What if you could shorten your sales cycle, and save time and money, all while creating strong relationships with customers that gain you more business?
It’s a tall order, but an ABM strategy could do all that and more.
Gone are the days when you could throw up a blog post and get a bunch of traction. Now personalization is a major key to gaining and keeping an engaged audience.
For B2B businesses, this has led to an increase in ABM, also known as account-based marketing.
What is ABM content?
Using an ABM strategy means that you are personalizing your content. This helps your audience in individual roles with varying responsibilities.
ABM content is much more focused than traditional B2B marketing.
Instead of reaching out to a broad market of businesses with a certain revenue, you are more specific about the types of companies and the details. You have actual brands in mind that you will target.
Think, I’m going to target Nike versus I am going to target midsize sports stores with a million dollars per year in revenue. As the name suggests, you are targeting specific accounts, whether it be your top twenty, hundred, or more.
Consequently, this drastically changes your messaging.
You create an ABM strategy that speaks clearly to your target rather than a broad message that you hope lands with some companies.
How do I get started with ABM?
If you are taking the time to build a marketing strategy then you’re looking for results.
When creating content for ABM you need to think about the overall account. Also, specific prospects that are making the decisions within those accounts. You will be thinking about how you can share timely, personalized messages relevant to your prospects’ pain points.
You can start by doing account-specific research to create profiles.
Find out who the decision-makers are within the target company. Profile the ones that are relevant to your business. Find out the type of content they consume regularly and how your business can help them overcome their fears and challenges.
How do I know what accounts to target?
Maybe you already have some dream target accounts in mind. That’s great, but perhaps you don’t and are not sure where to start.
Start with your best customers. What makes them your best customers?
Is it the revenue that they bring into your business every year? Is it that they’ve been consistent with you for a long time? Is it the systems they have in place or the technology they are using?
Profile them and track why they are a great fit for your business. What characteristics do they have in common?
You can then find similar accounts that become your target accounts. While you are searching and formulating your list of target companies, make sure to track potential contacts at those companies as well.
Pay attention to contacts that are new to the company or are in a new role and how you can help them. They will be more receptive as they are just getting started and ready to prove themselves effective.
If your list of potential accounts is extensive, you can rank the companies you want to target into tiers to determine who to contact first. Consider not only who would be your most dreamy customers but also who would be most receptive to your offer.
How do I create content in ABM?
You can then begin creating targeted content that meets the needs of your prospects. If you do not have the time and resources to start from scratch with your content, rework existing content to better reach your target.
Some things to add to your content to make it more personalized:
- Terminology that your prospects understand
- Relevant industry examples
- Case studies from the same industry
- Relevant storytelling
With ABM, you have to think about your sales funnels differently. You are working on scoring the accounts first.
You create personalized content to engage prospects, and then you build up those relationships. Consider the account overall but also specific members of the team that are making the buying decisions. If there are stakeholders involved, think about them too. Dig deep.
Also, brainstorm with your team about the types of content you will use. What will be most effective?
Will it be email marketing campaigns, blog posts, social media content, or phone campaigns? It will all depend on your research and how your prospects like to consume content.
Look for the holes in your current content strategy.
Your whole content strategy does not have to be ABM. ABM can be one part of it. But you need to review your current content strategy. Determine where you can add more targeted and personalized content to make ABM a part of your overall strategy.
What percentage of your content should be ABM? That is up to you and your goals. Start with a percentage, say 25%, and see how it goes and how your numbers change. Align your ABM content strategy with the buying process to maximize results.
And don’t forget storytelling.
Storytelling is a crucial component of any marketing strategy. Take those fears and challenges that you learned about in your research. Then weave in stories to help your prospects see how your products and services can help make their lives better. Cast the vision, so your target accounts see that you are the solution they need.
Why add ABM to my strategy?
ABM will save you both time and money while better meeting your goals.
When content is not strategic and personalized, it gets wasted. Potential customers are not engaged with it. Instead, put that effort into targeted content with a clear plan.
Get your content right, and you will shorten the sales cycle. You will also get measurable results that will help you adjust your strategy and improve over time. As a result, you can put your effort into fewer accounts but ones that are a better fit for your business.
You will also be building strong relationships with your customers, which can bring in more leads.
Get help with a content strategy session today to clarify how to add ABM to your current strategy or start building out your strategy from scratch.
