Put Your Marketing Dollars to Work
You’ve done the legwork and developed a thoroughly researched ABM plan in Part 1 and Part 2 of my series (If you haven’t, please go back and read them – the value of conducting this research cannot be overstated). From audience to messaging, intent, and channels – you've thought through where, and how, you plan to show up for your audiences. In a world of budget cuts and reduced resources, you can stand confident in the knowledge that your marketing budget is invested in a data-fueled strategy tailored to your prospects’ needs. How’s that for doing more with less?
Now it’s time to stand up your ABM platform, get automating, and set your measurements.
Step 4: CREATE
Build Out Your Campaigns
Choose Your ABM Platform
Let’s talk technology. What ABM platform will you be using? Consider the capabilities you need in your ABM software to be successful. When evaluating ABM platforms, you will want to determine what features are most applicable to your use case — from AI and predictive analytics to attribution models, to specific integration capabilities, and more.
Automate What You Can
One of the greatest outputs of setting up a well-defined ABM campaign is the opportunity for automation. By automating your campaigns, you may find more time to focus on analyzing and generating new ideas, rather than executing the existing ones. If you select a platform that will integrate with your chosen advertising channels, you may experience a one-stop-shop approach to launching your ABM campaigns.
Step 5: MEASURE
Establish Your Reporting and Governance Structure
A well-thought-out strategy deserves the same level of attention when it comes to reporting. After all, how will you brag about your successes without a clear system of measurement?
Set Your Benchmarks
As a marketer, you already know the value of setting KPIs to monitor your progress towards achieving your goals. But when setting KPIs for your ABM strategy, I recommend you focus less on the volume-based metrics, and more on the engagement-based ones. Think click-through-rates, conversion rates, and ROI to name a few. When it comes to ABM, we care less about how many people see our content, and more about if the right people can access our content.
Connect the Dots
When analyzing your results, it is valuable to have a way to map your data to your individual accounts. This kind of ABM attribution can be accomplished both manually and through automation, depending on the capabilities of your ABM analytics platform. Charting the data to your accounts helps you to see a clearer picture of their individual performance – empowering you to make changes throughout the year to maximize results.
Experiment, Rinse, and Repeat
As I close, I will leave you with the ultimate pro tip: There is no one-size-fits-all approach to ABM. The key to achieving your ABM goals includes building your own strategy around your specific goals, resources, and budget. And while a solid ABM strategy often features significant automation, the insights and ideas from marketers analyzing their data remains at the heart of driving results. When the right building blocks are in place to form the foundation of your ABM strategy, you can be agile in your marketing efforts and continuously evolve as your customers do – securing your position of relevance and authority when it comes to meeting their needs.
Ready to personalize engagement across channels with account-based experiences at scale? Watch a demo of D&B Rev.Up™ ABX now.
The content provided in articles are suggestions only and based on best practices. Dun & Bradstreet is not liable for the outcome or results of specific programs or tactics. Please contact an attorney or tax professional if you are in need of legal or tax advice.