Renewed interest in account based marketing (ABM) with integrated sales and marketing automation technologies has sparked a wave of personalized digital content innovation.
ABM is no longer a strategy reserved for major enterprises, many are now applying ABM across their sales process for a variety of client types.
Today’s article concludes our mini-series on ABM with examples of ABM in a B2B digital sales process.
Account Based Marketing Examples
SAP
SiriusDecisions recognized SAP for their efforts in targeting named accounts with an ABM approach.
(Named-Accounts are a Tier-Two ABM target).
The following tactics were used across their sales process,
- Sales and marketing alignment with common opportunity objectives and SMART goals;
- Specialized training for the ABM team with best practices and internal resources;
- Specific engagement tactics used for accounts;
- A variety of targeted campaigns were used such as custom landing pages, joint sponsorships, webcasts, and on site events.
The ABM program increased customer engagement and improved relationships with sales. 1200 new contacts were created as a result of the program. A majority of internal sales staff stated they would recommend ABM, and that it provides innovative ideas and tactics.
Xerox
A pioneer in ABM tactics, Xerox is recognized by SiriusDecisions for best-in-class Large Account targeting.
(Large-Accounts are a Tier-One ABM target)
Xerox was recognized for,
- An ABM go-to-market approach that included country leaders and field marketers;
- Local marketers empowered to approach marketing in a country-specific context. Marketers were certified in the best-practices for their target country and account;
- Leveraging outside expertise to improve agility;
- Treating individual accounts as markets-of-one;
- Budget incentives were leveraged to increase internal ABM adoption;
The program’s success doubled staffing and added two new countries to Xerox’s reach. Over a dozen new opportunities were created with the key accounts.
Medidata
SiriusDecisions has recognized Medidata for their success with an industry ABM approach.
(Industry targeting is a Tier-Three ABM target)
Medidata is recognized for,
- Sales and marketing alignment with a commitment to targeted planning, execution, and measurement;
- Strategic ‘account handling process’ was established for joint innovation and understanding;
- Specific tactics used to improve the customer experience.
Medidata more than doubled their marketing inquiries from target accounts, and saw major increases in senior executive engagement from their target accounts.
See the full reviews for SAP, Xerox, and Medidata here.
Marketo
Marketo leveraged the 5 D’s of account based marketing to maximize their success.
Key tactics to note,
- Marketo used several martech and sales stack technologies to identify and map their ABM targets efficiently;
- Broad persona targeting that included different digital content sales and marketing tactics and distribution for decision makers, influencers, users, etc.
- Personalized targeting & retargeting, digital content, landing pages, advertising, social media, and innovative direct mail.
- Comprehensive use of metrics to identify the success of any ABM tactic used.
Marketo received 3x more click-thrus than any other method, and 10x increase in revenue generating conversion rates in their B2C approaches, as well as 33% conversion rates for their personalized B2B campaigns with a 20% increase in qualified lead generation from selected content.
See the full ABM strategy approach breakdown from Marketo here.
StrongView
Strongview is an email management platform that saw remarkable improvements in engagement through the smart use of dynamic outbound advertising.
They utilized these tactics,
- Used custom display advertising that drove inbound traffic to similar content on their site;
- Very specific lists of targeted accounts for their outbound advertising;
- Customized and dynamic landing pages for inbound traffic.
StrongView’s focus on key accounts using dynamic web pages for a more tailored outbound advertising experience saw a 42% increase in site traffic from their targeted lists, 29% conversion from inactive accounts, 20x increase in time spent on their website, and 5x greater click-thru rates from their more dynamic content.
Read a full explanation of StrongView’s ABM approach here.
CSC
CSC (Computer Science Corporation) is a global technology solutions provider with localized operations. CSC is a best case example for full ABM adoption.
CSC’s tactics,
- CSC only operates in an ABM model;
- CSC plans their next target customer, and targets their marketing efforts on their defined criteria;
- They used synchronized marketing automation, ABM software, and other technology platforms for an integrated communications strategy across several campaigns.
In our last post about ABM, we explained that there is no limit to ABM usage, only a need to mitigate the risks of ABM. CSC is a case in point for this. As for results, CSC saw 44% increase in account engagement, and a 27% lift in website traffic.
See a fuller explanation of CSC’s ABM approach here.
Avere Systems
Avere supports enterprise IT infrastructure with file hardware and software that integrates cloud resources and improves the performance of storage.
Avere’s tactics,
- Avere implemented ABM to supplement their lead generation and optimize limited marketing resources with one-to-one interactions rather than using just account focused interactions;
- Avere promoted newly formed partnerships to their existing client base through targeted landing pages, and filtered engaged visitors into new campaigns;
- When attending trade shows and events, Avere used ABM targeting to inform their key accounts about their presence at each event with tailored information.
Avere’s efforts include increased event engagement, optimized marketing spend, and an impressive 57x more contacts than when using their existing salesforce CRM.
Read the whole story about Avere here.
Adobe
Adobe is both a best-in-class leader for the ABM model, and a capital investor in the ABM technology industry
Adobe’s tactics,
- Primary ABM approach leverages industry (tier-3) tactics;
- Specific and targeted digital sales content to their enterprise level key accounts;
- Personalization in landing pages and advertising targeting.
ABM strategies are driving tremendous improvements across marketing operations for Adobe.
See a fuller explanation of Adobe’s ABM approach here.
Account based marketing offer’s new and exciting ways to engage the target audience and add value through personalized and competitive communications. Careful planning and integrated technologies are a must-have for an effective ABM strategy. If you’re looking to coordinate an ABM approach across your sales and marketing, request a demo and let our sales professionals show you how sales enablement software can help.
See the rest of the account based marketing mini-series.
Click Here to learn about the recent resurgence of account based marketing, and why it spiked in 2015.
Click Here to learn about the top 5 reasons you should be using an account based marketing strategy.
Click Here to learn when account based marketing is an appropriate strategy for the sales process.
Click Here to see the 5 problems with adopting an account based marketing (ABM) approach.
Click Here to learn how to implement an ABM strategy, and which technology to use.
