Account Based Marketing is a specialized approach that has been proven for B2B industries. Traditionally, marketing has focused on producing a “wide-net” funnel where marketing is used to position a brand in such a way that a wide unknown net of interested individuals can engage and learn specifically about the brand. Instead, with Account Based Marketing, the approach is much more direct, allowing Sales and Marketing teams to work together in delivering very personalized content to targeted accounts by identifying the top priority accounts. A multichannel approach, designed to engage those accounts directly, can then be delivered. This allows both sales and marketing to work in sync to ensure the most targeted, profitable leads are receiving the right marketing material.
Below are the five steps required for the Account Based Marketing “Rinse and Repeat” Approach:
Step 1: Identify Accounts
Gather intelligence from sales teams in terms of most profitable/engaged targets for marketing to focus on. In order to select the best accounts, marketing needs to work directly with the sales teams. The main considerations for choosing accounts should be high yield, product fit, competitor’s customers, and strategic importance.
Step 2 Profile Accounts
Once the accounts have been identified, the next step is to profile the accounts
- Identify the key decision makers in each account
- Identify the key influencers in each account
- Build value propositions for influencers and decision makers based on their group
- Build a map of where they are most likely to consume information
- Based on the information, find all contacts within a given account that fit your profile
Step 3: Create Content
Content should serve to deliver the main value propositions to prospects. This can be delivered through various channels including digital advertising, drip email campaigns, and direct mail. Examples of content can cover client testimonials, white papers, case studies, blog posts, etc.
- Top of the funnel content will introduce the audience to the brand
- Middle of the funnel content will continue to sell and re-engage potential prospects
- Bottom of the funnel content will continue to sell and push prospects to contact sales
Step 4: Launch the Campaign
After the content has been created, you must launch, monitor and optimize campaigns on a regular basis. During this step, it is critical to define the appropriate sales and marketing workflows and how information will be communicated.
Step 5: Measure and Analyze
Define the appropriate KPIs for the campaign. Set up the appropriate goals and tracking via Google Analytics and Data Studio to ensure there is a positive ROI from marketing initiatives as a whole.
As a final step, rinse and repeat.
