The True Story Behind ABM and 5 Steps to Develop Your Own “ABM” Strategy

By: Jennifer Nietz

If you are like me, you probably get 10 emails a week from marketing solution providers trying to get you to engage with them on the “perfect account-based marketing (ABM) strategy.”

It can be confusing, and after reading, you may feel like your organization is behind the curve.

I just got back from the B2B Marketing Exchange conference where ABM was all the buzz and, to be honest, I just had to sit back and laugh.

I wanted to issue a response to all of our potential clients in the market, the small- to medium-sized businesses, that are looking for strategic thought leaders to really drive business growth strategy in their organizations.

If this is you, listen up!

What is ABM?

Don’t be fooled; you probably have been doing ABM for years.  The idea behind ABM is strategically selecting potential clients based on an Ideal Client Profile – who essentially who are the top 50 or fewer organizations that you want to work with – and developing a plan to strategically market to and position your solution/product with.

Both COACT and our model were built on ABM, and we have been working with our clients to develop ABM strategies for over 15 years.

Also, buyer beware on the latest marketing platform that supports an ABM strategy.  Marketing and pushing content to your top prospects does not work independently as a process or strategy.  You have to equally address your sales plan and strategy to also align with your marketing outreach.

5 Steps to Develop Your Own “ABM” Strategy

If you hear ABM in the next six months, I am certain you are being sold a marketing tool or process.  Instead, consider the following five-step framework to help you build a REAL business growth strategy:

1. Select your top 50 or fewer prospects that fit your Ideal Client Profile.
2. Develop buyer personas: What type of buyer would have decision-making responsibilities for your service/product.
3. Develop content for each buyer persona AND a call plan for your sales team that supports the same message.
4. Profile buying the system: Don’t just send content; the goal is to understand the buyers within an organization. Build the web; gain knowledge about your future top prospects.
5. Repeat and build relationships: Once you gain knowledge on the buying systems, analyze the results and conversations you are having. Adjust your content to cater to those individuals and develop lasting relationships built on trust.  If you do that in the end, you will win.

What’s Next?

The five steps are easier said than done. It takes time and strategy for sure; however, there is a lot of bad direction in the market.

As a strategic business growth partner, we want our future clients to understand that ABM is just a very small piece of the puzzle.

I hope you will consider taking the next step to hear more about our approach before you consider any investment in a sales or marketing strategy.

This article was written by:

Jennifer Nietz

Vice President

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