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Traditional B2B demand generation techniques are becoming obsolete as privacy restrictions tighten and fewer consumers are ready to hand up their personal information. As a result, having an Account-based marketing (ABM) strategy to boost sales is critical. This focuses on top potential customers and employs both marketing and sales initiatives to pique the prospect’s interest and nurture them through the purchasing cycle. Here’s a tutorial on how to accomplish it.
COVID-19 prompted a surge in online shopping, as several ecommerce enterprises witnessed firsthand. What was already a fast-growing sector has accelerated as the world adapts to changing legislation, societal standards, and client wants. While rapid expansion in global ecommerce sectors and categories is expected to level off,
The majority of the B2B buying journey occurs anonymously until the buyer approaches the point of purchase, which is why a tech-driven “zero-touch” demand gen strategy is vital for growth. And, as ABM tech platforms become more common, they are considerably easier to implement (think Marketo, Pardot, and HubSpot).
Before I go any further, it’s critical to adjust your mentality from viewing ABM as a lead generation campaign to viewing ABM as a sales intelligence initiative. It’s about identifying prospect behavior and weighting sales intent/intelligence and brand engagement over “funnel lead scoring” (engagement is a superior indicator for forecasting revenue).
The change and the justification for ABM: The journey of an anonymous buyer
Customers in our always-on, buy-anything-anywhere world expect personalized, dynamic, and convenient purchasing experiences, and B2B purchasers are no exception. As a result, many organizations are attempting to reinvent themselves, adapt to new business models and technology, meet new consumer expectations, and compete.
It’s an excellent time (and opportunity) for a B2B company to support such transitions — but gaining mindshare (much alone wallet share) is difficult. The purchasing journey is increasingly being conducted digitally:
- Two-thirds of B2B buyers say they are now “self-serving” more information before contacting vendors.
- 63% of purchases have more than four people involved in the buying group (up from 47% in 2017).
- The number of buying interactions during the pandemic jumped from 17 to 27 (the number of buying interactions reflects one individual’s buying journey to obtain information about competing offerings or providers).
- 74% of B2B marketers say they are seeing customers taking more control over the buying process.
- 62% say they can now develop selection criteria or finalize a vendor list — based solely on digital content.
- 70% of the buyer’s journey is complete before a buyer even reaches out to sales.
When you analyze the preceding, you can see why a “zero-touch” strategy is so crucial; it allows the prospect to buy the way they want to buy, rather than the way you want to sell. This is where ABM comes in. A zero-touch strategy that yet provides B2B buyers with highly tailored and curated experiences.
What are the goals of ABM?
Identify a composite pattern of digital cross-channel account behavior that indicates interest and allows for a highly strategic sales engagement with those targeted segments/accounts. Specifically:
- Convert target account ABM brand awareness into website traffic.
- Continue to hyper-segment accounts that show interest in a secondary strategy and messaging (for example, a case study, further zero-touch tactics/assets, etc.).
- Use a funnel/DRIP system to implement funnel-based customisation.
- Optimize ad budget and activity toward accounts that demonstrate website and ad engagement.
- Evaluate the impact on traffic to points of conversation (such as the “Contact Us” button or a “zero-touch” contact form) and re-target non-converting accounts.
- ABM programs must meet pipeline targets and key outcomes (OKRs).
Ground guidelines for ABM program governance
It’s time to make some new buddies! To work as smoothly as possible and achieve alignment throughout the organization, ABM requires rules of engagement amongst everyone engaged (especially marketing, sales, and IT). Misalignment is a problem since it impacts all aspects of ABM, including strategy, execution, and measurement. This can be resolved by focusing on common goals and rewards. Determine the ABM Team and sit down to brainstorm