Alphabet soup: Know the ABCs of ABM for B2B

Account-based marketing puts a focused, targeted twist on reaching and keeping customers. Here’s how to make it work for you.

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

The language of B2B communications is often awash in alphabet soup. Lately, three letters have been turning up repeatedly: ABM.

Short for “account-based marketing,” ABM is the practice of aligning sales and content strategies around your ideal customer. The point is to shorten the sales cycle with personalized storytelling and precise media targeting.

For many B2B marketers, the approach isn’t new. Some called it “key account management” until the discipline was rechristened in 2004.

What’s behind the latest surge in ABM? Tougher B2B market conditions.

In a post-M&A haze, many customers are wielding new buying power, calling for reviews to consolidate vendors and trim costs.

Just in time, legions of marketing technologies have come to the rescue. Check out this view of the teeming Martech ecosystem from HubSpot vice president Scott Brinker. Because Martech solutions link disparate tasks, marketers are becoming more efficient in the quest for their next customer.

As you begin organizing—and optimizing—marketing resources for the upcoming year, you’ll need to mind the ABCs of ABM for B2B buyers.

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.