Today’s B2B buyer has changed. Like all buyers, both consumer and business alike, they’re armed with data. They do their own research and scoff at engaging with sales reps early in their buying journey. Plus, more often than not, they converge into larger buying committees as opposed to individuals.
Before you get nervous, let’s make one thing very clear—this doesn’t mean your sales team is out of the game. It means they need to better understand your audience, and when and how to interact with them in the buying cycle. That’s where a robust omni-channel account-based marketing (ABM) plan comes into play. With the right omni-channel ABM plan in place, your chances of reaching and engaging B2B buyers skyrocket above the competition.
ABM for B2B Marketing
ABM is to B2B marketing what peanut butter is to jelly—a perfect pairing. Why? ABM helps guide marketing and sales activities through intent signals and actionable insights—creating alignment between marketing and sales around target account lists and high-priority accounts.
That means instead of reaching out to buying communities at the wrong time, you engage them strategically throughout the buyer's journey with increased insights that make greater personalization possible.
Omni-channel ABM
By employing an omni-channel ABM approach to B2B sales, companies can:
- Align around high-priority accounts
- Engage large buying groups throughout the buying journey
- Alert sales teams with actionable insights
- Approach results in higher sales win rates, shorter sales cycles, and bigger deals
All that was very easy to say, but a bit more complicated to accomplish. Unless, of course, you have the right tools which we’ll lay out for you here. Let’s break it down into four main categories.
How should we select our target accounts?
This really depends on you and your goals. Are you looking to win new clients? Or are you hoping to expand the accounts you already have?
If you’re looking for new clients, it’s time for your sales and marketing departments to team up. Together, they can identify and prioritize new account target lists. Remember, this isn’t just some random list they compiled from an online search—they’ll be qualified accounts based on intent data and account analytics.
On the other hand, if you’re looking to expand with existing clients, you can employ the 80/20 rule. That means taking a look at the 20% of companies that make you 80% of your revenue. What do they have in common? How is it best to connect/speak with them? You can then use the same strategy we just talked about above to reel them in for an even bigger piece of the pie.
What marketing channels work best?
- IP Display
- Facebook & Instagram
- Website Personalization
- Content (marketing and sales)
That may seem like a lot, but it’s totally manageable. Each channel, like all people, has its strengths and weaknesses. Together, we can help you coordinate efforts across platforms to create a seamless, coordinated marketing effort spanning numerous touchpoints.
What messaging should we deliver, and when?
This is the million-dollar question. The short answer—you should be delivering the messaging they need to hear, when they need to hear it.
The longer (but actually shorter) answer—data, data, and more data.
It bears repeating.
Based on intent data, you can determine the messaging you need to send and when to send it.
Before we start sounding like a broken record, we’ll switch it up by saying you also need to understand the new world order of sales cycles, and just as importantly, where your potential buyer sits in this new order.
Awareness Stage:
This is the “always-on” stage. Think of this as the baseline information you want out there at all times. What do you want people to think of when they think about your company? What are some ubiquitous pain points your company or service can solve?
To put it bluntly: what do you want the general public to be aware of about your company?
Channels to consider: IP Display, Google, Facebook & Instagram, Website
Consideration Stage:
This is where you get to flex your expertise. Hit ‘em with whitepapers, blog posts, downloadable assets, webinars, and more.
Now’s your chance to pull them in and introduce them to your sales team. Your goal here is to show that you’re the expert among experts and the one that can really help them.
Channels to consider: LinkedIn, Email
Decision Stage:
Think of this as the perfect text message after a great date. You want to keep seeing them, and you want them to want to keep seeing you.
You’ll pump up your messaging across all channels, hyper-targeted to your most qualified leads based on the metrics and data you’ve gathered from all your other channels. What’s performing best, who is clicking on/downloading what, and who has had the longest interactions with your live sales team?
Channels to consider: Omni-channel approach
What kind of expertise will we need?
The best of the best from planning, creative, copywriting, account management, ad ops, email ops, and of course social media.
That’s why we’re here. We develop and implement B2B omni-channel ABM strategies every day.
Omni-channel ABM brings together all of your marketing efforts, creating a cohesive, next-level ABM program. Get in touch today, and let’s talk about all the added value we can bring to your business.