The nature of marketing is constant evolution. The more companies try a new tact, the more customers are exposed to it, and the less effective it becomes. While inbound marketing, and it's theory of attraction over interruption, continues to be a strong player in the game, there's a new breed coming up.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) starts with a few targets, then grows those targets, then reaches out to the group as individuals. Its intent is to focus the message on the top decision makers within a given target. To do so, Eblasts to countless contacts won't cut it. You need a tailored message with personalization. So, how do you manage that? We found an 8 step guide from Marketing Profs to get you started:
- Isolate a single segment. Personalizing your email campaigns needs to start with one small step. Don't throw your existing campaign strategy out the window and start from scratch; instead, exclude just one segment from your blast campaign and instead target it with meaningful content, such as an exclusive offer based on their previous purchases.
- Start with new customers. Your new customers have yet to form an opinion about your campaigns, and so they are a great target group for experimentation.
Put yourself in your new customers' shoes: Imagine you've just done business with a new brand; you most likely wouldn't want to immediately receive hard-sell daily emails; instead, you might prefer a sequence that includes a thank you note and an email making sure that you're happy with your purchase. After that initial connection, you might be more open to an offer for a similar product, a sale notification matching your preferences, or information about other offerings.
- Make your content stand out by doing less. Design your content with a different look and feel from regular blasts. Use cleaner templates to reduce clutter. Your customers are bombarded with hundreds of marketing messages a day; make yours stand out by giving their eyes and minds a much-needed break.
Read the next 5 steps on their blog, here.
ABM is a new wave and may be worth a try for your business. It leverages your contacts as well as your content in a powerful new way that is personal and stands out from the clutter. If you're interested in trying ABM, but don't know where to start, contact us at Front Burner Marketing. It's our passion to stay on top of marketing trends and we can help you get your Account-Based Marketing strategy running.
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