Why ABM is the Next Big Thing in B2B Marketing?

Experts agree account-based marketing is the future of B2B marketing. According to survey results from SiriusDecisions, 62% of B2B marketers were using ABM in 2017. That number is a sharp increase from the 41% of respondents who said they were using ABM just a year before. Clearly, there is something to ABM marketing that makes it attractive to B2B marketing companies. If your team hasn’t adopted ABM strategies yet, though, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about.

How ABM Marketing Became Crucial to B2B Sales

Let’s start with the most obvious point: money. If you want a one-word answer for why more and more B2B companies are flocking to ABM marketing, this is it. While the SiriusDecisions poll is instructive for showing us how many B2B marketers are using ABM, arguably the most interesting statistic isn’t the adoption rate. On the contrary, the study also shows that more than 90% of B2B marketers say that ABM helps them score bigger deals. Simply put, B2B companies are selling more product and making more money with ABM accounts than they are with non-ABM accounts.

That particular finding, while informative, should not be particularly surprising. After all, account-based marketing is all about understanding clients and marketing to their wants and needs. An ABM campaign is a commitment to nurturing the relationship with a client. In short, it is the most efficient way there is to convince a B2B client that your company cares about them and their bottom line. And when clients think you care about them, they buy more from you and remain more loyal customers.

How B2B and B2C Are Different

Sure, there is more effort to ABM than there is to more general marketing campaigns. Just look at what most B2C companies are doing. They have the luxury of marketing to their audiences in large, universal groups. They don’t need to create different adverts or marketing materials for every individual customer. Instead, their campaigns are driven by one commercial, one mailer, one email and so on, every month, year or quarter.

Account-based marketing is considerably more complicated. You need to focus on persona development for each client. You need to build database lists with details about contacts at different companies, firmographics, technographics and much more. Only through extensive research and data collection can you determine what a client might need from you, how to pitch it, which channel to use when the proposition will be most effective. Wouldn’t it be easier just to use the B2C strategy and hit every potential client with the same pitch and the same marketing materials?

Here’s the thing about B2B companies: most of them only have a finite number of potential clients to target. Depending on your market—the industry you serve, the product or service you offer, your geographic radius and more—you could only have a few dozen clients that fit the bill. In other words, you’re nothing like a B2C company, which can hit millions of people with the same marketing message and profit from even a low conversion rate.

As a B2B market, you can’t afford to bother clients with messaging that might not apply to them. Instead, you need to do everything you can to hone, adapt, customise, and target your pitch. The more you focus on the hallmarks of ABM marketing, from database research to persona development—the better chance you have of landing that account.

>> Read our blog: The Future is Account-Based Inbound Marketing - You Heard it Here First! <<

ABM doesn’t stop with the initial windfall, either. On the contrary, you need to continue nurturing that relationship and anticipating the client’s needs. When done correctly, ABM marketing can provide your business with a steady stream of marketing for years and years. And since ABM is now commonplace, your clients expect that kind of relationship. Don’t disappoint them.