ABM is attracting everyone [good and bad], as a result it risks losing its value and is fast becoming diluted. It’s being relentlessly badly marketed by agencies and consultants alike; either used as a tag to sell things that aren’t ABM or over-complicated by the introduction of unnecessary levels.
At this rate, even though many clients are investing significant budget in ABM, it’ll reach a peak and become viewed as a low value approach because of overuse and poor results.
One of the culprits are those who have extended what counts as ABM to secure budget from clients, with ABM now being split into different levels:
- Strategic ABM
- ABM Lite
- Programmatic ABM
What do these levels really mean, cutting through the hype our view is:
- Programmatic ABM – Engaging many accounts and contacts with targeted messages, content and activities based on their broad characteristics. This is “marketing” in its traditional sense.
- ABM Lite – Delivering a set of messages that are designed to be more tailored and impactful with a group of similar targets within an industry or who might have similar issues through lightly-customized programmes. This is industry/sector or segmented marketing.
- Strategic ABM – Creating and delivering highly targeted and personalized programs to accounts on a one-to-one basis. This is the heart of ABM.
ABM really does work, it’s highly valuable when used for the right purpose and approached as ABM and not versions of generic marketing. It can help when:
- You need to step beyond IT and engage business leaders in new areas of business-led conversations
- You need to align your capabilities with the needs of the account to make it easier to understand how you can help the organisation
- You need to re-position the perception of the value you can offer the account and shift yourself from supplier to strategic partner
At The Craft, we’re taking a stand. If you want true ABM, which is strategic and will engage accounts [many or few], then we deliver Account Based Marketing. Find out more and see our video on ABM and Account Based Strategy.
