Account-Based Marketing For Dummies

Chapter 1

Introducing the Basics of Account-Based Marketing

IN THIS CHAPTER

Applying the fundamentals of account-based marketing

Dissecting traditional B2B marketing practices

Getting away from leads and the traditional lead-based funnel

Flipping the funnel for account-based marketing

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a hot topic. #ABM and #FlipMyFunnel are trending on Twitter. At business-to-business (B2B) marketing events, featured speakers illustrate the value of account-based marketing. If you’re unfamiliar with ABM, this chapter shows exactly what account-based marketing is, and how it can change the status quo of how your company measures its success metrics.

This chapter defines account-based marketing, and shows why ABM is such a powerful movement in the B2B marketing industry. I list the major reasons why companies need to implement account-based marketing, and how you flip the traditional B2B sales and marketing funnel. Instead of collecting tons of leads at the top of the funnel, I describe how to quickly identify your best-fit customers, then convert these prospects into your accounts for targeted marketing.

Defining Account-Based Marketing

The essential definition of account-based marketing is focused B2B marketing. The term account-based marketing isn’t new. Identifying and targeting key accounts has always been a best practice for B2B marketing and sales teams. What’s different today about account-based marketing is that improved technology gives marketing teams ...