By Lauren Lyons, Market Analyst and Research Writer
There is an abundance of digital data in our world. While this makes for high amounts of Internet traffic and endless potential buyers, it also means it’s harder to reach the specific market you’re targeting.
Account-based marketing (ABM) bridges marketing and sales teams to target specific accounts and turn them into buyers. The key is customization and effectively using B2B content, which means much more than a logo or a standard brand offer.
Pain Points
The easiest way to approach B2B content for account-based marketing is by addressing specific pain points that the prospect has that your product or service can solve. Make a list of potential buyers and then dive into how pain points overlap for them.
An example could be a commercial water filtration company. They sell to two very different buyers:
- manufacturing/warehouse/distribution
- accounts professional offices
What do these buyers have in common? Neither can run out of water. For the first group, running out of water slows down production, causes staff to work slower, and can be considered a walk-out offense for unions. Professional offices also don’t want to run out of water. Employees would leave to go to the convenience store or go home for lunch, causing a delay in productivity. The water filtration company solves these issues with reliable, on-demand, great-tasting drinking water.
What’s ultimately important in any ABM campaign is creating content that addresses the buyer group on a more personal level. This process begins by identifying the group, as well as their pain points to create messaging that resonates with them.
Messaging that fits the buyer
This water filtration company can create marketing content based on the research of pain points for specific target audiences.
- For an eco-friendly buyer, the company can create an infographic showing the negative environmental effects of having bottled water versus water filtration.
- For the buyer focused on providing the latest wellness programs for its employees, an eBook can be published about the health benefits of filtered water vs. tap water.
- A social media post about the need to keep logistics and distribution centers healthy, especially during a pandemic, shows how the company is taking initiatives to protect employees and follow government guidelines.
Different buyers will react to different types of content in varying ways. PDFs may be more inviting to a company that sees a lot of federal regulations, whereas a high-tech buyer in a professional office setting is more likely to reshare a social media post that has an environmentally friendly emphasis.
Engagement
To close deals with these targeted accounts, marketing and sales must strategize together with collaborative expertise to find, engage, and nurture these potential customers.
B2B content is used to solve each kind of pain point for each kind of prospect. This can be both tricky and empowering. With PDFs, blog posts, infographics, PowerPoints, social media, and eBooks, it’s easy to adapt them but requires both marketing and sales to utilize them together as a team.
B2B content can also include more streamlined topics like budget constraints or workforce demands. It can demonstrate consistent benefits through shared customer experiences. Content that focuses on specific geography where your sales team is located will also aid in the sales process. These B2B content approaches can be reused or revamped in various channels, allowing for more opportunities for engagement.
Closing Deals
Personalized buying experiences, mutually agreed upon by sales and marketing, can make high-value prospects feel like they’re receiving individualized attention. With B2B content tailored to their buyer journey, there is greater ROI and a firmer foundation of customer loyalty. It invites in new customers and strengthens and revitalizes the relationship with existing ones using engaging, timely, and relevant content.
When marketing and sales align with B2B content, they engage these prospects and shift them into the next stage of the sales process. It keeps the company relevant in the market, decreases spending on irrelevant prospects, and utilizes business intelligence and shared data to help identify leads and scale the business.
