Strategies to Kickstart your ABM Campaign

Identifying strategies to kickstart your ABM campaign starts here. Account-based marketing (ABM) is a growing tool to help marketers create high-impact campaigns. In terms of lead generation, ABM has some built-in advantages that could maximize any marketing budget. But to create an effective sales funnel, campaign managers need to layer their strategies effectively.

But what are these strategies, and how can account-based marketing kickstart your next campaign?

1. Align all campaign resources

The best marketing strategies optimize the available resources. To do that, campaign managers need a complete account of the assets available to their campaign. Resources here mean everything of value that drives towards the campaign goals, which will include:

  • Budget
  • Team
  • Time frame
  • Reach of current platform

The budget is all the financial capital set aside to cover expenses. Campaign expenses will include creating marketing materials, paying for ads, engaging with accounts, and other processes. Before anything else, a campaign manager must establish the budget.  It will dictate which ABM tools can offer the best return on investment (ROI).

The team is another critical resource to assess. There need to be enough skilled people to handle campaign tasks like design work, copywriting, market analysis, sales development, and client engagement.

Reach means the size of the available audience based on the business’ existing platforms. Assets that define the campaign’s potential reach include social media presence, mailing lists, business-to-business (B2B) relationships, and brand recognition.

2. Establish the campaign goals

It’s impossible to develop a strategy without a clear vision for what the outcomes should be. Goal-setting is an essential step in any marketing, so campaign managers need to establish the goals that will define success.

Clearly defined goals should be measurable. An account-based marketing strategy focused on launching a product will likely have sales targets to hit. On the other hand, a growth-based campaign might aim for different metrics like social media engagement or ranking on the first page of key search results.

Whatever the goal, a clear set of targets keeps everyone working towards the same outcomes. Strong goal-based guidelines also make it easier to gauge success during a campaign, allowing for early adjustments where needed.

3. Create an ideal customer model

With the goals established, it’s time to hone in on the best accounts to target. Customer models or profiles continue to be a strategic way to do this. Treat the customer models as a guideline to identify the most impactful traits an account should offer.

For example, an ABM campaign driving to increase social media presence in the cosmetics market will look for certain qualities in its targeted accounts. These might include large online followings, credibility with the consumer base, willingness to work with brands, and a history of successful brand partnerships.

Even if certain accounts fit the bill, avoid building the model around what’s available. That can limit the scope to safe and tested options, reducing lead generation through new audiences. Instead, identify key traits and how well they align with the campaign’s goals.

Need some extra help building an ideal customer model that targets lead generation? Take a look at this customer profile guide for more key insights.

4. Create targeted messages for each account

Targeted messaging is where account-based marketing strategies shine. Setup is so important to an AMB campaign because the previous steps all work to make the most of this one.

When engaging with the ideal accounts, there should be a unique message that speaks to the values of each one. Targeting is about focusing on how the campaign can benefit the audience, not the business. You already know the benefits for your business, so it’s time to emphasize the unique value proposition (UVP) to targeted accounts themselves.

The UVP isn’t limited to a product or service. Consider additional value such as brand status, customer support, market position, and credibility. Building a customer model helps identify the needs of valued individuals and positioning your business as the best solution.

5. Identify the most effective channels for the message

The messages don’t need to be fully drafted yet, but they should establish a unique value proposition for each account. Now it’s time to find the channel that will deliver it most effectively.

Depending on the existing resources, several communication channels are available, including:

  • Social media posts
  • Email
  • Mailing list
  • SEO blogs
  • Paid advertising
  • Website
  • One-on-one meeting
  • Virtual events
  • Publications

ABM emphasizes planning to help campaign managers craft their messages for the proper channels.

Broader channels like mailing lists and social media posts effectively target many accounts that have already engaged with the brand. Paid advertising and SEO blogs also target multiple accounts but look to generate new leads instead of converting existing ones.

When it comes to targeting individual accounts, though, direct email, networking at events, and one-on-one meetings are the best channels. These channels rely most on the uniqueness of each message, which means tone, email cadence, and the delivery of the UVP are essential.

A growing solution in targeted marketing

Account-based marketing is about creating impactful interactions by targeting businesses and customers in ways that generate leads. Not only can it optimize marketing resources, but it focuses on creating a sales funnel of highly engaged, active accounts.

ABM works best with a goal-focused approach. Marketing teams shouldn’t neglect the planning stages— early planning will define if the strategies are executed well in the long run. By implementing the right strategy from the beginning, you can kickstart your ABM campaign for the best results every time.

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Kickstarting your ABM campaign starts with clean and accurate data. Whether it’s leads validation, content curation or social influencer identification, Impact Enterprises provide those services that can help you identify ideal customers to target in your strategy. For more information, visit https://impactenterprises.org.