Account Based Marketing: B2B Growth

ABM is a marketing approach that focuses highly on the most valuable accounts for a business. This style of marketing is very effective for B2B brands. Different from inbound or lead-based marketing that covers a wide variety of people or businesses, it can offer brands some unique benefits such as:

1. Maximize business within high-value accounts

2. Providing consistency

3. Measurable ROI

4. Expand business relationships

5. Align marketing and sales

How it works:

1. Lots of collaboration between sales and marketing departments

2. Customer journey mapping from start to finish

3. Lead qualification

4. Choosing the correct ABM platform for your business

   1. Strategic: relationship building focused and personalization of marketing that shows a deep understanding of target accounts

   2. ABM Lite: groups similar accounts to personalize as a group

   3. Programmatic ABM: combines both of the above strategies

Tech has made it easier to use this marketing style with improved precision. This can target the right accounts to get the engagement that matters most. Here are some tips for creating an AMB strategy.

1. Identify target accounts by:

   1. Choosing accounts that are similar to past partners

      Choose targets based on size, location, or revenue

   2. Research who your competitors are working with and look for similar businesses

   3. Network at industry events/conferences

2. Rank the prospects you have come up with

3. Get your marketing and sales teams on the same page and collaborating. Use this time to create your ABM team

4. Create personalized content

5. Measure ROI to see what is working

ABM is a great way for B2B brands to grow. Marketing to high-value accounts and creating relationships with those in those businesses is a great way to expand. There is ABM software out there that can help you find valuable accounts with less friction. Time to grow. Good luck marketers.

B2B Influencer Marketing

We all know what influencer marketing is at this point. But how does business to consumer influencer marketing differ from business to business influencer marketing? First and foremost, it must be understood that B2B influencers must be an expert in the field of business that you are recruiting them for. This means that they may not have the social media skills as most B2C influencers do. It’s also important to think of them as a partner in your B2B influencer marketing campaign together as you build a relationship together for brand credibility. Let’s note some similarities between the B2B and B2C influencer marketing strategies.

1.     Expertise in a particular field. Both types of influencers will be experts in the field they are collaborating with.

2.     Social media presence. Both will have a good amount of reach on social media. Although, B2C will be much larger. 

3.     Appeal. They will both be people that other people are interested hearing. They have a charm about them that intrigues or call others to attention.

Some key differences:

1.     Type of content. Where B2C influencer are photo and video content heavy, B2B influencers will generally be more text based

2.     Scale. As noted above the B2B influencer will have a smaller scale following on social media.

3.     Decisions making versus influencing. B2B influencer will share insights and opinions that are for buying teams doing research.

Influencer marketing is on the rise and B2B is not immune to how well this strategy works. Some examples for B2B influencers would be analysts, journalists or those that work for brands in a particular field. HubSpot expect to see B2B influencer marketing grow exponentially as it is currently, “underdeveloped and largely unmonetized.” They also found that B2B clients consider sponsored third party or co-branded content more trustworthy than content straight from a vendor. It’s clear that this style of B2B marketing has its benefits.

LinkedIn Takes the Lead

89% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for lead generation and 62% say it generates them leads, over 2x’s more than the next-highest social channel, according to the Wpromote State of B2B Marketing Report. Why is LinkedIn taking over for lead generation? Well, there are a couple of standout reasons that make it the best for B2B leads. First, you should know that their lead conversion rates are 3x’s higher than major ad platforms. Here are some other great reasons why they’re perfect for generating B2B leads.  

1.     Professional space. There are over 575 million professionals on LinkedIn. It shows a professional’s position, industry and location. This will assist your brand in reaching the right people in the right positions.

2.     Business context. It is well known that LinkedIn is up there as one of the top professional social channels. It is where working professionals go to advance careers, search businesses, etc.

3.     News Feed. The ads on LinkedIn actually appear next content in the feed that allows for a better experience.

4.     Costs. Average cost per lead on LinkedIn is generally lower than others.  

5.     Extensive filters. Layering your targeting domains is easier here with extensive filter options, such as level of seniority.

6.     Matched Audience feature. This can help with website retargeting, account targeting and contact targeting.

LinkedIn is a good social network of working professionals and from the number of reasons listed above, you can see why it is good at generating new B2B leads for your brand. Give it a try for your business to reach new potential business partners in your field.