You’ve meticulously crafted an outstanding ABM strategy. You’ve identified the perfect angle to engage your target accounts. And you’ve created stunning assets showcasing your compelling value proposition.
Now, to ensure that all your strategic planning pays off, it’s essential to consider the key elements that will guarantee a seamless execution. What’s next? Incorporating the right strategic elements into your campaign planning to ensure success!
With your campaign launch imminent and time at a premium, efficiency is key. So, what strategic activation elements should you incorporate into your campaign planning to guarantee a seamless rollout?
There are seven core questions you need to ask to put your campaign live smoothly!
The hardest part of ABM? Execution. 100% execution. You can talk about Sales alignment. You can talk about personalization. You can talk about orchestration. But doing it at scale is what's challenging.
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It’s a simple question and the first you should ask.
When diving into Account-based Marketing (ABM), it's crucial to pinpoint the most promising target accounts and prioritize them based on your available resources and objectives.
Not every account will be the right fit for your ABM campaign. Think of who it is possible to target with the resources you have.
Most importantly, if you aim to generate a $5 million pipeline within 12 months, and your average sales cycle is 18 months, then it’s key to focus on accounts where you can make the biggest impact in the shortest time.
According to Terminus, companies with well-defined target accounts in ABM programs see a 208% increase in marketing revenue.
A leading financial services firm streamlined its target account list by focusing on Fortune 500 companies in the technology sector. This strategic move led to a 30% increase in engagement rates and a 15% boost in sales within six months.
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Figure out where the personalized content will come into play for the key decision-makers within your target accounts.
It's about finding those opportunities for personalization while being mindful of the resources and time needed for effective delivery.
It’s especially important to consider the impact when thinking about the type of ABM programs you are looking to build.
In One-to-many ABM campaigns, you are likely to be casting a wider net, targeting a broader audience with lighter-touch personalization.
This approach is the most scalable and requires the least resources per account, but it will likely require technology to help you to scale personalization.
Tools such as dynamic web personalization and advertising platforms can help to deliver a personalized experience to large groups of accounts at once. Personalization at this scale includes:
Efficient resource allocation: Utilize broader marketing efforts with minor customizations to appeal to a larger audience. At this level of personalization, one ABMer can usually coordinate the campaign into a target account list up to 100-200 accounts but will be more reliant on technology and scale.
General research: Conduct research at a macro level to identify common themes and industry trends that can be addressed in the campaign.
Broad content: Develop content that speaks to the general needs and challenges of the target market, such as industry reports, email nurture campaigns, and ad creatives.
Simplified orchestration: Manage a large number of accounts with automated and scalable tactics, ensuring consistency in messaging, with minimal custom touches.
Within One-to-few ABM campaigns, you are more likely to be focusing on a small cluster of 10-20 accounts, delivering a more tailored experience.
This approach allows for a higher level of personalization than One-to-many, but it is less resource-intensive than One-to-one.
The aim here should be to focus resources on identifying insights and creating cluster-personalized messaging aligned to a common challenge or need of the cluster, and then developing a mixture of content that communicates this messaging into the account.
Personalization at this scale includes:
Segmented resources: Grouping similar accounts together into a common cluster allows for more efficient use of time and resources, while still providing personalized content. One ABMer can usually own a whole cluster.
Focused research: Identify insights and common challenges or needs within the account cluster to act as the cornerstone on which to base your personalization.
Cluster-personalized messaging: Create messaging aligned to these common challenges or needs.
Customized content: Develop a mixture of content that communicates this messaging into the account, such as blog posts, targeted webinars, tailored white papers or manifestos, and semi-customized email series.
Coordinated orchestration: Ensure that messaging is relevant and resonates with the entire group, but with slightly less focus on individual nuances.
One-to-one ABM campaigns focus on highly personalized interactions tailored to individual target accounts.
This approach demands significant resources, as each account is treated uniquely with bespoke content and communication strategies.
Deep research into each account’s specific needs, challenges, and objectives is essential. Personalizing at this level means:
Dedicated resources: Allocating dedicated team members to manage the relationship and content creation for each account. One ABMer should not be expected to take on more than a handful of One-to-one accounts at once, due to the amount of effort and time required to carefully manage and coordinate the campaign.
In-depth research: Conducting thorough research to understand the account’s business landscape, decision-makers, and pain points.
