- The B2B Buzz
- Posts
- 3 Keys to Deliver ABM Effectively
3 Keys to Deliver ABM Effectively
This Week's Buzz
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
In today’s difficult economy, nothing could be more important than focusing on improving your company’s relationship with its key accounts. This week’s article I focus on 3 Keys to deliver a successful Account-Based Marketing initiative. If done right, ABM initiatives deliver on this idea of connecting better and smarter with your key accounts.
Don’t forget to join the Buzz Community, it has been completely reimagined using Mighty Networks. To join, simply go to the community landing page and ask to join. It's Free. Can't wait to chat with you all there.
And, of course, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for subscribing to the B2B Buzz. This endeavor is not possible with you -- our readers. For questions, comments, and feedback, please don't hesitate to let me know.
IN THIS ISSUE
This Week's Topic: Account-based Marketing
Buzz Community: We are live. Join Now.
More Buzz: Share the Buzz. Get Swag.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
3 Keys to Deliver ABM Effectively
Many firms that have a failed or underperforming ABM program have that deficiency for one of two reasons. One, the ABM initiative has the wrong scope and thus you are missing key elements to drive the return on investment in the program. Or two the ABM initiative is mis-aligned and company-wide efforts are counterproductive to the outcomes.
Key #1: M is for Marketing
All too often, I’ll walk into companies that claim to have an ABM program, but in actuality they have an “Account Based Advertising” program. That is to say, they are using customized ad tools to deliver advertising to key accounts. But that is only a modest component of a successful ABM initiative.
A true ABM program is a go to market initiative and looks at key accounts marketing from the point of view of the customer. We need to include all touch points in our ABM strategy pre-sale, during the sale, and after the sale to have an effective ABM initiative that not only delivers immediate impact but long term business value.
Key #2: Partner First, Then Plan
Creating and deploying an ABM strategy is a journey. Those that think it's turning on a tech stack are truly misinformed. A true business benefit is a well thought through ABM plan will deliver alignment among marketing, sales, customer service, account management, product development teams and others.
The first step in any successful ABM effort is to collaborate with the aforementioned teams and educate team leaders on what an ABM initiative ought to be and what a well thought out initiative will deliver in terms of revenue and business value. This thinking becomes the initiative's operational vision in terms of scope, priority relative to other company initiatives, and business case for investment.
Then and only then do we move on to the tactical decision-making to prioritize which key accounts to include in the program; identify areas of improvement relative to delivering a sound ABM initiative, and so forth. All too often, the partnering step is missed and the ABM program flounders and ultimately fails to deliver on its promise.
Key #3: Crawl, Walk then, Run
Many marketing teams start an ABM program and, frankly, bite off way more than they can chew. When planning an ABM initiative use a phased approach that builds upon the previous efforts. This will allow for two things. The implementation of the program will be much more manageable and accountable. And second, each group of incremental phases will deliver program progress and visible momentum to gain stakeholder engagement.
Additionally, when planning the phased implementation approach, you will discover the gaps in your own operations, technology, data and partners to deliver on your company’s vision of an ABM initiative. The knowledge of these dependencies for success are important, it allows you to see the “gotchas” beforehand and prepare accordingly. There are many dependencies to deliver a successful ABM initiative, it's important to have a well thought through roadmap to get there.
Simply put, account-based marketing can be a highly effective strategy for B2B companies looking to drive revenue growth and NPS. However, in order to be successful, it requires careful planning and phased execution. Keep these 3 keys in mind when implementing your ABM program.
What are your thoughts on ABM? Share your thoughts on The Buzz Community.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
How CMOs Are Proving the ROI of Marketing Automation.
Marketing teams rely on many contributors to run smoothly, but ultimately, the CMO is the one responsible for proving that collective effort is delivering the big results for outside stakeholders.
Download Adobe’s eBook to learn about how real CMOs used Marketo Engage to reduce cost, increase revenue, and prove serious ROI for their marketing teams.
THINGS IN OUR INBOX*
Front Office Sports - Influence of sports on business and culture
They Got Acquired - For entrepreneurs who are thinking about selling their company
Growing Up - For Founders and Leaders of SaaS and Software Firms
|
|
SOLUTIONS & TOOLS*
Keap - CRM and Automation for SMB.
Quickbooks - For entrepreneurs and businesses looking for financial management.
Zoominfo - B2B Data at Scale for Marketers & Sellers.
Jasper AI - AI for Marketers