Account Based

Marketing (ABM):
from theory to best
practice
What we think ABM is, what we think its not, how some
companies are using it to solve sales challenges, and
why we think you should care.

read on

Lots of people today talk about accountbased marketing or ABM. The problem
is that if you ask 10 people what it is you
get 11 different answers. Its a term that
gets tossed around a lot because its
fashionable. But we think its a hugely
important approach that can get sales
and marketing to team up, create deep
insights that help sales people sell, and
help their customers succeed too.
So, in a nutshell, our version of ABM is
unifying data, content and technology
to create deeper, wider, more relevant
material and conversations that drive
higher-quality sales pipelines. And if its
done right the results should be clearas-creek water ROI where everybody
knows what they put in and what they
got out of it.

Account Based Marketing (ABM): from theory to best practice

sales

marketing

ch-ch-ch-changes
why is all this important?
Because its tougher than ever to sell

But there are other reasons too, such as

and in part thats because (provocative

commoditisation

statement incoming) todays buyers are

causing more and more products to look

more intelligent than sellers. Or at least

alike. In tests we conducted, seven out of

we can say that they hold a lot of good

10 companies couldnt identify their own

cards because its easier than ever to be

marketing messages when they were laid

that famous modern phenomenon - an

alongside those of rivals!

and

standardisation

empowered buyer. Empowered because

the digital world lets buyers compare

At the same time we see more and more

prices, specs and reviews and buy from

people getting involved in the buying

anybody, anywhere.

process so its impossible to target just

one key decision-maker with confidence.

That all means that buyers are a long way

companies couldnt identify their

own marketing messages when they
were laid alongside those of rivals

down the purchasing decision line, maybe

90- per cent of the way there, before they

So, jumping to the top-line view, the

even engage with suppliers. The RFP

ultimate indicator of growth becomes

today has often become just a way to

harder than ever to achieve.

check assumptions and your organisation

needs to get deep into their minds before
that watershed.

Account Based Marketing (ABM): from theory to best practice

Complicated stuff

smarter thinking
At the same time we cant just throw

A personalised service. Its a common

marketing money at the problem because

enough phrase but its about more than

after years of macroeconomic doubt there

just focusing on a sector such as banking.

isnt the appetite for that in too many

It involves getting close to the real people

organisations. But thats OK, we can try

behind the buying sign-off: their passions,

to be more creative and try new ways to

needs, worries and agendas. Ideally

stretch our marketing funds using the

youd want to know what theyre reading,

latest technologies (weve all seen the

their previous roles and companies,

Gartner forecast for CMOs spending more

what forthcoming regulations will affect

on IT than CIOs) and intelligent thinking.

them and how they are perceived in their

We can move from a hard sell to a smart

company and beyond.

sell.
That smart sell involves a lot of things
and one of the big ones is winning loyalty.
Meriting that loyalty will require showing
thought leadership (say 79 per cent) just
to make a shortlist. And half of buyers
want a personalised service. [ITSMA, B2B
buyers survey 2014]

Account Based Marketing (ABM): from theory to best practice

But a personalised service also involves

(and a version of the 80-20 rule) that a

thinking laterally and proactively. Sales

small minority of customers will account

people have to ask: how can I help this

for a large majority of sales. And its in

person to be more knowledgeable and to

those accounts, whether youre trying to

do their job better? That means delivering

win them, keep them or expand in them,

product details of course but also how

that its critical to show insight.

those products can help in the context of

whats going on around the specific buyer

The numbers dont lie. BT Global Services

or buyers. It means delivering unique

saw a 50 per cent uptick in sales won

perspectives and, afterwards, ongoing

when using our insight platform. But its

advice.

a mixture of human with machine, bits and

bytes with people and processes that you

You

can

do

nothing

without

that

need. And as well as combining the best

evidential

insight

and

of these, you also need to combine the

thats why marketing needs to move from

worlds of sales and marketing experience

mass to focused. This isnt just some

in getting close to the customer and

fancy new idea. Its well established lore

marketing insights.

