In the fast-changing world of B2B marketing, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has emerged as a powerful strategy to target high-value prospects and align B2B sales and marketing efforts. If you’re curious about how to build the perfect ABM campaign in 2023, you’re in the right place.
In this guide, we’ll explore what an ABM campaign is, provide examples of successful ABM campaigns, and walk you through the steps to plan the perfect ABM campaign in 2023.
Let’s dive in!
What Is an ABM Campaign?
ABM campaigns are popular in B2B marketing.
Some think it’s a miracle solution for all marketing problems. Others are unsure about what it is and how to begin.
The reality is that ABM isn’t a magic trick. It’s not a quick fix for all marketing issues.
It’s a step-by-step approach, similar to other B2B marketing strategies. While it can bring many advantages to a business, ABM requires time, expertise, and a lot of effort.
In other words, ABM is a strategic approach that focuses on specific target accounts and aims to engage, nurture, and convert them into lifelong customers.
Unlike traditional marketing, which casts a wide net, ABM is personalized and focused.
Also, it finds key decision-makers and customizes messages for them. It meets their needs and addresses their pain points.
An ABM marketing campaign involves various content and outreach methods, such as:
- Social media,
- PPC ads,
- Blogging,
- Ebooks, Whitepapers,
- Emails,
- Sales outreach,
- Webinars, and
- Events.
To ensure successful ABM marketing campaigns, it’s recommended to utilize at least two of these approaches.
Many marketing and sales teams succeed by combining social media, cold email, and cold calling to create a customized marketing strategy.
Three Successful ABM Campaign Examples
Before diving into the nuts and bolts of building the perfect ABM campaign in 2023, let’s take a look at three successful account based marketing examples for inspiration:
1. Salsify:
Salsify is an example of a successful ABM campaign. It is a company that helps big stores like Target and Wayfair connect with their online customers.
They used a special marketing approach called ABM. Hence, they got 82 more people to sign up. It was even more than they hoped for!
In fact, they take advantage of personalized emails to get more people to attend their roadshow. By using this approach, they successfully engaged with the members of the buying committee to boost their sales funnel.
The collaboration between marketing and sales contributed to their success. Clever direct mail ideas also played a part in their success.
2. Personify:
Personify is a platform that helps organizations manage and engage with their members.
It stepped up its SaaS sales and marketing by using an ABM program.
To achieve their goal, Personify followed several steps. They identified their ideal customer profile (ICP) and created a list of top accounts. They also segmented their target markets and personas.
They then launched personalized ad campaigns based on the specific buying stage, company, and persona.
Additionally, they focused on increasing brand awareness and nurturing leads.
After using the ABM program for 11 months, Personify achieved impressive results:
- 39 times more engaged visitors,
- 47 times more ROI on a pipeline,
- 25 times more ROI on revenue, and
- 8.5 times more ROI on marketing.
3. DocuSign:
DocuSign, the top electronic signatures and agreements solution, wanted more website visitors. They used ABM to boost click-through rates and engage accounts likely to buy.
The DocuSign team ran ads for over 450 big businesses. They made the ads special for each industry and where the company was in the buying process.
They used pictures, logos, and testimonials to target several industries. They also made special content for each industry.
The results were:
- 22% sales pipeline increase across six industries.
- 59% engagement rate.
- 300% increase in page views.
- 26% decrease in bounce rate.
Now that you’ve seen some successful ABM marketing campaigns in action, let’s delve into how you can plan the perfect ABM campaign for your business in 2023.
How Do You Plan the Perfect ABM Campaign?
Here’s a simple template for planning a perfect ABM campaign:
1. Define Your ABM Goals:
Clearly establish the objectives of your ABM campaign. Are you aiming to generate targeted leads, accelerate sales cycles, or increase customer retention?
By having specific goals in mind, you can design strategies and tactics that align with your desired outcomes.
2. Identify Your Target Accounts:
Apply data-driven insights to identify the high-value accounts that align with your ICP.
Consider factors such as company size, industry, revenue potential, and buying behavior.
This will allow you to focus your efforts and resources on the accounts with the highest likelihood of conversion.
3. Understand Your Buyers:
Gain deep insights into the decision-making process within your target accounts.
Identify the key stakeholders, their pain points, and the challenges they face.
This knowledge will empower you to create personalized and impactful content that resonates with your prospects.
4. Craft Personalized Content:
Create interesting content that really connects with what your target customers want and like.
This can include personalized emails, customized landing pages, industry-specific case studies, and thought leadership content.
Tailor your messaging to address the unique pain points and aspirations of each decision-maker.
5. Run the Content Plan:
The tricky part (crafting the content) is done, now it’s all about carrying out the content plan. Remember these key points from your plan:
- Understand what the content is about.
- Know who your target audience is.
- Decide which channel to use for delivering the content.
- Assign responsibility for creating the content.
- Stick to the timeline and complete the content on time.
6. Collaborate with Sales:
It’s super important for the sales and marketing teams to work together to make the ABM campaign successful.
Collaborate closely to ensure a seamless transition from marketing engagement to sales outreach.
Regular communication and feedback loops will foster a unified approach that enhances the overall customer experience.
7. Leverage Technology & Automation:
Utilize ABM platforms and tools to streamline your campaign and improve efficiency.
These tools can help you track engagement, personalize outreach, and measure campaign effectiveness.
Automation can free up time for your team to focus on building relationships and delivering personalized experiences.
8. Measure and Optimize:
Keep a close eye on how your ABM campaign is doing and study the results.
Pay attention to key metrics like how engaged people are, how many conversions you get, and how much money you make.
Learn from this information to make your marketing strategies better, improve your tactics, and have even better campaigns in the future.
Ensuring your team understands these steps is crucial for running a successful ABM campaign.
Conclusion
Let’s return to the first question: How to build the perfect ABM campaign in 2023? It requires a strategic and personalized approach.
By understanding your target accounts, crafting tailored content, aligning sales & marketing efforts, and leveraging technology, you can maximize your chances of success.
Remember, ABM is an ongoing process that requires continuous refinement and optimization.
Embrace the power of ABM and witness its ability to elevate your B2B marketing strategy to new heights.