Do you want to make your ABM strategy stronger? Make use of videos

The concept of account-based advertising (ABM) is a hyper-targeted approach to B2B marketing that focuses on the most important accounts, not market segments.

ABM in the past was companies deciding on a limited group of prospective customers and directing a large portion of their customer and marketing performance resources towards closing sales. The tactics were usually based on data scraping, expensive experiences for smaller group, and marketing to salespeople via cold calls. These weren't always effective.

Today, ABM is a more than just a Sales-plus-Marketing strategy to attract consumers. This is an important distinction as companies are moving away from the stereotype which claimed that B2B Sales and Marketing usually have a less antagonistic relationship.

When executed correctly, ABM helps both Marketing and Sales teams align on the key customer segments and win new business.

This guide unpacks what ABM is, and how you can utilize video to your marketing programs based on accounts, such as targeted communications, ABM videos, and many more.

What you'll be learning

1.    What exactly is account-based advertising?
2.    the ABCs of ABM: Core elements of a winning ABM strategy
3.    What not to do with your account-based marketing strategies
4.    How can you personalize ABM campaigns for your top-tier customers
5.    Closing ideas

What is account-based marketing?

In short, account-based advertising (ABM) refers to a methodology where an organisation tailors its marketing efforts to target specific customers rather than taking the general approach.

With ABM, it's essential to be able to comprehend the needs of your ideal customer. This way, you can develop targeted campaigns more likely to resonate with the decision-makers at your target accounts.

"How do you distinguish account-based-based marketing from traditional marketing?" you might ask?

Traditional marketing techniques with a focus to generate more leads than is can be. In ABM, the focus is on the quality of leads over the quantity. That means that instead of trying to reach all the people you can it's about targeting the key decision makers within specific accounts that are more likely to convert.

Also, it is important to understand the fact that ABM is a team effort. For success with ABM, Sales and Marketing should be well-informed about their goals and actions.

This alignment is essential to ensure that everyone is working towards the same objective: generating quality leads that turn into clients.

Every day daily life of marketers who use accounts

Every day Here's how marketers who are based on accounts are doing:

• They develop and tailor customers' profiles.
• From there, they develop specific campaigns and contents to these specific audiences and businesses.
• In collaboration with Sales, ABM teams publish and promote these campaign material on different channels (depending on targeted accounts).
• They also track to measure and then optimize outcomes of their campaigns in order to refine and further refine their ABM approach as time passes.

So...why prioritize account-based marketing?

There are many factors that indicate to consider ABM should be a priority for your organization.

In the first place, by tailoring your marketing strategy specifically to each account, you can make custom content and experiences that are more more likely to resonate with the people you want to reach. In turn, you can build deeper relationships with your targeted accounts as well as close more deals and boost the likelihood of retention.

With ABM it is possible to focus your efforts on accounts which are more likely to convert which means a greater returns on investment for your company.

Secondly, ABM also aligns Sales and Marketing. With traditional marketing techniques There is some gap between what Marketing would like to achieve and the way that Marketing does. With ABM, both departments work towards closing deals with particular clients.

In addition, the buyers of today -- B2B as well as B2C, are more educated and sophisticated than ever. They're not going to respond favorably to standard messages or campaigns that are universally applicable. With ABM you are able to customize the message and strategy specifically to individuals or businesses. The personalized approach is more likely to be a hit with the current buyers, and will result in closed contracts.

Finally, ABM is trackable, possibly more so than traditional advertising and marketing. Because ABM concentrates on quality over quantity, you can measure the outcomes of your work and assess whether you're making a difference. Transparency is essential to getting buy-in from leadership, refining the way you conduct business, and ultimately gaining many more clients over the course of time.

ABM's ABCs ABM The fundamental elements of an effective ABM strategy

Through ABM, you treat each account as its own market.

For a sustainable growth of your company You need a secure accounts-based marketing (ABM) plan. These are the essential aspects to be aware of in the event that you are considering implementing an ABM strategy for your business.

1. Segmentation

The first step of developing the ABM strategy is identifying and segmenting your accounts of interest. In order to do this, you must be able to identify the perfect customer's profiling (ICP).

Your ICP should contain both demographic information (e.g. the job title, company size, the location) and psychographic information (e.g., pain factors, motives, purchasing influence).

For obtaining this information, you can conduct primary research through surveys and interviews with current and former clients. It is possible to supplement your personal brand with additional research from trustworthy sources such as trade magazines and industry publications.

If you've got a firm knowledge of your ideal client/company profile, you can start by creating a list of target accounts. It is also possible to make use of market intelligence tools to create the list of companies that match your criteria.

If you've conducted your own research Now it's time to divide your accounts into distinct types of people. This will help you refine your messages and make sure you're targeting the correct users within each account. As an example, you could have a persona for decision-makers, one for influencers, as well as one for the end-users.

