Benefits of Account Based Marketing in South Africa

With online marketing becoming an ever more integral part of our daily lives, the average consumer is growing used to marketing that's personalised directly for their tastes.

Did you know that 63% of consumers will abandon a brand message that fails to incorporate enough personalisation into their marketing efforts?

Another 72% of consumers only do business with companies that personalise their marketing.

Metrics like these speak to the need for your business to develop an account based marketing (ABM) methodology to accompany inbound and outbound sales and marketing efforts.

But what is ABM and how can it benefit your sales and marketing?

What is Account Based Marketing?

Account based marketing (ABM) is a combined sales and marketing method that targets a smaller group of high-value customers with personalised marketing, content and marketing aligned sales outreach.

ABM is an alternative to traditional marketing campaigns which cast as wide a net as possible in order to pull a large volume of leads into their funnel.

The problem with broad marketing efforts is that although they increase brand awareness among a larger subset of potential clients, few of those leads actually convert into paying customers. Most have no interest in your product to begin with.

The wide-net approach may snare many fish, but few of them are keepers. 

ABM, on the other hand, targets specific accounts and tailors the marketing message directly to them.

Source: Celsius Int.

It is an approach that promotes focus, and when used correctly, it has many benefits that go along with it.

Below are the top four benefits of the account based marketing approach. 

1. ABM Realigns your Sales and Marketing Team

In order for ABM to be effective, your sales and marketing departments have to be on the same page.

Together, the two help identify the highest value leads in your sales funnel.

For instance, your sales force can help provide insight as to what makes a particular client greater value than another, and in turn, the marketing department creates a tailored message to singularly address that particular lead. 

The ABM approach brings those two departments into greater alignment, streamlining your sales methods in the process.  

2. It Re-optimises Your Sales Funnel

Your sales process is only as effective as your ability to efficiently use the sales acquisition tools at your disposal.

ABM is all about efficiently using your sales funnel. Because it takes a more narrow, focused approach to marketing, ABM doesn't waste time on low-value leads, i.e. the uninterested consumers that end up stuck in your net.

There's less wasted time when you focus on high-value leads.  

3. It Creates a Better Customer Experience

Personalisation is all about creating a more intimate customer experience. That's the primary advantage that ABM has over other marketing methods.

There's no better way to delight your customer than tailoring advertising and special promotions that speak directly to them.

This builds trust and a positive relationship and keeps them coming back to your business.   

4. ABM Fosters Increased Return on Investment

Measuring the return on your marketing investment can be a difficult thing given a broad marketing campaign. There are a lot of moving pieces and deriving solid data from a catch-all campaign is problematic.

With account based marketing, it is much easier to calculate your ROI. When dealing with a single customer, it's easy to establish a direct correlation between your marketing spend and your results.  

Another Tool in Your Arsenal

ABM lets you focus on the customers that benefit your business the most.

With account based marketing, you can see exactly where your marketing budget is going, and you can easily gauge the results.

Even more impactful are the long-term relationships you'll forage with your customers by personalising your marketing efforts.

Final Thoughts

ABM serves as a companion sales and marketing technique to inbound and outbound marketing.

When all three are used in conjunction, you will be able to capitalise on the leads in your funnel to a higher extent than you ever imagined.

For more information on accounts based marketing, please contact us today.