Account-based marketing (ABM) is the gold standard in the B2B world, and its ability to drive revenue and improve the efficiency of sales teams continues to grow thanks to enhanced data capabilities. These days, effective ABM is about more than just accounts. It’s about people.
With the right data, today’s enterprises can bring sales and marketing closer, while enhancing teams’ ability to connect with the right prospects in a personal way. Let’s discuss why that’s so important and what the right data can do.
The Power of ABM
Done right, ABM identifies how to target a defined set of accounts at a business level, ensuring all teams are aligned and heading toward the same goal. It enables companies to coordinate content, marketing channels and sales efforts to ensure an always-on approach to those accounts that have the potential to deliver the most value.
A common issue that comes with general marketing is the lack of effective targeting. With ABM—especially when you leverage data that helps you get down to the individual level—businesses focus on those who are likely to be interested in a company’s product or service, meaning there’s a higher chance of converting the deal. This contributes to an overall increase in efficiency and engagement. At the same time, effective ABM means sales teams and business development reps waste less time dealing with unqualified leads.
A company’s ABM is only as successful as the data that powers it. When deciding who to target from a buyer persona or company persona perspective, your criteria should include data points from four primary categories:
- Demographics: Industry, location, number of employees.
- Decision drivers: Motivations, values, requirements.
- Infrastructure: Technologies and resources used by the organization.
- Life cycle: Development stage and maturity of those you are targeting.
After prospects have shown an initial level of buying intent, marketers and sales teams need to double-down on account-specific content, which can be used to make prospects feel unique and prioritized. B2B companies put a lot of effort into content creation. But if the content isn’t tailored to the individual’s pain points, and delivered on the devices and in the channels most likely to garner their attention, it’s unlikely to be effective.
Getting Personal with B2B Content (and Delivery)
In tailoring content for interested prospects, it’s useful to focus on content assets that are relatively formulaic but can be personalized with unique data for each target account relevant to Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs). These assets might include guides, reports or calculator outputs.
At the stage at which prospects have shown a strong buying intent, nurturing campaigns can be highly beneficial. Segmenting by persona and stage to give prospects relevant and actionable insights will ensure each individual is engaged in the best way possible.
Again, the importance of tailoring outreach to the individual at an account cannot be overstated, and a huge part of that is having access to data that makes B2B prospects addressable in both their professional and personal channels—what we call B2B2C data. That’s where ID Graph comes in.
Our ID Graph is powered by accurate and interoperable business and consumer data, spanning 4 million global companies and 1 billion consumer IDs. With ID Graph and our platform, B2B marketers can upload a list of first-party contacts, match them to verified business or consumer emails, and then activate and reach their total addressable market on digital and direct channels.
By employing audience data that can bridge the gap between the personal and professional attributes of B2B audiences, marketers can unlock new opportunities and higher ROI from their digital advertising investments.
