Is Account-Based Marketing a Worthwhile Strategy?

by Nicolae Buldumac
· 05/06/2017 12:22
Is Account-Based Marketing a Worthwhile Strategy?

Developing the right B2B marketing strategy is so important these days, so it's not surprising that B2B companies invest so much in marketing, training, marketing events and resources just to keep up with the latest trends and platforms.

However, every now and again there'll come a tool or technique that is overhyped, and therefore leaves many B2B marketers disappointed with their results. Remarketing, retargeting and paid native ads could all be accused of being overrated, and in response many corporations have moved from self serv ad management platforms to building their own internal DSP to develop and test new marketing strategies.

So what about account based marketing? Is it worth the hype?

Account Based Marketing (ABM) is a relatively new marketing strategy, which started to gain more traction from 2011. As this marketing strategy is still largely in its infancy and not yet tested by all companies, we can't assume that it's worthwhile for everyone. So, if your company has still not decided if ABM is a good investment, take a look at our insights into how ABM plays a role in different industries, and this should help you make a more informed decision over your future use of the strategy.

In the following guide, we'll go over the role that account based marketing plays in certain industries, and how to implement it into your marketing strategy.

The industries covered in this guide will be:

  • Account Based Marketing for Healthcare

  • Account Based Marketing for Banks

  • Account Based Marketing for Air Freight & Logistics

  • Account Based Marketing for Legal Industry

Account Based Marketing for Healthcare

Is account based marketing an effective marketing strategy for for the healthcare industry? According to StatisticBrain, the healthcare industry generates $1.668 trillion revenue annually, but these numbers are high because healthcare is more consumer oriented than corporations. So, if healthcare is more consumer-oriented, is there still a chance to target  companies as opposed to organisations and individuals?

As healthcare is consumer-focused, there’s one market in particular that is perfect for ABM; insurance companies. Currently, employer-sponsored insurance is, by far, the most common source of health coverage in the United States. There are an estimated 155 million people under the age of 65 covered by such plans. This means that 50% of insurance is sponsored by employers. The same thing goes for life insurance, quality insurance, all for businesses.

So how can account based marketing help Insurance companies?

Let's write a scenario below and go over all the steps...

  • Set a goal: Become the primary healthcare insurance provider for New York state companies

  • Find all companies in NY, USA: To target specific companies through ad networks, you’ll need to get a list of all companies in NY, USA. You’ll need at least the company name, C-level contacts from that company and work email.

  • Find an ABM platform: After you’ve collected the data, now it's important to choose the right ABM tool for your insurance company. Here are some ABM platforms:

    • DemandBase

    • AzaLead

    • Terminus

    • Madison Logic

    • Google Adwords

    • Linkedin Ads

  • Create the campaign: After you’ve decided which ABM to use, it’s now time to upload the company's database, create some standard IAB banner ads and start testing the first few companies. Based on their performance, you can then increase the company outreach daily.

If you're an insurance company, account based marketing can prove to be a great asset to your marketing strategy. With a little background knowledge and some trial and error, you should find it costs less than many other more traditional forms of marketing and can generate leads that are more likely to convert.

Account Based Marketing for Banks

The banking industry has the same targets and goals as the insurance industry, but the banking is somewhat more interesting as they have the online fingerprint of all non-business and business clients who log on each day and manage their banking online.

By having the online profile of each client, the banking industry can append the data they have with a company data provider, and create real-time account based marketing at the right time, e.g. when one of their non-business clients sets up a company.

How can account-based marketing help the banking industry?

Let's write an example and will go over all steps.

  • Set a goal: Become the primary bank for newly opened businesses

  • Setup a data management platform: To create digital profiles of your banking client, you need to set up a data management platform which will allow you to tag and segment all data belonging to your clients. This will then allow you to show different ads (including native ads) to specific companies using personalized data.

  • Find a real-time US company database: Your goal is to show account based ads to newly-created companies. In order to know when a company is created, you need access to a company data feed, or access to a data vendor who is able to provide this information.  

  • Connect DMP with an DSP:  After you have created digital profiles for your banking clients and found a company data provider, the next step is to combine the DMP with your purchased data into a DSP. This will then give you a DSP which you will use to create account based marketing for newly-created companies.

The banking industry is so competitive, so it's important to use the latest marketing strategies in order to create a strong sense of brand awareness and attract your share of the market. By applying the idea above, companies within this sector will be able to get the attention of newly-created companies instantly, and create personalised content to better engage them.

Account Based Marketing for Air Freight & Logistics

While it's hard to segment consumers from business leads in the digital world for the baking and healthcare industries, the same can't be said for air freight and logistics - it's pretty much made up exclusively of B2B clients.

Companies that work in the air freight and logistics industry have an advantage over other industries, because it involves working directly with ecommerce, retailers, or manufacturing companies most of the time. This makes the implementation of ABM easier, and brand awareness can be increased very quickly.

How can account based marketing help in the air freight & logistics industry?

Let's write a scenario below and go over all the steps.

  • Set a Goal: Build a brand in Europe

  • Find all ecommerce companies, retailers, manufacturers in Europe: To target specific companies through ad networks, you’ll need to get a list of all companies in these sectors in Europe. You’ll need at least the company name, C-level contacts from that company, and work email.

  • Signup with Adroll:  Upload the company's database your vendor has provided, and create the standard IAB banner ads. After you’ve uploaded the audience, you’ll have to wait around 7 business days for Adroll to onboard your data.

  • Start Campaign: After the audience was onboarded and your banner ad approved, start the campaign and let it run until you see the first engagement.

 

As the above guide is so simple to implement, it's important to have accurate company data so that your match rate will be above 40%. Also, because air freight and logistics is largely B2B, your landing page and banners should contain clear details about your offer and one CTA.

Account Based Marketing for Legal Companies

Every company worldwide needs a legal team, especially those in the US market. As more companies are created, there is more legal consulting needed, particularly when it comes to patents, copyright, bankruptcy, and audits. As there are more than 10,000,000 companies worldwide, the legal industry has a huge potential market, which has not yet been capitalized through digital marketing.  

Account-based marketing allows you to target companies specifically based on the product that they're likely to be interested in. It can prove very lucrative for companies working in the legal sector.

How can account based marketing help law firms?

We’ll explain via an example below...

  • Set a goal: Get at least 100 lead quests per day

  • Find all small companies in the US: The majority of small US companies don't have a personal law firm, meaning a wealth of potential opportunity. To target only small companies, you need to get use a company data provider that allows you to filter based on company size (and location, obviously).

  • Segment the data: As a law consulting company, you have 10 services which any small company needs. Divide the list from the data provider into 10 segments, and save each segment with the product name.

  • Signup with Facebook Ads: Create a Facebook account, go to Facebook Ads, then open Facebook Ad Audience, and upload those 10 lists.

  • Prepare 10 Banner Ads: Prepare 10 banner ads, with each banner presenting a product.

  • Start the campaign: After the audience is onboarded successfully and your banner ads approved, you can now create 10 Facebook campaigns and assign one list to each campaign based on a product. This way you’ll test which law services get the most attention and leads. When you have a valid response, then you can assign all 10 lists to one campaign and generate more leads.

The legal industry is extremely broad, and very few legal companies are currently using personalized and account-based marketing for US companies. As more time is spent on the internet than ever before, this is the time to implement these types of strategies.

As we've shown in the examples above, account-based marketing can be implemented in various aways across very different industries. It can often be an extremely useful strategy thanks to the fact you are able to tailor your ads towards specific companies and target them with the products they are most likely to need. While there are still few companies making the most of ABM, it means that those who do can reap the benefits and gain a larger slice of the market.


 

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