B2B marketers have quickly adopted the rifle vs. shotgun approach for awareness building and lead generation by utilizing account-based marketing best practices. So much so that basic account-based marketing is no longer the competitive advantage it was a couple of years ago.
This blog, originally published in May 2017, was updated on July 11, 2018.
The benefits of Account-Based Marketing are clear:
For marketers, account-based marketing allows advertisers to customize and focus their efforts on a predefined target and tailor their media buys, messaging, and funnels/landing pages to those specific targets. This results in:
- Improved ROI by casting a narrow net
- Improved conversions rates with optimized messaging and personalization
- Reduced waste by eliminating impressions outside “sweet spot” targeted customers
But how can B2B marketers take their Account-Based Marketing programs to the next level?
Here are three easy tactics that will help you jump ahead of your competitors and get your message in front of the right decision makers where they work.
IP Targeting Business Addresses
You have already done the hard work of identifying your most valuable targeted accounts through industry, size, geography, or other firmographic data segmentation. Now the goal is to get in front of these ideal prospects with the right message and the frequency. IP Targeting Business Addresses gives you the ability to show your message to every employee within that location….while they are at work!
According to LinkedIn, there are now 6-10 people involved in each big-ticket B2B transaction. This doesn’t include all of the influencers and researchers who will support the purchase decision. It is important to get your company’s brand and message in front of as many people as possible within a targeted account. IP Targeting a businesses location is a very impactful way to accomplish this.
IP Targeting works by converting a physical address like 123 Main Street to the locations IP Address. For example, our IP Address is 47.185.185.18. Once the IP address is identified, you can show ads to users on that network when they surf the Internet.
What’s important with account-based marketing is targeting prospects with as personally relevant of a message as possible. Leads can be targeted through mobile, social media, display advertising, and video.
For example, we have a client that traditionally has sold print products to their customers, but now they also offer branding and marketing services. Our client wanted an efficient way to let their customers know about these new services. IP Targeting was the perfect solution. We were able to convert their customers’ addresses into IP’s and then serve ads directly within those locations. When their sales reps called on their customers to tell them about the new services, the customer was already informed because of the IP targeting ads.
We also have a client that wants to introduce new technology to improve efficiency in doctors’ offices. There are over 600,000 general practice physicians in the US and trying to get the word out quickly could be a daunting task. However, with IP targeting, we are able to get their message out in a hyper-targeted way, one market at a time.
Geoframe Key Industry Events
Like IP targeting business addresses, you can also target industry events large or small by serving ads to those who attend the event. For larger events, we often recommend also targeting the surrounding hotels.
When combined with IP Targeting you can target attendees before and after the event. They’ll have a chance to ‘meet’ your brand before you arrive and follow up afterward.
For example, we have a client that provides specific services to large hospital systems. The targeted decision makers for these hospitals attend roundtables throughout the year to stay informed on the latest trends and challenges. These events are typically 2 days long and are small but highly targeted for our client. During the event, we run ads on the attendees’ phones when they surf the web. However, using a technique known as venue replay, we are also able to show ads to them at a later date once they have returned home.
Engage Social Selling to Amplify Efforts
Because account-based marketing starts with a targeted list of accounts, it is easy to get sales involved in the message amplification process. Start by installing an IP tracking software like KickFire or Lead Forensics on your website that allows you to see what companies are responding to your efforts. Next, build alerts so sales reps assigned to targeted accounts can be notified when one of their prospective accounts visits your site. Make sure the sales team is well versed in social selling and are making efforts to share your content on their social channels and building deeper connections within their accounts.
According to LinkedIn, 20% of B2B decision makers turn over every year, and 65% of customer relationships rely on just one contact at a targeted account, so It’s important to combine IP Targeting with sales outreach to make sure your message is constantly being reinforced.
Account-based marketing reinforces the belief that the quality of a target audience matters. By using IP Targeting and CRM, marketers can find the right decision makers for your business.
With these options, you have the capability of reaching highly-targeted audiences, and you’re not wasting impressions on customers that don’t fit your business plan. Beyond locations, IP Targeting can optimize your ad delivery based on demographics, age, and gender to ensure you’re reaching your ideal customer.
Isn’t IP Targeting the same thing as Geo-Targeting?
Nope. Geo-Targeting uses groups of IP addresses to target an area. IP Targeting matches IP addresses to names and street addresses, targeting specific households.
IP Targeting also works without cookies. IP addresses cannot be deleted or blocked. Because the IP address does not contain personally identifiable information; it’s an anonymous way to aggregate the audiences you need. Whether that audience is students on a college campus or employees of a large enterprise.
When using IP Targeting, a company can ensure they get in front of the right new customers and stay connected to their existing accounts.
Make Your CRM Database Work For You
Account-based marketing is all about the targeting and CRM allows businesses to know where their targeted prospects and customers are interacting with them and when they transition from “marketing qualified” to “sales ready.” Social CRM information can be combined with other customer data to give businesses the best overall view of an individual customer’s behavior. From that, marketing departments can get a better idea of how to engage.
The key is to not let your CRM system become a glorified database.
That CRM data that your business is collecting can be used as part of a database marketing approach to attract new customers. Your marketing department can use the data you are collecting to learn more about your existing customers through customer segmentation. Armed with that knowledge they can target-specific markets for new campaigns.
Whether you are using IP Targeting, or CRM data, or both, your company can benefit from account-based marketing techniques. Focusing targeted account and communicating a personally relevant message will result in better conversion rates and higher ROI.