2. Personalized messages and contact with

Once you've identified the target peopleas and accounts, the next step is to develop personalized message and content to every one of them. Remember, with ABM the company treats each account as an individual market therefore it's crucial to create content that is tailored for each account.

If you attempt to apply the same messaging, and contents for all of your accounts on your list but you'll not get what you're looking for. You need to create customized messages relevant to each account that you have on your list. This can be a challenge and a lot of work between teams, however it's worth the effort because personal messages produce significantly higher responses than generic ones.

It's important to also ensure that you align your go-to market (GTM) strategy to that of the ABM strategy. This means personalised messaging as well as making use of the appropriate mix of channels to reach your customers where they're using the internet. For example, LinkedIn would be a excellent channel for senior executives in large companies.

Personalized messages help you build contacts with the people you are targeting. Today, people do business with the people whom they trust, love and trust. By sending personalized messages on appropriate channels, you'll be able to develop contacts with your targeted accounts, making them more likely to work with them when they're ready buy something.

3. Alignment between marketing and sales

Another crucial aspect of an effective ABM strategy is the creation of multi-functional teams. This means creating teams with individuals from multiple departments within your business, like Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success. A recent study by Bombora discovered that companies typically have five teams dedicated to ABM.

They aim to bring all employees within your organization to the common goal of winning the interest of the target accounts.

4. Customer lifecycle marketing

One crucial, yet often neglected element of a winning ABM strategy is the customer's lifecycle marketing. This is about nurturing the relationships you have with your key contacts who are in your desired accounts. You can do this in several ways, such as sending personalized emails, giving them a call for their birthday, or sending over some helpful resources. However you choose to go about it, you must make sure that you're adding value while keeping them in mind.

Chances are, you'll need multiple people in an account that you want to sell your product or service to just one person at a target account. It is likely that you will have to involve multiple organizational stakeholders to move the deal to the next level. This is why creating targeted content can be used at various points in the buyer's journey and customer lifetime.

With a mixture from top-of the-funnel (TOFU) and middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) as well as bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) information available, you'll be able to connect with prospects at each step of the sales process including post-purchase.

5. ABM software

One of the most important elements of an ABM strategy is to have the appropriate software. ABM software helps B2B marketers to manage and automate their account-based marketing processes. Some of the most well-known platforms are HubSpot Sales, Terminus, Pardot, and Marketo.

ABM software is able to help monitor and evaluate engagement with your customers which is a crucial metric to track in every ABM software (as we'll talk about in the next section). You can adjust your ABM plan based on the types of accounts that are in touch with your brand and how. This leads to improved account engagement over time, which could result in more completed transactions and more revenue.

ABM software also helps to automate tedious tasks in order to let you focus on more strategic ABM strategies. Automating your processes can help you execute targeted campaigns with greater efficiency in ensuring that the proper contacts are receiving the correct messages in the correct time. This makes your ABM system more efficient and economical over time.

Finally, ABM software can help you improve your overall return on investment (ROI). This will ultimately result in higher revenue for your company by improving account engagement and the effectiveness of your campaign. It means your ABM program will be able to generate greater ROI which will benefit your bottom line.

6. Measurement of performance

Last but not least, it is essential to evaluate your outcomes. Like any other marketing initiative, it's essential to keep track of the performance in your ABM campaigns. To do this effectively, identify and monitor your data to determine the way each step in your ABM campaign was viewed by every decision-maker within each target account.

You can get a good assessment of whether you ABM strategy is effective for your company by tracking important metrics such as:

• Web traffic coming from accounts targeted
• The conversion rate from MQL to SQL
• The number of meetings that are set by Sales
• A variety of opportunities that have been created
• Size of deal
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)

What not to include in your account-based marketing strategy

The article has covered some of the key aspects of an effective ABM strategy. Now, we'll unpack a handful of ABM mistakes to avoid as you get started.

Don't employ scary, spammy ABM tactics

Spammy ABM tactics like buying information for cold calls or cold emails are a surefire way to be unsuccessful in account-based advertising. If your cold-mailing campaign isn't personalized or doesn't demonstrate the value (e.g., providing helpful material or inviting invitations for events) is it unlikely that recipients will reply or book a meeting.

Studies show that cold outreach can work...if properly executed. If you decide to implement cold outreach as part of your ABM strategy, make sure you encourage your employees to use the most effective practices:

• They must identify themselves. 79 percent of unidentified calls go without a response
• Use "we" statements--Successful cold calls include 65% more "we" statements
• Personalize the content to each person who will be receiving it. 57 percent from C-level purchasers prefer to receive a call

Don'trely too heavily on scraped data

Account-based marketers require data to create their ideal client or company profiles. However, relying on bought or scraped data can lead to illiterate ICPs. Moreover, it can cause your company to contact potential customers without their permission and can harm your branding and may cause prospects to unsubscribe or flag your emails as spam.

