B2B marketing is changing rapidly due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic and accelerating digital transformation around the world. It has fundamentally changed the buying behavior of companies and consumers. What began as a response to the crisis has now become the new normal: a major digital transformation has taken place.
The world is flooded with information about how a company works. According to Gartner, 80% of B2B buying decisions are made before contacting the seller, thanks to things like user ratings and comments.
The research firm predicts that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will take place through digital channels. According to a McKinsey study, two-thirds of shoppers will opt for remote human interaction or digital self-service in 2021.
B2B sales are now completely ubiquitous, with e-commerce, face-to-face communication and remote video conferencing all key components of the buyer experience. But converting shoppers to omnichannel isn't just about sending more transactions online. The desires of B2B customers are subtle, as are the most effective ways to reach them
Because B2B marketers have no chance of adopting this new, traditional account-based marketing (ABM) approach, an important part of this nuanced approach.
"All B2B companies should consider incorporating ABM into their marketing mix," says Anol Bhattacharya, CEO of marketing consultancy GetIT. Implementing a one-to-many or one-to-one ABM strategy is crucial, especially for B2B products where unit sales are high and sales cycles are long.
Several key metrics can help B2B companies decide if ABM is right for them. First, he explained that it is the period between earnings and profits.
“If you're a B2B business with short transaction times, ABM probably isn't for you. It is the first ABM positive if there is a lead time of at least six months.
The second is the investment cost. ABM is not cheap; It is important to upgrade your company's resources and invest in ABM preparation, which you will only do with a reasonable return on investment. Transactions above S$100,000 are good indicators, said Bhattacharya.
“We know that there are committees or buying groups with large investments. If you have a mall with three or more people, it looks more account oriented.
Bhattacharya adds that we are in a new era of transformation in B2B marketing in general. B2B companies are increasingly moving to an account-based position.
Going forward, marketers must first learn how people's shopping habits and needs have changed in order to provide more valuable insights to shoppers through ubiquitous content and content.
In this new reality, they must satisfy customers' needs in order to make a purchase. Today's average B2B buying team consists of six to ten decision makers, each sharing four or five ideas that they have collected themselves.
According to Gartner, there are four distinct "tasks" involved in nearly every B2B purchase that buyers must complete to secure a complex purchase: identify a problem, find a solution, identify needs, and select a vendor.
During the process, they have to verify their assumptions and reach a consensus among the people in the mall. Although the process may seem linear, 90% of buyers say they review or initiate at least one task throughout the buying process.
So how should marketers approach their ABM strategy? Who do you think can help them and what technologies will be most important in the future? Bhattacharya shares his 20 years of experience and knowledge and talks about the future of ABM for B2B marketers.
Interactive Marketing: What Goes into an Ideal Account-Based Marketing Strategy?
Bhattacharya: Clear goals, alignment of sales and marketing, and a logical process for customer selection are three critical success factors for ABM.
A clear data strategy and data management are also important parts of ABM. We all want to believe that we are in control of the data. Unfortunately, many B2B companies do not organize their communications and interactions with the data they collect about their customers.
We need to organize data across the funnel. We need to understand how we use data to drive rejection through lead nurturing and what we communicate to sales.
Another important element is the alignment of sales and marketing. In general, sales and marketing in B2B organizations do not work together in many cases. They don't take the opportunity to get their act together. If we can't get sales and marketing to work at a consistent, steady pace in an organization, don't even consider moving to ABM.
But the most important thing is how the content strategy supports ABM. The core principle of ABM is to separate from the chaos of content distribution. Every B2B buyer receives several e-books and webinar invitations every day. We can differentiate ourselves by moving away from generic content and creating content specific to our audience's industries, regions and pain points.
Interactive Marketing: Which Account-Based Technology Stack Should You Use?
Bhattacharya: Leadership is an important part of strategy. Technology can help, but cannot replace strategic framework conditions. To expand your ABM efforts, you can invest in account-specific advertising with solutions like 6sense or Demandbase.
For a one-to-one or one-to-one ABM strategy, you may need an account-specific landing page building tool like Folloze, which can also integrate with your marketing automation or CRM tools. As mentioned earlier, to measure ROI you need an integrated data strategy and toolbox across the entire revenue chain.
