Discover how ABM strategies can supercharge your campaigns
By Ros Rowlatt, Digital Media Director, The Think Tank
Are you looking for new ways to build deeper connections and drive meaningful engagement for your clients?
Traditional marketing often casts a wide net, but when it comes to winning over high-value, enterprise-level accounts, you need a more focused, personalised approach.
This is where Account-Based Marketing (ABM) shines.
What is ABM?
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a focused strategy where each company you target is treated individually, with its own unique and personalised plan. Instead of ‘broadcasting’ a generic message to attract as many leads as possible, ABM narrowcasts, concentrating on a few high-value clients.
This approach allows sales and marketing teams to work together to concentrate their efforts where they can make the biggest difference.
The goal is straightforward: to create customised campaigns that speak directly to key decision-makers – and give you clear, measurable results.
Why invest in ABM?
ABM is a powerful way for your marketing and sales teams to work together and focus on specific, high-value customers.
Instead of trying to attract as many people as possible, ABM helps you connect with the key people at companies that are most important to your business. This approach is especially useful in industries with longer sales processes, like software, IT, financial services and manufacturing.
The four key advantages of ABM – How does it work?
Whether you’re considering implementing an ABM strategy or looking to optimise your current approach, understanding the benefits that ABM can reveal, will help you to create more focused, personalised campaigns. Here are the four major reasons why ABM can be so effective:
- Penetration: ABM uncovers new opportunities within existing customers by connecting with important decision-makers.
- Pursuit: In competitive markets, ABM gives you an advantage by influencing the right people during important decisions, like Request for Proposals (RFPs) or tenders, making your brand stand out.
- Perception: ABM helps you to adjust the message at the start of the buying process or to influence a tender decision.
- Partnerships: ABM builds strong, long-term relationships between your sales, marketing teams and key contacts, creating connections that go beyond one transaction.
When might ABM be the right approach for you?
ABM is particularly well-suited for companies that engage with large enterprise clients or manage complex, high-value transactions. If your business fits some of the following criteria, ABM could be your ideal strategy:
- You work with large accounts.
- You manage a long and complex sales cycle, for example, in sectors such as software, IT, FS and manufacturing.
- You target large companies or small to medium-sized enterprises that require strategic investments to grow.
- You have in place or you can secure the necessary resources – e.g., the staffing, skills, budgets and technology – to get your sales and marketing teams working together on an ABM strategy.
- You operate in a competitive market where every opportunity counts.
This personalised, high-touch approach can lead to better Return on Investment (ROI), stronger client loyalty and more opportunities to cross-sell within existing accounts.
When might ABM not be the right fit?
While ABM can be very effective, it’s not always the best option for every business. If you’re a smaller company or still figuring out your product or market fit, ABM might not give you the best results.
Here are a few situations where ABM may not be suitable:
- Your deal sizes are generally small (under £50k).
- You don’t have the resources to commit to a full ABM strategy.
- Your target market isn’t enterprise-level, or your deals don’t involve multiple decision-makers.
While these factors suggest that ABM may not be the ideal approach, it doesn’t mean you should overlook it entirely. As we will discuss, there may be opportunities to implement a streamlined version of ABM. However, in most cases, it is advisable to concentrate on more scalable marketing strategies that align with your current resources and objectives.
For example, here’s a piece we produced on paid media, which is another important but often underappreciated avenue for B2B marketers to explore.
Real-world success: ABM in action
Here at The Think Tank, we’ve seen firsthand how ABM can transform businesses. For our client Phi Partners, we used an ABM-lite strategy—a scaled-down version that focuses on fewer high-value accounts with less investment.
Our multi-channel approach included messaging tailored to specific accounts, infographics, blogs, video content, direct mail and a webinar.
The results?
- 46% increase in organic web traffic.
- 127% rise in LinkedIn page impressions.
- Seven sales-qualified leads (SQLs), exceeding our goal of four, and worth potentially 75% more than the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
It just goes to show the difference that ABM can make.
Unlocking the full potential of your most valuable accounts
As you can see, ABM is a powerful strategy for companies looking to win, grow and keep their most important accounts. Just make sure it’s the right fit for your business. If it is, matching your goals and resources, ABM can help you gain traction with your clients and succeed in a competitive market.
If you’re ready to explore ABM, The Think Tank can help you design a strategy that aligns with your objectives. From personalised messaging to multi-channel campaigns, we’ll create a tailored plan to help you secure the deals that drive the greatest value for your business.