Tailored content: Developing highly customized content, such as personalized emails, presentations, tailored manifestos, customized events and bespoke proposals.
Strategic orchestration: Coordinating personalized touchpoints across multiple channels to ensure a cohesive and relevant experience for the account.
Whatever level of ABM you are looking to implement, it is important to consider the best channels for delivering personalized content, be that through events, brochures, ads, or banners.
Make sure that the chosen medium aligns with your overall campaign strategy.
According to a study by Demand Gen Report, 95% of B2B buyers choose a solution provider that provides ample content to help navigate each stage of the buying process.
A tech startup used personalized email campaigns to target CIOs and CTO. By tailoring content to address specific pain points, it achieved a 40% open rate and a 20% response rate, significantly higher than industry averages.
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To ensure effective outreach means finding that sweet spot between what you can realistically achieve and what will bring the most value.
While you're striving for long-term excellence in terms of the account experience, you also have to prioritize actions that yield results in the short term.
So, think back to your past successes, and the channels that have brought in your best customers, whether this is through real stories or concrete data.
It’s wise to allocate 80% of your budget and resources to proven channels, and to set aside 20% for experimenting with new tactics.
It's about relying on what you know works well, while also embracing some fresh ideas, and being prepared in case change is required.
According to HubSpot, companies that diversify their marketing efforts across multiple channels can expect to see a 166% higher conversion rate compared to those that focus on a single channel.
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When launching your ABM campaign, it’s important to maximize the resources you have at your disposal.
A common misconception is that success in ABM requires a large team working around the clock. While having a large team can help to drive results faster, it’s not realistic for most companies. Instead, consider starting small and scaling as needed.
Begin with a manageable approach, such as having one ABM specialist oversee a small list of accounts, and working closely with a Sales Development Representative (SDR) to execute tactical ABM plays across a couple of channels.
This method allows for more personalized engagements, without overwhelming your team. Balance your available resources with your campaign ambitions to ensure a sustainable approach.
What is important is to think about the various key factors that can influence decisions around your resource allocation.
Remember, more accounts don’t automatically mean more revenue.
You have to make sure you’re focusing on the accounts that have the highest potential for delivering revenue and growth.
Consider the buying stages of each account, and prioritize ABM activity where it can have the biggest impact.
More complex sales typically require greater resource allocation, due to longer sales cycles and the multiple decision-makers involved.
Longer sales cycles will typically need resources in the form of two things: additional personalized content to be created, and additional subject matter experts, who can contribute their time to offering a more personalized experience for the account – whether that’s through content creation, or meetings and discussions.
Align tasks with team members’ strengths to optimize productivity and maintain high engagement levels. Identify skill gaps, and address them through training or hiring to ensure your ABM campaign is well-resourced and expertly executed. Investing in your team’s development enhances current and future ABM initiatives.
Although it is not essential for an ABM program, if you do have technology at your disposal then it is important to consider exactly what it is you have and, ultimately, how usable it is.
The right technology can streamline processes, automate repetitive tasks, and provide valuable insights through data analytics, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of your campaign.
While a well-allocated media budget ensures that your content reaches the right audience through the most effective channels, maximizing engagement and conversion rates.
By strategically investing in technology and media, you can enhance your campaign’s scalability, precision, and impact, ensuring that every dollar spent drives meaningful results.
To make the most of your media budget, you should focus on activities that play to your strengths, and have the potential for the most impact.
Put the bulk of your resources into well-established strategies, and set aside a smaller portion for exploring new opportunities, and experimenting.
Resource allocation is critical in ABM. Focus on high-impact activities and don't spread your resources too thin
Lastly, another important consideration is when you should scale and expand your ABM program with additional resources. The reality is… that depends. The decision to scale will be unique to each business’ circumstance. However, in general, there are two primary triggers for scaling.
When your existing ABM efforts are consistently delivering high returns, achieving key performance indicators (KPIs) and demonstrating significant impact on revenue and growth, it signals that your ABM strategy is effective and scalable. This success can justify the allocation of more resources and higher budgets to expand your program to additional accounts or markets, ensuring that you capitalize on the proven strategies that have driven your success.
Another reason may be that there is a need to expand the ABM approach into new markets or regions. This expansion often requires more resources to maintain the personalized and high-touch engagement that ABM demands. Scaling your team and resources accordingly ensures that you can effectively manage the increased workload and continue to deliver tailored, impactful campaigns across a broader audience.
