7 tips to unearth treasure with ABM

Heather Adams | Senior Director, Demand & Account Based Marketing | Socure

7 tips to unearth treasure with ABM

There's gold in them thar hills…

From prospector to pirate; success relies on knowing where to dig to discover a rich reward.

And in ABM, there’s certainly treasure to be found!

But first, getting Sales onboard with your ABM strategy can make or break it. Sales and Marketing each hold a half of the ABM treasure map, showing where ‘X marks the spot!’

Align and put the two pieces together – and Marketing can help Sales unearth nuggets of gold (i.e. timely information on target account enagement, plus the right content and approach that can help them build relationships and close the sale).

That’s treasure hunting with Account-based Marketing!

And, it’s something that Heather Adams, Senior Director of Demand & ABM at Socure, knows well.

In the interview, we discussed:

How to succeed at One-to-few ABM
What to know about ABM and technology
How to build alignment with Sales
Heather’s advice on how to succeed at Account-based Marketing

Embrace every opportunity

The single biggest mistake you can make when adopting ABM is staying stagnant. After all, you wouldn’t dig for treasure in the same empty spots!

B2B Marketing is constantly evolving. New trends and technologies emerge, industries shift and transform, challenges arise and fall away.

So, be ready to embrace new approaches, test new things – and find new places to dig – to discover success with your ABM program.

Not every attempt will result in gold.

But, if you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to be ready to embrace every opportunity to target new accounts, build relevant relationships, and be prepared to pivot and experiment.

Center everything around your data

Consider data as the dotted red line on your ABM treasure map.

It leads you along the right path, and guides you toward that big ‘X’ that you’re aiming for – landing the accounts that matter most to your organization.

Ignoring such valuable guidance puts you at risk of taking a wrong turn.

But, even the most powerful data is useless without the right people interpreting and building upon it!

From account selection to ongoing tactics, messaging and program evolution – you need a solid data foundation and a strong partnership with Sales to get the results you seek.

Why? Because Salespeople are Marketers’ navigators! As you decipher that treasure map – they’ll help you to identify the best path, build a truly impactful program, and ensure you reach your final destination.

We partnered with Sales and Sales leadership in trying to really hone in and define our target verticals and accounts, and what we were going to prioritize. However, we also knew that we really needed to have data at the core of that to help guide us.

Heather Adams, Senior Director of Demand & ABM at Socure

Tap into the resources available to you

Imagine you’re searching for buried treasure. You can either navigate as usual, through tough terrain, or use every resource at hand to find a faster route to that X!

It may be obvious, but all too often ABMers fail to make the most of the resources available to them throughout their programs. Don’t be that person!

No matter the size of your ABM function, the maturity of your tech stack, or the depth of your budget – using all of your available resources is essential for success.

Those resources include:

Tapping into your first-party data,
Making the most of different skillsets and talents within your teams,
Giving every individual in your organization a voice – so they can contribute insights, ideas and feedback throughout the process.

Why? Because it’s not the size of the team or the budget that counts – it’s the determination and contribution of those involved, to reach that goal!

We had a smaller team, especially from the start. So, we really had to make the most of our resources and our programs to move the needle the most.

Heather Adams, Senior Director of Demand & ABM at Socure

Don’t be afraid to try, try again!

Don’t expect to hit gold every time you dig. ‘Trial and error’ is often the name of the game!

Very few who are new to ABM will get it right on the first try. And the truth is, the best programs are those that have seen failure, as well as success. They’re the ones that adapt and evolve with every learning and mistake.

One way to identify the best route to ‘gold’, is to adopt a ‘surround sound’ approach to targeting your accounts.

Every account, and every stakeholder within that account, will have different needs and pain points. They’ll also resonate with different channels and messages.

With a ‘surround sound’ approach to ABM, you can cover all bases – providing hyper-personalized experiences across LinkedIn, email, customized web pages, in-person events, etc.

A solid mix of physical and digital strategies is a strong way to unearth real treasure. It offers you a higher chance of engaging key decision-makers in a way that makes them feel valued and understood. Remember, generic experiences are not enough – you need to aim for the ‘wow’ factor!

Different types of people are going to resonate with different types of channels and content types, et cetera. So, we really worked to have a solid mix of digital and physical strategies.

Heather Adams, Senior Director of Demand & ABM at Socure

Team up with peers

Never underestimate the power of peer-to-peer strategies!

Remember, B2B is actually H2H – human-to-human. And no approach or technology is ever quite as authentic as a genuine human interaction. So, don’t be afraid to connect with people and build those relationships.

Taking the time to ‘show someone that you know them’ helps to unite people, makes everyone feel understood, and enables lasting impressions and relationships.

That’s why face-to-face communication should be a tool in every ABMer’s arsenal. By connecting key stakeholders with like-minded peers and thought leaders, you can build a reputation for your brand as a trusted advisor. Don’t underestimate that power!

It's very likely that your target accounts are experiencing the same issues that their peers have been tackling, or may have tackled. And so, we really try to get that incorporated into the experience.

Heather Adams, Senior Director of Demand & ABM at Socure

Seek out the gold!

Remember that in ABM, you’re treasure hunting – not digging for any old rubbish!

With ABM, you need to keep your eye on the prize and look out for the tiny golden flecks that can lead your program to the next level, and help you unearth a true golden nugget: a long-lasting relationship with your target accounts.

And by flecks of gold, we mean your data insights!

You have data across your organization at your disposal. Your challenge is to unearth it, harness it, then make the right data available to the right people.

Remember – your teams are busy! So, as an ABMer, it’s up to you to dedicate time and resources to educate them, share that knowledge, and make sure the whole crew has access to the golden insights they need to bring your program to life.

We had a brand-new ABM platform, 6sense. It has so much data in there. And really, sometimes the challenges can be to get the broader SDR and AE team aware of all those data insights, and then actioning them.

Heather Adams, Senior Director of Demand & ABM at Socure

Create your own treasure map

When treasure hunting, you can’t go in blind (or with a patch on one eye!). You need to have a set destination – an ‘X’ on the map – and a plan for how to get there.

Doing so means getting the foundations right. So, know your goals, align your strategy, secure buy-in and work in unison across multiple teams and departments to sketch the route to program success on your ABM map.

Then, as you navigate along the way, remember to mark the milestones you reach. Celebrating the small wins helps to keep your teams motivated – and also helps you monitor progress and pivot as necessary to ensure you stay on track!

Always approach things as a pilot. I think with ABM, there's so much there, it can be overwhelming if you're just starting out thinking that you have to over-engineer all of these components.

Heather Adams, Senior Director of Demand & ABM at Socure