Agustín RejónAgu Rejón is the Founder of Martechbase. He has worked in B2B Marketing Operations and Performance Marketing for more than 10 years and is fascinated by the role of technology in marketing and sales.
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ABM has evolved from a niche strategy to a mainstream approach to marketing in recent years.
More and more companies are realizing the benefits of targeting specific prospect clients and tailoring their marketing efforts to meet the needs of those selected accounts – as opposed to broader (e.g. inbound) tactics.
As a result ABM has become more sophisticated, with the use of data and technology playing a larger role in the planning and execution of those campaigns. Additionally, there has been an increased focus on measuring the effectiveness of ABM efforts and using the insights gained to continuously improve the strategy.
Specialized ABM tools can provide a range of benefits, including personalization, automation, lead generation, and tracking. In this blog post, I will highlight a selection of these tools, their key features and how they can help you boost your own ABM program.
What is ABM?
Account-based marketing (ABM) is a strategic approach to marketing that focuses on targeting specific, high-value, carefully-selected accounts. Often described as “hunting with a harpoon, rather than with a net”, ABM involves creating customized campaigns and content that is tailored to the needs and interests of specific companies that can drive higher revues and long-term growth.
By targeting a select group of accounts, businesses can create more personalized and effective marketing and increase the likelihood of generating qualified leads and bottom-funnel conversions. ABM is often used by B2B companies as a way to build relationships with key decision makers and drive revenue from high-value prospects – which often justifies the larger sales and marketing investment needed to get a good ROI from this tactic.
What are the main ABM tools?
In ABM, marketing efforts are tailored to the specific needs and characteristics of each account. While there are many ways to categories ABM technologies, a great way to think about these is based on the customer journey stage and how far that target company is to becoming a customer.
Using this criteria, we can organise ABM tools in 5 categories:
1. Account-based advertising
How are you reaching those target accounts? Account-based advertising (ABA) is a type of advertising that is tailored to specific companies, and can be used to reach decision-makers within those accounts.
Here are some examples of tools that can be used for ABA:
- Terminus: Terminus is an ABA platform that offers a range of features, including account-based display advertising, account-based marketing automation and account-based reporting.
- Demandbase: Demandbase’s features include account-based advertising, account-based marketing and account-based reporting.
- Engagio: A pioneer platform in the ABM space, Engagio primarily focuses on account-based advertising, account-based marketing automation and account-based reporting.
2. Personalized content creation tools
What content are you offering those accounts? There are many tools available that can help with personalized content creation:
- HubSpot's Blog Ideas Generator: This tool helps generate blog post ideas based on a user-specified keyword.
- SEMrush's Topic Research Tool: Helps you discover and prioritize content ideas based on search data.
- BuzzSumo's Content Analyzer: Allows users to research and analyze content in order to create more effective, shareable content.
3. Customer relationship management (CRM) software
How are you measuring your ABM efforts? This is used to manage customer interactions and data, including information on each account. Here are some examples of popular CRM software:
- Salesforce: Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM platform that offers a range of features, including sales automation, customer service, and marketing automation.
- HubSpot: HubSpot is a comprehensive CRM platform that offers a range of features, including sales, marketing, and customer service.
- Zoho: A cloud-based CRM platform that offers a range of features, including sales automation, marketing automation, and customer support.
4. Marketing automation software
How are you engaging with your ABM prospects? This is used to automate and manage marketing tasks, such as email marketing and lead generation. Here are some examples of popular marketing automation software:
- HubSpot: HubSpot is also comprehensive marketing automation platform that offers a range of features, including email marketing, social media management, and content management.
- Marketo: Marketo is a marketing automation platform that offers a range of features, including email marketing, lead management, and customer engagement.
- Pardot: Part of the Salesforce ecosystem, Pardot is a marketing automation platform that offers a range of features, including lead generation, lead nurturing, and sales enablement.
5. Account-based selling
How are you building relationships with our ABM accounts? This is a sales approach that focuses on establishing relationships with specific groups of prospects, rather than pursuing a large number of leads.
Account-based selling (ABS) is a targeted selling approach that focuses on specific accounts or companies. Here are some examples of tools that can be used for ABS:
- Outreach: Outreach is a sales engagement platform that offers a range of features for ABS, including sales automation, lead management, and analytics.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a sales intelligence platform that offers a range of features for ABS, including data enrichment, lead generation, and sales enablement.
- DiscoverOrg: DiscoverOrg is a sales intelligence platform that offers a range of features for ABS, including data enrichment, lead generation, and sales enablement.
How to choose the right ABM tools for your business
When choosing ABM tools, your should consider:
- The Size and Complexity of Your Business: If your business is small, you may not need as many or as complex tools as a large enterprise with a more sophisticated ABM strategy. ABM is simply focusing your marketing and sales efforts on specific accounts. You may already be doing this if you're reaching out and engaging with specific prospects, regardless of the tools you use. Consider the size and complexity of your business when selecting ABM tools to make sure you get the right fit.
- Your Budget and Resources: ABM tools can vary widely in terms of cost, from free to very expensive. It is important to take your budget and available resources into account when selecting ABM tools; don't overspend on unnecessary tools, but also don't skimp on essential ones.
- The Specific Goals and Objectives of Your ABM Strategy: When selecting tools, consider the specific goals and objectives of your ABM strategy and make sure the tools you choose are capable of helping you reach them. For instance, if your goal is to generate more leads, you will need different tools than if your goal is to enhance customer engagement.
Overall, choosing the right ABM tools is a critical decision that can have a major impact on the success of your ABM strategy. Therefore, make sure to consider the factors mentioned above when making your decision.
In conclusion
Account-Based Marketing has become more important and complex. It is about focusing on certain accounts that are valuable and making campaigns that suit them.
To help with ABM, there are special tools, such as account-based advertising, personalized content, CRM, marketing automation, and lead generation. When picking the right ABM tool, think about your goals, budget, how it fits with your current marketing stack, how successful the tool is, and customer support. Having the right ABM tool can help your marketing and lead to growth in the long run.
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Written by
Agustín Rejón
Agu Rejón is the Founder of Martechbase. He has worked in B2B Marketing Operations and Performance Marketing for more than 10 years and is fascinated by the role of technology in marketing and sales.