Interactive Marketing: What are the key considerations when looking for the right partner to help you with ABM?
Bhattacharya: Find partners who understand their business. Without specialist knowledge, such as B. understanding the product, competition or target customers, organizations cannot consult a broader strategic framework. Any half-reputable ABM agency has a documented process and recommended MarTech stack.
Compared to five years ago, when the biggest hurdle was getting customers to pilot ATMs, we now face a different challenge. As in the early days of marketing automation, today we are inundated with ABM campaigns based on mechanical formulas and the glorification of mediocrity.
ROI examples based on actual revenue are rarer than hen's teeth. Most organizations hide behind soft interaction metrics, SQL and MQL. Documented workflow is minimal. Without a thorough understanding of the market dynamics of a particular product and solution, one cannot rise above the status of an objective-based advertising platform broker.
Interactive Marketing: What Types of Businesses Should Consider Account-Based Marketing in Their Marketing Mix?
Bhattacharya: All B2B companies should consider adding ABM to their marketing mix. But especially with B2B products, where the revenue per unit sold is high and the sales cycle is long, implementing a one-to-one or one-to-one ABM strategy is essential.
B2B marketing is changing rapidly, not by choice, but by dramatic changes in market dynamics. The ongoing effects of the pandemic have accelerated digital transformation in most companies and fundamentally changed shopping behavior.
With a wealth of information, feedback and comments from users and influencers, B2B technology buyers do most of their homework and research online.
According to Gartner, 80% of B2B purchasing decisions are made before contacting the seller. According to a McKinsey study, two-thirds of shoppers will opt for remote human interaction or digital self-service in 2021.
The emergence of digital as a channel has not only propelled ABM to greater prominence, but shifted the responsibility for revenue streams to marketing. Due to the increase in information available to potential customers and the increasing number of factors influencing purchase decisions, the buyer's journey has changed in recent years, especially in the last two years of the pandemic.
Several key metrics help B2B companies decide if ABM is right for them. First, there's the timeline between the lead and the sale. If you're a B2B business with short transaction times, ABM probably isn't for you.
If results are delayed for at least six months, this is the first positive ABM. The second is the investment cost. ATMs are not cheap; You need to start recycling your resources and investments to prepare your missile defenses. They will only do this if there is a decent return on that investment. Here trade values around $100,000 and above are good indicators.
We know that there are commissions or shopping malls with big investments. If you have a mall with three or more people, it looks more account oriented.
Interactive Marketing: What Are the Benefits of Account Based Marketing? How does ABM help us find growth gaps?
Bhattacharya: 99% of leads generated from B2B marketing never convert into sales. A 99% failure rate would be completely unacceptable in any other profession. But B2B marketing, hidden behind vague and mostly measurable terms like brand equity, awareness and goodwill, confuses B2B marketers and organizations. Especially in the post-pandemic era, when marketing budgets are tight, ABM is the only way to find new customers and keep existing ones.
CMOs and CMOs certainly have more pressure to have a greater impact on their organization's business results. CMOs have encouraged companies to develop better and more efficient targeting methods to reduce unnecessary activity and be more specific with potential organizations.
This has been a strategic driver and we have seen advances in technology platforms that support this; ABM platforms span the spine from the top, middle and bottom of the funnel, and then data services to help B2B marketers determine who is and isn't in the market. We are now in a new era of B2B marketing transformation. B2B companies are increasingly moving to an account-based position.
Marketers must first identify how shopping has changed in order to deliver more valuable information to customers through digital content and sales-oriented content. In this new reality to make a purchase that meets the needs of customers.
Today's average B2B buying team consists of six to ten decision makers, each sharing four or five ideas that they have collected on their own. As mentioned earlier, according to Gartner, every B2B purchase consists of four distinct "tasks" that must be completed to complete a complex purchase with the buyer's complete satisfaction:
And throughout the process, they need to validate their assumptions and reach consensus among people in the mall. Although the process may seem linear, 90% of buyers say they review or initiate at least one task throughout the buying process. Potential customers don't have to choose between retailers and digital channels; They need access to the right information to do their job.