Targeting is incredibly important when it comes to Account-based Marketing (ABM). It’s even more important than it is in traditional B2B marketing because you’re focusing your resources on fewer targets and you are committing to a much more personalized approach to marketing rather than the traditional “spray and pray” approach.
Your Shift to ABM
This doesn’t mean that you abandon your traditional mass emails to get people to attend webinars. But over time, as you get better with ABM, you’re going to shift more of your budget and more of your activities towards this much more targeted and personalized approach.
There is a risk with this
If you get the target account list wrong, you could be placing the wrong bet. It’s so important you get it right.
Differences Between Traditional and ABM Targeting
There’s some differences between the more traditional approach to targeting and how ABM has evolved targeting.
In the old way, we used to focus on territories. That’s still an understandable way to divide up your sales. But there’s a much greater focus on the target account list rather than geographic.
The old way is “pray and spray” and mass outreach; the new way is targeted.
The old way, there is a conveyor-belt handoff between sales and marketing, where you’re handing off an MQL to somebody in the sales team to qualify so it becomes an SQL.
In this new way, you’re working together much more collaboratively.
The ICP is Critical
The ideal customer profile is an important tool for any business-to-business marketer, especially in healthcare. It’s even more important in account-based marketing.
One of the most interesting aspects about ABM is that you’re focusing your attention on in-market prospects. This is where I think it gets really exciting. In terms of optimization, it’s a constant process and it’s also a real-time process.