Account-Based Marketing: Why B2B Marketers Need It and What to Do

Account-based marketing or key account marketing is definitely in the new in the marketing world. Companies have switched to this new strategy and are promised with impressive results. The marketing world is very diverse and is continually developing as trends and technologies change. With this, marketing companies should be able to adapt to changing needs of its consumer. In order to fully understand why ABM is necessary of B2B marketing companies, it is important to note what makes the B2B market special. By identifying the key characteristics of this market, one can better understand why ABM is the best way for B2B marketers and what they have to do to get there.

What is B2B Marketing? There are basically two type of market: the business-to-business (B2B) market and the business-to-consumer (B2C) market. From the names themselves, one can clearly deduce that the B2B are for companies that service other companies while B2C involves companies that directly service the consumer. For example, sellers of car parts to car manufacturers are B2B companies while the company that sells the car to buyers is a B2C company. Here are the characteristics of a B2B market: Products sold in this market is relatively greater compared to the B2C market. Products sold in B2B transactions are very technical and can be customized to fit the needs of the clients. For example, a heat exchanger manufacturer can customize the designs as instructed by his buyer. The product prices are not based on lists but can be changed depending on certain conditions. The market is more specific. B2B companies have a list of companies that will need its services. They sell their products personally, usually in biddings and proposals. The B2B market is indeed very special. Unlike B2C, it doesnt rely much on public opinion where certain advertisements and promotional strategies can already influence a lot of buyers. For B2C, it is important to have a really wide target. The greater their scope is the better. But, this does not necessarily apply to B2B. B2B needs to focus its assets and efforts on the companies that will generate revenue. In the past, B2B marketers have marketed like B2C companies. The more people that know, the better. However, this kind of marketing strategy does not seem to be very effective for B2B. B2Bs nature requires account-based marketing strategies.

Why B2B Marketers Need to Adopt ABM? As stated earlier, B2B cannot market like B2C because they are innately different. Because of the inappropriate marketing strategies used in B2B companies, common problems are encountered like: Problems in generating more awareness Problems in targeting accounts Problems in adapting to trends Trouble in increasing profit Constant disagreement between Sales and Marketing

These problems have continually held B2B companies at a standstill. This is where ABM comes in. By definition, account-based marketing is a marketing strategy that is based on focusing company efforts on specific accounts that are more likely to generate revenue. B2B marketers need to adopt ABM because it fits the very nature of the B2B market. With ABM, accounts are better identified. Because the goal of ABM is to focus on accounts that will generate more revenue, the team will focus on identifying what accounts they have and the characteristics of each account. Moreover, ABM will not just be about the marketing team. It aims to unite the whole company: from sales, to services, to marketing. The right approach is tailored for specific key accounts basing on the products they want and the services they are expecting. ABM also aims to promote collaborative efforts between the Sales and Marketing teams. In the past, Sales and Marketing have constantly pointed fingers on why the other one is not helping in the goals of the company. Their goals are simply not aligned in the old B2B marketing practice. This misalignment has led to various losses in terms of company funds and team effort. ABM is designed to fix that problem. Proper procedures are also implemented with the help of ABM. ABM will tailor the right approach or the right selling practice to the product sold by the company and the company that they will be selling too. ABM is very adaptive and is perfect for B2B companies who want to focus their efforts on the right accounts.

Implementing ABM: What You Need to Do? Just like adopting any other marketing strategy, certain steps should be carefully followed. Even before implementing ABM, B2B marketers should be able to answer these questions: Is the companys current marketing strategy not working? Why? Is ABM right for the company? What will be the advantages and disadvantages of adopting ABM? How much will it cost to adopt ABM? Does the company have the right resources and support system to implement this strategy?

Once the company has fully discussed why switching to ABM strategy is necessary, here are the steps in implementing ABM:

1. Establishing the framework In order to implement ABM, a framework of its implementation must first be created. This will tackle on the necessary resources, establishing the objectives and laying the course of action. 2. Preparing the teams involved Both the sales and marketing and other teams involved should undergo trainings and seminars so that they can better understand the nature of ABM. This is the part where the collaboration between Sales and Marketing is initiated. This is where the teams will begin pre-planning. 3. Researching In preplanning, queries and questions will arise. Researching is necessary to address these questions. This is also an important aspect because researches could generate ideas on how to identify key accounts. The team must understand every aspect of an account and the assets of the company that can be used to acquire the accounts loyalty. 4. Planning This is the final planning where the team will incorporate existing policies that will be useful in ABM. In this part, everything that needs to be done is laid out and the new policies are discussed. 5. Execution Execution is the most crucial part in any implementing process. The team must work together to properly apply the learnings acquired. The company should be able to apply the policies and approaches discussed in the planning too. 6. Evaluation Evaluation is a crucial aspect of implementation too because this area will identify if the implementation was successful. Evaluation will also decide whether the new strategy will be continued or not. ABM evaluation can be done by looking at key points like ROI, collaboration issues and key account identification.

Just like any other strategy, ABM is as full-proof as the people that implement it. If there is no perseverance, strategic planning and resources, it will fail. Nevertheless, this marketing strategy is very promising for B2B companies.