Tech companies were among the first to adopt Account-Based Marketing strategies. As the technology industry grew increasingly competitive, it became apparent that more advanced marketing methodologies were needed that went beyond traditional lead generation tactics that targeted generalized audiences.
Marketers using ABM sought to create more effective campaigns by focusing on smaller targets — specific accounts — and the key stakeholders and decision-makers within those accounts. What resulted was a more personalized approach that produced higher-value leads. This, in turn, led to more opportunities, closing bigger deals, and maximizing growth.
Now, ABM has rapidly become one of the top strategies for helping B2B tech companies. Instead of converting as many leads as possible, ABM enables tech companies to focus on a much smaller number of leads with a much higher value, which is more efficient at driving revenue and growth.
ABM Content Strategies in Tech
Though account-based marketing is different from traditional inbound and lead generation tactics, one thing remains the same — content is king. One of the best ways to get your messaging across to the right audience is through high-value, engaging content.
For ABM to work, all content must be customized to the target account and the key buyers in that account. Below, we’ll walk you through the essential steps when developing ABM strategies in tech to ensure the best results.
1. Identify and Understand the Stakeholders in the Account
To create the most effective content, you have to know exactly who your messaging is targeted to. Rather than targeting the account as a whole, you need to identify the key stakeholders who will play the biggest role in the buying process. They are the ones making the purchase decisions, so they are the ones your messaging needs to speak to.
Once these individuals have been identified, you’ll want to collect as much data on them as possible so you can understand their needs, goals, pain points, interests, purchase behaviors, and what influences them.
2. Create ABM Personas Based on the Key Decision Makers
After you’ve identified the key decision-makers in the account, it’s helpful to create buyer personas based on these individuals. Your buyer personas will act as representations that you can use to guide you as you create personalized content for the stakeholders.
The three primary personas that you will use in ABM to label the key decision-makers include:
- The Champion: The one who is passionate about what you are offering and will advocate for you and your solution to the other personas.
- The Influencer: The one who is deeply invested in the outcome of the buying decision and will provide critical feedback throughout the sales process.
- The Decision Maker: This one who will ultimately make the final buying decision or who is likely to be the buyer.
3. Audit Content for Gaps
When you start creating content for the personas, take stock of any content you already have. You may be able to utilize some of your existing content, but you will need to audit it to identify gaps where it doesn’t align with your new account and personas.
You will need to alter and update your content to speak to the key stakeholders in the new account and create new content if necessary to fill in any gaps. There is nothing wrong with repurposing old content, but it must be customized to specifically target the buyers with the power in the new account, otherwise, it won’t connect and may fall on deaf ears.
4. Create Personalized Content That Speaks to the Stakeholders
One of the biggest challenges with ABM is creating content that addresses all personas or stakeholders individually. While all stakeholders will work together to make a decision, they each have their own views and behaviors and thus are influenced differently. You must create content that targets each of them separately and collectively.
Planning and creating personalized content for multiple stakeholders can seem daunting. Still, it is a crucial part of any effective ABM campaign. Each stakeholder needs that personalized content to be able to develop a deeper connection with the solution you are offering.
That said, you can also create content that aligns with the agendas of each persona. Just be careful not to overgeneralize the content as this will be less impactful. You still want to speak to the individual needs of each stakeholder that you initially identified as crucial to the buying decision process.
5. Utilize Analytics to Track and Measure Performance
Last but certainly not least, it is vital that you use an analytics strategy to track and measure the performance of the content you are creating. You do not want to wait until the end of the campaign to discover your content wasn’t effective. Instead, track and measure what you are doing throughout the process so you can make changes as needed and gain insights for optimizing your content going forward.
Execute Successful ABM Strategies in Tech
Launching an ABM strategy with highly personalized content isn’t easy. It requires a lot of deep diving to thoroughly understand the account and the key decision-makers.
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