If we had to guess, we bet you have 5-10 key accounts that you’d absolutely love to have as clients/customers in your lead generation targets.
Significant accounts that would benefit from your products/services, and would help you grow significantly.
Sounds about right?
In most instances, these high-ticket accounts will seem out of your reach, but what if we told you that there was a way to get your messaging delivered to the desks of key decision makers?
Enter: account-based marketing (ABM) – the best lead generation strategy that helps you target key strategic decision makers and secure those killer clients you’ve always wanted.
What is account-based marketing?
The first question you’re probably asking: “What is account-based marketing?”
That’s fair – for many of our clients, ABM is an alien concept. Here’s an analogy we like to use to use:
ABM is like heading out on a ship with harpoons. You’re not bothering with the little fish (your net can handle those), you’re looking for the whales – your Moby Dick. Your marketing is hyper-targeted to the specific business and decision maker, directly addressing their pain points.
This hyper-targeted lead generation methodology is designed to bypass any gatekeepers and get your message directly to the people who need to see it.
What are the benefits of account-based marketing?
1. Speak directly to key decision makers
The most obvious advantage is that ABM turns the marketing funnel on its head. Instead of casting a broad net and trying to attract a large volume of leads to nurture and qualify, you’re identifying the most important target and going for them directly.
2. Shorten sales cycle
By cutting out the majority of the marketing process, ABM can dramatically shorten the sales cycle. Personalised outreach and targeted messaging can help to move prospects through the funnel more quickly, reducing the time to close.
3. Significantly grow your business
Your target accounts are very likely to be a boon for your business.
A sudden boost in revenue can help catapult your business, allowing you to invest in further marketing and growth. ABM provides fantastic opportunities for SMEs looking to grow quickly.
4. Build stronger long-term relationships with clients
A big part of the ABM process is building rapport with prospects.
As you’re dealing directly with key decision makers, by the end of the process you’ll have built a strong relationship, one that will persist throughout your ongoing relationship with the business as a customer/client.
How to successfully use account-based marketing for lead generation
Now that we’ve been through the benefits of ABM, here are 6 secrets to creating a killer ABM lead generation campaign that will truly resonate with your key accounts.
1. Identify your target accounts
Naturally, before getting started, it’s essential that you know exactly who you’re targeting.
This means:
- Identifying the key decision maker(s) and finding their contact details (email addresses, specifically). There are market analytics tools such as hunter.io that can help you predict the email addresses of your intended target.
- Understanding your targets’ individual and organisational pain points.
- Taking the time to understand what’s going on in their industry (this is to help you demonstrate a better understanding of their organisation).
- Listening to your sales team and analytics (they’ll know who best you should be targeting!).
2. Develop personalised content
Generic content just won’t do for ABM.
Remember: your targets are going to receive hundreds of emails, calls, texts and other messages from businesses just like yours, often promising the world.
Your targets are busy people, you need to respect that and come up with some unique content that’s going to stand head and shoulders above the competition.
You might choose to:
- Send a physical letter (nobody gets physical mail anymore, you’d be surprised at how well this works!).
- Create a custom video specifically for the recipient.
- Build personalised case studies (potentially of their competitors) showing how you’ve helped them to succeed.
There are many more we could list here, but we can’t give away all of our secrets! Want to speak to us directly about more ABM ideas? Click the link below to talk to one of our ABM experts.
3. Leverage a multichannel marketing strategy
By this, we mean that you need to be absolutely everywhere.
Your target accounts should receive your custom comms, they should find a connection request form you, they should see personalised ads on their social channels and, eventually, you may even see them at an event.
To them, it’ll seem like a coincidence. Every time they think or search for a solution to their problems, you’re there, an omnipresent accident.
4. Align your sales and marketing teams
ABM does not work if your sales and marketing teams aren’t communicating properly about lead generation.
You need to ensure alignment on goals, messaging, and account priorities. Marketing should share metrics and successes with sales, and the two teams should discuss exactly when sales should get involved and try to close.
5. Data and analytics are your best friends
If you’re not tracking engagement, your ABM will fail.
Strategies are not set ‘em and forget ‘em; they’re fluid and change in real time. You need to know engagement rates, conversion rates and more, adjusting your campaign as and when required to ensure you’re delivering an incredible experience for your target accounts.
6. Focus on relationship building
ABM is not just about making a sale; it’s about building long-term relationships with key accounts.
Reach out to them, offer genuinely insightful advice and content that they may find enjoyable/useful. Foster trust and loyalty over time and reap the reward when they convert!
Get support running a successful account-based marketing campaign
Successful ABM lead generation campaigns take a fair amount of time, effort and persistence.
If you find yourself keen to give it ago, but aren’t sure where to start, don’t worry – that’s perfectly normal. We recommend getting in touch with our ABM specialists at Catalyst.
We’re here to help you conceptualise, create and deliver killed ABM campaigns that get you noticed and ensure you’re talking to key accounts ASAP.
