Those who have succeeded in extracting huge value out of ABM did one thing that others did not: researched their target accounts very well.
Research, or Insight forms a part of the overall Account Based Marketing process after the selection of the target accounts. However, the selection of which accounts to include in your ABM Program requires a level of research too. Therefore, research is critical for your overall Account Based Marketing program and can decide the success or failure of your ABM Program.
What differentiates a successful ABM program from the rest is research. Research which fuels the insights for the Account Based Marketing program to deliver highly personalized experience for the target ABM account.
Forrester Research agrees: the primary question you need to be asking before venturing into ABM is “What new data will I need to make ABM successful?”. Obtaining refined, up-to-date data that is stored and presented in a structure manner would answer the most important question you should be asking before venturing in too deep with ABM.
Since research is crucial for your ABM program, it is vital that you conduct research well enough so that it forms the foundation for the rest of your Account Based Marketing program such as engagement and nurturing.
Extract more value from your ABM through account-specific research
You can extract greater amount of value from your existing ABM programs through performing research about your target ABM accounts. If you do not know your account well enough, you will face difficulties in laying the foundation of ABM to win the account. You can learn about your target accounts through understanding the business priorities of your target account, business challenges that your ABM accounts are facing, how well your ABM accounts are doing financially and finally anything that the CEO and C-suite of your target account sleepless nights. To learn more read our article: Learning about the ‘A’ in ABM.
Research is crucial for your ABM Program
Particularly at the earlier stages of your ABM Program, account selection and account insight are critical as it forms as a vital knowledge base for your Account Based Marketing efforts. The early stage of ABM Program involves account selection and insight on those selected accounts which implies the importance of ABM Account Insight itself. Account selection and insight is dependent upon desk-based research, which highlights the importance of Account Insight at the early stage of ABM Programs.
Conclusion
You can leverage account based research in order to fuel your Account Based Marketing Program with the insight you need to succeed and extract more value. Above all, researching your target accounts is a vital foundation for every Account Based Marketing program that drives real business results, customer satisfaction and long-lasting customer relationships.