It is recommended to create your ICPs through primary research like surveys or customer interviews. If necessary, you can supplement your personas with secondary research from trusted sources like magazines for trade or industry publications, or even tools such as Sparktoro.

Do not overlook the ROI

The process of calculating the ROI on your ABM investment isn't difficult, especially if you focus on these metrics and employ an ABM software to help.

Although certain ABM techniques (like the events) are more uncertain when measuring ROI There's no reason to be hesitant about selecting these methods if there's no proof they'll bring about a change or make deal.

Don't make the mistake of organizing large, costly experiential events and spending money on merchandise to increase "brand awareness" without determining the relationship between these expenditures to your main KPIs and goals.

Beware of ignore accounts that aren't fit for you.

Just because an account isn't an ideal fit for your business or product doesn't mean you should ignore the account completely. Although an account may not produce a sale it could have other advantages, like publicity or valuable insights gained from interactions with the account.

The trick is to not focus on short-term results and instead focus on the game that will last for a long time ABM.

How can you tailor ABM campaigns for your top-tier clients

While ABM is a great option, it's also important to be aware that every account is not made equal. Your top-tier clients--the ones who have the highest potential for revenue for your company--are worthy of special consideration.

In deciding on the best accounts, you must concentrate your efforts on a group of premium accounts with the highest opportunities for growth.

Your top-tier clients are used to getting the best of the best, and your content and experiences must reflect that standard. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to blow the bank--but it does mean making the effort to produce quality, high-quality content that will capture interest and yield outcomes.

Here are a few options to personalize your ABM campaigns to attract top customers. (Hint: They include video!)

Account-based marketing videos

Marketing videos that are based on accounts present your brand's story in a relatable and engaging way, far more so than a written marketing campaign. Videos are a great method to show your product or service in action and give prospective customers an understanding of its benefits and capabilities.

What do these look like in practice? If you're just beginning to break into a new account, it's useful to introduce the team with a short video. It gives decision makers at the organization a chance give a face to an individual and to begin building a relationship with your staff.

The video you create doesn't have to be fancy--a quick tour of your office and introductions of each member of your team will suffice. Make sure that it's concise and professional. It should also highlight how your team is the ideal choice for your account.

Personalized screen recordings of the screen

Enhance engagement as well as the number of sales you can make by making personalized screen recordings. Instead of sending a customer-agnostic recording, take the time to record a tailored product demonstration with your ICP's pain points as well as your company's details in mind.

A custom-made recording can be an easy way to delight your prospect. Through enhancing your end-user's experience, you build trust , and boost the chance of them continuing into the funnel.

Video campaigns via email

Utilize account-based marketing video in your nurture emails. Rather than sending yet another generic "Look at what we can offer your needs!" message, try personalizing your emails with an engaging video that is that is relevant to the needs of your recipient.

Videos that focus on the pain points of your target company and provide precisely the way your products or services can solve the problems of potential customers will make a stronger impression.

This can help you stand out from the competition and demonstrate that you're prepared to go that extra mile in order to add quality. Video campaigns that are of high-quality through email could move potential customers to the next step in the funnel, and motivate them to schedule appointments with your sales team.

Virtual Events

These days, buyers deal with individuals whom they trust, love and believe in. A way to foster confidence and camaraderie among your customers is to host curated events. An example of this is an online VIP experience or experience for executives.

Avoid creating cookie-cutter experiences for your top clients--take time familiar with their wants and needs so you can design custom virtual events that offer pertinent solutions and connections to networks.

By putting in more effort early, you'll be able to make yourself known as a reliable company that's committed to helping businesses succeed in the over the long haul.

Programs to reduce the amount of chaff

ABM isn't over once you make the sale. Considering your ICPs are your "perfect" customers and you want to keep them engaged, it's best to engage them after purchase.

Inspire Customer Success to keep in touch the accounts you want to target every quarter or bi-annually, to ensure that their experience was positive. Participate in feedback loops so that you can gain invaluable feedback and learn how the customers use the software. You can even request they be part of Beta testing groups to test future features, or to play a role of consulting with your Product team.

Treating your accounts' customers as valuable customers can decrease churn and increase retention and the LTV of your customers.

Closing concepts

An effective account-based marketing strategy involves careful planning and implementation in a variety of dimensions and teams.

By taking the time to learn about your ideal customer and developing specific campaigns as well as custom-made video content, you can develop deeper connections and close more transactions.

And since ABM is trackable, you can always measure the outcomes of your work and trace new clients to your unique, original marketing campaigns.