Ultimately, it’s important that any decision to allocate more resources to ABM is tied to clear strategic business objectives. You need to ensure that the added value that new team members, new technology investments or higher media budgets provide is all tied back to driving the growth of the business.
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It's crucial to ensure seamless alignment between your Sales and Marketing teams to avoid missing out on any opportunities.
Your Sales team – whose members are reaching out to potential customers – needs to be well-versed in your ongoing campaign, and the specific angles of interest. Make sure they all know what each account is engaging with.
Artful communication with the team will keep everyone on the same page while ensuring your campaign runs smoothly.
To achieve success, it’s vital to ensure there is successful communication between your Sales and Marketing teams.
One of the best ways of doing this is to ensure there is a regular cadence of meetings in place, and that everyone is clear on roles and responsibilities for those meetings.
This will be different for every company, but whatever you do it’s important to set a schedule of touchpoints and stick to it.Our recommendations are that Marketing and Sales should be focused on having several key touchpoints across the ABM program.
Short operational updates 2-3 times per week (a short email or a 15-minute meeting between the ABMer and SDRs) – What is happening this week, any issues, any focus areas
Weekly sync meetings (30 mins) – Discuss ongoing campaigns, share insights, review account progress, and ensure alignment on messaging and tactics
Bi-weekly or monthly strategic Sprint meetings (60-90 mins) – Review broader campaign performance, adjust strategies, share major updates and plan upcoming initiatives. This is also a good time to discuss pipeline progress and account-specific strategies
QBRs, Quarterly (2-4 hours) – Conduct in-depth reviews of your ABM program’s performance, discuss strategic adjustments, set quarterly goals, and realign on long-term objectives. This is also an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the collaboration and refine processes
Not only is it important to have regular meetings and touchpoints, but it’s also vital to ensure that both teams are aligned around shared objectives. Identifying shared goals that roll back up to the overall business objectives will help to ensure everyone is pulling in the same direction. This should be focused on metrics linked back to the Three Rs of ABM – Reputation, Relationships, and Revenue – and will likely include metrics such as:
Accounts reached
Account engagement
Ad interactions and responses
Web visits
Content consumption
New contacts
Conversations started
Meetings booked
Pipeline created
A SaaS company achieved a 25% increase in conversion rates by aligning its Sales and Marketing teams. Regular meetings, shared KPIs and Dashboard ensured that both teams were working toward common goals, leading to a more cohesive ABM strategy.
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Another important consideration is identifying the key metrics that matter to your Leadership team, so you can focus on reporting those.
Don't waste time and effort gathering unnecessary data that doesn't align with their interests.
It's all about grasping your Leadership's priorities, turning them into actionable marketing metrics, and working from there.
Additionally, automating your reporting processes where possible can streamline operations and ensure timely, accurate, and consistent updates. Tools such as dashboards and automated reports can provide real-time insights, helping to maintain transparency and to keep Leadership informed without the need for manual data compilation.
By aligning your reporting with Leadership priorities, and leveraging automation, you can effectively demonstrate the impact of your ABM programs. This way, you will secure continued support and investment.
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Lastly, staying on top means continuously refining and adapting your approach to stay relevant and effective. Don’t fall into the ‘set it and forget it’ trap, as neglecting your campaign can lead to losing visibility with your target accounts, misusing budgets, and stagnation in account progression.
The environment in which your ABM program lives is constantly changing as the needs of your target accounts change and evolve. So, ABM has to be a constant process of regularly reviewing and refining your strategies in order to focus on creating feedback loops that allow you to gather key insights and continuously optimize your activity.
Regular reviews: Schedule monthly reviews to assess campaign performance
A/B testing: Implement A/B testing to optimize email subject lines, landing pages, and ads
Feedback loops: Establish feedback loops with your Sales team to gather insights on campaign effectiveness
Ask, ask, and ask again!
Ready to take your ABM campaigns to the next level? Don’t leave these questions until launch day. Identify the answers as early as possible in the process, and keep asking them throughout the process – to adapt to change and be ready for a successful campaign!
By considering these seven core questions, you can ensure a smooth rollout of your ABM campaign. Remember to stay flexible, continuously seek improvement, and align your efforts with both your team and Leadership in order to achieve the best results. Embrace the process, learn from each step, and watch your ABM strategy drive success.
