those targets and and how to engage them." Scott Vaughn, CMO - Integrate

Here's Why Personas Work

Personas help you understand your audience. That knowledge allows you to effectively target communications that connect to their job function, needs and position in the account. Targeted, relevant and personal information elevates the impact of your communications. Using personas is one of the most important Account Based Marketing tactics to implement - it improves response and interaction.

In fact, a MarketingSherpa case study found that buyer personas outcomes:

Create Compelling Content

You've targeted key accounts. You've identified decision makers and influencers. You understand the type of information that prospects seek as they go through the discovery process. How do you connect with your audience?

Developing content driven from persona research provides the best outcome. Forrester determined that an enterprise buyer is 57% of the way to a purchasing decision before they connect with a seller. Discovery is taking place in your target accounts, with and without your knowledge.

Content sells when you aren't there and helps you elevate your position even if you aren't involved personally.

Consider these alternatives: 

Regardless of it's final form, content should coincide with the purchasing journey and the topics your prospects are likely to consume at each stage.

Here's Why You Need Compelling Content

Content commands attention. Designed and built for each unique audience, it's how you reach decision makers and influencers. Driven by data in your persona research, the topics guide users through the purchasing stages making them more likely to buy. It elevates your position even if you aren't involved personally.

Build A Campaign Roadmap

It's impossible to orchestrate every account interaction. However, mapping your plan helps you execute the process.

Why A Campaign Roadmap Works

A roadmap details the communications, responsibilities and timing of your campaign. A thoughtful approach to these details improves the outcome. It also integrates the interactions between sales, marketing and executives. When sales and marketing are aligned the odds of selling a key account increases substantially.

Marketing Automation

Technology separates account based marketing from a target account program. Along with capturing data and putting it to work, marketing automation lets you create a process and then set it to repeat, without additional labor.

Why Marketing Automation Is One Of The Essential Account Based Marketing Tactics

Combining marketing automation with an account-based marketing strategy yields numerous benefits including:

Get Started!

ABM leverages research to find the correct contacts inside an account. Targeting, personalizing and orchestrating interactions with those contacts are account based marketing tactics that increase engagement and shorten your path to success.

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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.

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:

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:

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.

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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