personalised,

Account Based Marketing (ABM): from theory to best practice

start from here

If your interest has been piqued by this, how do you start?
It helps to think of the end at the beginning.

custom

marketing

plans

for

those

What are your goals? What does success

accounts and powered them with existing

look like? For the global ICT services

materials. Last, it measured successes

company CSC it was about getting really

and failures with pre-established metrics.

deep client insight and moving from

traditional mass marketing to best-in-

Its important to say that you dont have

class ABM. That means focusing on not

to start from scratch but it is important

just the sector, company or even the

to conduct an audit of current content

abstract persona but named individuals

and marketing capabilities: what youre

that made its B2B2i (the i being the

doing on the web, in social media,

individual) a success.

recent campaigns, marketing and CRM

automation tools, advertising, mobile and

CSC started by collating human and

machine-generated

insights

analytics.

with

research. For step two it mapped out

And (while obviously the answer staring

accounts to be developed and set out

you in the face is agent) you need to find

relationships needed. Third, it created

the right partner in ABM.

Account Based Marketing (ABM): from theory to best practice

Lots of companies today are reinventing

of those precious quick wins. With an

themselves

but

insight foundation established it added

beware those who are just slicing and

more high-touch and some low-touch

dicing their mass marketing capabilities.

accounts. (To preserve resources no

Go with an agency that will let you try

marketer was aligned for the low-touch

before you buy and can show some on-

accounts.) A Net Promoter score was

the-ground experience of working in a

taken to assess where CSC was. Phase

sales environment.

three was about industrialising ABM with

as

ABM

specialists

broader roll-out and tweaked measures

You probably want a slick user experience

plus more communications across the

too: a single view onto relevant news,

marketing department and company and

insights and knowledge base that is

of course taking into account feedback.

regularly updated and has a red button

for when you need human help.

The happy outcome was that CSCs

sales team liked the system, sales was

CSC put this into practice by doing that

better aligned with marketing, and more

content/marketing audit, bringing sales

relevant, insightful CxO conversations

teams into the process and initially

took place as accounts shifted over to an

focusing at the pilot stage on about

ABM approach.

30 high-touch accounts to get some

Account Based Marketing (ABM): from theory to best practice

ten takeaways

Have a vision and make

sure you win executive
sponsorship and buy-in.

Realise that ABM needs people.

Its strategic, not peripheral and
it needs dedicated resources.

Drill down to make those insights

relevant, not generic across an
industry or even a company.

Account Based Marketing (ABM): from theory to best practice

You have to come up with nuggets

of insight: these are your currency
to show relevance.

Engage sales because without

that engagement nothing good
will come

ten takeaways

Use ABM in every touchpoint with your customer.

It should be ingrained not
hammered on at the side.

Have a unique roadmap for your

ABM project. Methodologies and
tools are great but only you know
where the treasure (and skeletons)
are buried in your organisation.

Project-manage this properly.

You need a pilot and a chunkeddown, phased approach that
supports the ability to switch to
get back on track.

Account Based Marketing (ABM): from theory to best practice

10

ABM isnt a catch-all or

blanket approach use it for
the focus accounts

What are you trying to do? Is this

about growing relationships? Is
it to cross-sell and upsell? Is it
only for greenfield accounts?

Some of this is common sense of course

and familiar to anyone who knows the Build.
Operate. Measure. trinity. But ABM is more
than just a new, shiny thing or ITs latest
silver bullet. Its an opportunity to address
some of the fundamental frustrations and
challenges of running a business, a way to
get sales and marketing working together
rather than pursuing different agendas and
mind sets. Somewhere in that perfect storm
of new technologies, a more capable buyer,
a different competitive environment and
some new thinking theres a big opportunity.
Dont miss it.

Account Based Marketing (ABM): from theory to best practice

for further information about how

you can build a best practice ABM
programme email [email protected]