To say that marketing has turned on its head over recent years would be completely underselling the situation. Let’s not forget that not too long ago, a business’s primary method of attracting new business was to tap into so-called “traditional” marketing attempts involving leaflet drops, business cards and all sorts of other paper-based methods.
Of course, some of these methods still work very well. However, there has been a big shift in most industries to the digital world, with many turning their attention to the likes of search engine optimization and pay per click advertising.
Something that’s slightly more recent than the above comes in the form of account-based marketing. In turn, this has led to account-based selling, and the whole landscape has just got bigger.
In a nutshell, this involves targeting individual stakeholders in your marketing attempts – rather than having a blanket approach and aiming for the masses.
Through today’s post we will look at ABM, and highlight some of the reasons this is proving to be so popular for businesses.
Personal messaging is a given
Let’s start with one of the key benefits that surrounds ABM. There’s no doubt that personalization has become more common in marketing over the last few years, but there are obvious issues. The biggest is that you are targeting a huge number of people, and as a result there’s only so far that you can go with your personalization efforts.
This is where ABM really steps into its own. Because you are targeting individual stakeholders, your message can be as personal as you want. This added personalization means that the chances of closing suddenly soar.
The sales process is a whole lot faster
Another stumbling block through the typical marketing journey is that you are constantly liaising with multiple stakeholders. In some cases, this can work to your advantage, but in others it just stalls the decision-making process. Not all stakeholders will agree, and this just prompts a lengthy, drawn-out process.
As ABM focusses on one stakeholder, this risk is quashed somewhat. You are nurturing just one person, who has hopefully been targeted as a decision-maker, meaning that the sales process is now more efficient than ever before and shouldn’t take an age to complete.
You make decisions based on data
Next on the list is the power of data. This is something that should not come as a surprise to anyone; data is something that is becoming increasingly powerful in the marketing spectrum.
However, this power is increased a notch in the ABM model. It’s used to find prospects who will almost definitely convert – not the “maybes” which tend to flood a lot of marketing databases.
The bottom line factor
Finally, let’s talk about the bottom line. Ultimately, this is where ABM really comes into its own. The fact that it is such a targeted option means that the ROI tends to be significantly higher. Of course, the overall numbers might be lower, but the fact there is less “waste” amongst identified leads means that from a profitability perspective it’s a no-brainer.
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