ABM (Account-Based Marketing) is a strategic approach that personalizes messaging and outreach to high-value target accounts. Marketing and sales teams join forces to align their efforts on those accounts, increasing engagement and interaction through specific communication or marketing channels called ABM outreach channels.
ABM outreach channels list varies depending on the preferences and characteristics of the target accounts. They can include email, social media platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter), direct mail, personalized landing pages, phone calls, events, and more. Selecting the right outreach channels is crucial, as it determines how effectively the personalized messages and content reach the target accounts and decision-makers.
But selecting the correct target accounts and gathering insights is just the start. It’s all for naught if your personalized message isn’t passed through the right medium.
Here’s a guide to account-based marketing and outreach to help you choose the best channels for your ABM outreach program.
ABM Outreach – What is it?
Before we get into how to implement effective ABM outreach strategies, let’s first get an answer to the most obvious question, What is ABM outreach?
ABM outreach is a targeted strategy that engages high-value accounts through personalized interactions and tailored marketing campaigns. By creating customized buying experiences for a fixed set of high-value accounts, the ABM outreach process aligns the efforts of both marketing and sales teams.
To implement a successful multi-channel ABM outreach strategy, start defining your ideal client profile (ICP) by analyzing your best clients’ characteristics and identifying clients that align with your organization’s goals. Prioritize accounts using tools and resources like Crunchbase, Everstring, and Datafox to identify dream targets and focus on high-priority accounts. Engage and nurture prospects with tailored campaigns across multi-channel ABM campaigns, such as email, social media, direct mail, and personalized experiences.
ABM outreach aims to drive higher returns on investment (ROI) and cultivate customer loyalty. Still, it requires close collaboration between marketing and sales teams, along with personalized account-specific messaging, to achieve higher revenues in a shorter time frame.
Implementing an Effective ABM Channel Strategy – Tips to Follow
Emphasize experimentation and personalization
When it comes to Account-Based Marketing (ABM), there’s no “one size fits all” approach for selecting outreach channels. The secret is experimenting with different channels to find which strategy works best for your industry and target audience. For instance, email marketing may effectively convert existing leads to Marketing-Qualified Leads (MQL). On the other hand, sending LinkedIn messages from a reputable profile may gain high response rates. In short, experimentation and personalization are pivotal to the success of a highly personalized ABM outreach campaign.
Understand The Demographics
Social media platforms are excellent mediums for outreach. But the customer demographics of each platform vary from one another. You need to understand which age group visits a particular site for how much time and other such statistics. Sprout Social points to some latest social media demographics for brands that include:
- By 2027, it is estimated that a staggering $85.31 billion of social media ad spending will be generated through mobile platforms. This projection reflects the significant growth and influence of mobile advertising in the social media landscape.
- With approximately 2.96 billion active monthly users, Facebook is the largest online social network worldwide as of Q4 2022.
- 16.2% of LinkedIn users in the US actively engage with the platform daily, whereas around 48.5% log in every month. This usage pattern highlights the significance and prevalence of LinkedIn as a professional networking tool.
Align With Testable Channels
Often, the success of an ABM pilot doesn’t transition smoothly during the full-fledged deployment process. It happens when companies are unaware of the limitations of ABM channels at scale.
While a channel may yield impressive results with a handful of target accounts and a few metrics, it’s important to consider the limits of a low-investment pilot stage, focusing mainly on manual intervention. Selection of an ABM channel calls for rigorous testing and trials. So, choosing testable and scalable channels is essential to optimize your time and resources and avoid wasted efforts. Here’s a checklist.
- Check if you can run A/B tests to gain insights and readjust the strategy
- Can the tests and results be automated, or does it have to be done manually
- How seamless and scalable are the analysis, measurement, and reporting
- Does it offer enough reach to gain valuable impressions
- Does it offer reliable conversion opportunities
- Does the channel generate good lead data
- How seamless or complicated is it to integrate it with your existing tech stack like CRM
Align Your Channels With Goals and Buyer Journey Stages
A multi-channel ABM strategy for your marketing efforts requires matching your goals with the appropriate buyer journey stages. Create a plan that encompasses increasing awareness and driving engagement and conversion. You’ll achieve optimal results by choosing the proper ABM channels and messages for each stage. Social media, email, and display ads can spark attention, whereas webinars, podcasts, and direct mail can encourage interaction with existing customers.
Implement The Learnings
Once you’ve identified the testable channels, you must put them to the test to understand their full potential. These trials will reveal important information enabling you to personalize messaging and optimize channels. Doing so can unlock the secrets to reaching your audience most effectively.
For instance, it is common knowledge that targeted content marketing is the best channel for generating targeted leads. But experimentation reveals that personalized infographics, ebooks, white papers, and third-party analyst reports generate the maximum leads for B2B businesses through targeted content marketing. Another great discovery is that webinars generate the best leads among broad-yet-highly-targeted reach campaigns. The secret to selecting winning channels is examining experimentation findings and entering the narrow ends.
The Final Call
Effective ABM outreach channels require personalized experimentation to measure their reach, generate substantial leads, and evaluate their cost. However, even a highly effective channel isn’t viable for long if the cost-per-conversion is prohibitively high, particularly when the ROI is low.
Take, for instance, a $4000 average customer lifetime value (CLV) compared to a customer acquisition cost (CAC) of $500. With this significant gap between CLV and CAC, there’s a lot of wiggle room for outreach strategies and channels. But, if this gap isn’t healthy, overextending your ABM budget becomes a risk.
Study the price differences across all marketing and advertising mediums – conventional media platforms, social media, or broad messaging channels and measure their effectiveness. Gauge how it performs on all critical parameters in the long run. For example, LinkedIn is an expensive option on a CPM and investment basis. But it also generates the most reliable qualified leads and the highest ROI for B2B marketing. On the other hand, ads on Facebook might be economical and require less investment. But it is not regarded as an effective channel for creating qualified leads for B2B lead generation companies.
Smarketers ABM services offer an ideal solution for businesses seeking to optimize their marketing efforts through Account-Based Marketing. ABM is a strategic approach that targets specific accounts with personalized campaigns tailored to their unique needs and characteristics. Businesses can increase conversions and revenue by prioritizing resources, reaching key decision-makers, and delivering highly relevant messages.
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