Great marketing is essential to building a powerful business. Recently, account-based marketing which aligns the sales and marketing process to build relationships with a very targeted, specific set of accounts, has exploded in popularity.
Taking the time to get to know your customers and target them with specific messages to solve their unique pain points can payoff, but it also can be a little challenging to get started.
There are several elements to consider when developing or improving existing account-based marketing strategies. This article will explore effective tactics that will help you build strong account based marketing campaigns. Let’s dive in.
Use Social Intelligence to Get to Know Your Clients
Getting to know your potential and existing accounts is essential in building a strong ABM strategy. One way to do this is to follow them on their social media channels. You can also set up Google alerts to automatically be notified about their new developments.
If you get good news about your accounts, sending a congratulatory email will go a long way in helping build a strong relationship. Keeping track of their developments will also help you to better understand their needs and provide products and solutions that will be useful to their companies.
Develop Personalized Offers for Prospects
Personalization is an important part of the marketing process. When targeting a prospect, gather as much information on them as you can. Then use this information to make them an offer they can’t refuse.
A personalized approach will ensure that prospects pay attention to your communication and it will increase chances of a conversion.
Be Smart About Designating Accounts to Your Sales Reps
The rep each account is dealing with can make all the difference in the conversion process.
Before assigning a rep to an account, ask yourself, which of my reps is best able to handle this account? Determine who you will be giving the account to based on past experience, existing relationships the rep might have with the company and their availability.
This will really put your best foot forward when it comes to establishing a great relationship with your potential clients.
Develop a Complete Database of Contacts
When you are dealing with a contact at a company, you want to have as much information on them as possible. Merely listing their name, role, telephone number and email address is not enough. You should also provide information regarding their last communication, the best times to reach them and anything else you think is relevant. This is where a CRM can come in handy.
Including this information will provide your clients with a seamless experience, especially if multiple people are handling the account. It will also let your contacts know that you are taking the time to get to know them and you are not treating them like just another account.
Social media is particularly good for updated details. Start with obtaining main contacts from websites and LinkedIn then spread further out to find associated accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn and other helpful industry platforms.
Provide Free Services to Get Meetings
In the B2B market, offers for free webinars or white papers can open the door for meetings.
Prepare and provide customized reports for example that show you really know the prospect’s industry as well as what you can do for them. Although it takes time, this can put you above competitor’s in the eyes of the prospect very quickly.
For instance, if you are wooing a company, offer to provide them with research reports that can help boost their marketing efforts or business in general. Free technology assessments and audits can also help you get your foot in the door.
By offering these services, you are showing potential clients that you can give them value. Once you catch their attention, set up a meeting to see if you can bring them further along in the funnel.
Retarget to Increase Visibility
Only 2% of customers convert on the first visit to a website. Retargeting uses AI to take note of prospects who have visited your web site and continues to make your products and services visible to them online to make a conversion more likely.
In the ABM arena, there have been many technological innovations for retargeting in recent years. Demandbase is a targeting a personalization platform that is now offering an Account Based and Targeting service that uses ip addresses to identify their vendor’s target accounts based on their online activities. When these accounts visit a website in the Demandbase network, their vendor’s advertisement will appear.
The increased visibility will keep your business fresh in a client’s mind and the next time he or she needs the services you offer, they will be likely to turn to you first.
Create a C to C Campaign
Having your sales reps and marketing specialists work an account can be effective, but nothing can top creating a great C to C campaign.
A C to C campaign involves having one C-level executive (CEO or otherwise) contact a C-level executive at another company to initiate a conversion. Executives will appreciate this level of attention and they will respond by giving it the consideration it deserves.
Once the relationship is established, VP’s, sales reps and marketing teams can come onboard to keep things running smoothly.
Discover Connections to Accounts That Exist Outside of Sales
We already discussed how valuable it can be to get a sales rep who has existing ties to your prospects to work their accounts. However, ties may also exist among workers who are outside of your sales team. For instance, maybe one of your department heads went to college with one of their VP’s.
These kinds of preexisting relationships can be valuable in moving you farther along in the funnel.
Account based marketing is a strategy at the core which is dependent on customization and personalization. It ultimately helps align the sales and marketing process for deeper relationships with clients. It can make all the difference in helping you stand out from your competitors. What ABM tactics will work best for your business?
Image Credit: American Marketing Association
The original version of this article was first published on V3Broadsuite.
- Tactics to Drive Your Account Based Marketing - June 30, 2020
