The ABCs of ABM (Exit Five Newsletter #113)

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🖥️ 4-steps to audit your forms

There are two main levers you can pull when you need more leads:

1. Drive more web traffic
2. Improve conversion rates

The first time my manager asked me to focus on improving conversion, I froze. I had no idea where to start – it seemed complicated, expensive, and time consuming.

But that doesn’t have to be true… there’s an easier place to get started: your form design.

And there’s likely a few quick wins hiding in there.Our friends at Tillersuggest starting with these four:

1. Be specific about what you’re asking users to do and what happens next
2. Remove fields you don’t absolutely need (e.g. phone number)
3. Stack fields vertically to reduce horizontal eye movement
4. Include help text and detailed error messages

Want a little extra help, for free?Snag a zero-cost web form audit from Tiller– no strings attached. You’ll walk away with data-driven recommendations that will improve your forms at zero-cost.

It’s a no brainer so make sure you snag one of the spots before they fill up.

The ABCs of ABM

I have never run an ABM campaign. I know it stands for Account Based Marketing, but that’s about where my knowledge ends.

But every time we release a podcast on ABM, it shoots to the top of our most downloaded episodes list (seriously, like four of the top ten are related to ABM).

So I dug into the archives to get a better sense of what it actually is, and isn’t and summarized insights from experts like Christopher Rack (CEO at PharosIQ), Hillary Carpio (Head of ABM at Snowflake), and John Short (CEO at Compound Growth Marketing).

What is it?

Account Based Marketing (ABM) is essentially what it sounds like – it’s a strategy where you target specific accounts instead of an ICP. So you’d go after HubSpot, Salesforce, and Marketo instead of marketing automation software in general.

But that’s just about where the clarity ends when it comes to ABM – ask 10 different marketers to define it, and you’ll get 10 different answers. Even worse, 42% of ABM campaigns struggle to show ROI according to a study by Forrester.

What it is

• Strategy, Not Tactic:ABM is a strategy that involves focusing marketing and sales efforts on specific, high-value accounts. It’s about aligning marketing and sales to work together in targeting these accounts with personalized and relevant content and outreach.
• It’s not just marketing:ABM requires collaboration across multiple departments and business units. It's not just a marketing tactic but a cohesive strategy that involves both marketing and sales teams working in unison to achieve a common goal.
• A Long-Term Play:ABM is about playing the long game. It often involves creating deep, meaningful relationships with key accounts over time, rather than expecting immediate results.

What it isn't

• Not a Product: ABM is not a piece of software or a tool that you can simply buy and implement. While there are platforms that can support ABM efforts, the strategy itself is much broader and doesn’t depend on any specific technology.
• Not Just Fancy Ads: ABM is more than just serving ads to target accounts. While display ads can be part of an ABM strategy, they are not the entirety of it. True ABM involves a combination of personalized tactics and outreach across multiple channels.
• Not Scalable in a Traditional Sense:ABM, especially one-to-one or one-to-few approaches, isn’t meant to be scaled in the same way as other marketing tactics. It’s highly customized and targeted, meaning that trying to apply the same strategy to a broad audience dilutes its effectiveness and turns it into generic marketing rather than true ABM. 

Get Started with ABM in 5-Steps

1. Know Where You Stand: Take a good look at your business and figure out which accounts are the most important right now.
2. Pinpoint the Challenges:What are the big hurdles you need to overcome? Is it getting your foot in the door with new accounts, or growing the ones you already have?
3. Craft Your Strategy:Build a game plan that tackles those challenges head-on. Whether it’s sparking interest in new accounts or expanding existing ones, make sure your approach fits the need.
4. Sync with Your Goals:Make sure your ABM efforts are in line with your company’s bigger picture. Work closely with sales to keep everyone on the same page.
5. Launch, Learn, and Tweak:Roll out your plan, keep an eye on how it’s working, and be ready to make changes as you go. It’s all about fine-tuning for the best results. 

I’m truly fascinated by this strategy and see why it’s such a popular topic for this community.I’d love to see some examples/hear from you about your experience with ABM. Show me what you got!

Bonus: if you’re an Exit Five member –check out these ABM templatesfrom Brandon Redlinger (and if you’re not, sneak in there for a 7 day free trial to get the goods).

P.S. As of today, I’m OOO for two weeks (getting married in Dublin 👰) - but fear not! You’ll keep getting the newsletter while I’m out and the lovely Exit Five team will be reading all of your responses.

And yes, I’ll still read and cherish them when I’m back :) 

Episode #169: Behind the Scenes of Our Content Strategy and How We’re Building the Team (Inside Exit Five)

Dave sits down with yours truly to share a behind the scenes look at the content strategy driving Exit Five.

Dave and I cover:

• How to hire a “Head of Content” and what mistakes to avoid
• Behind the scenes of how Exit Five repurposes content (like this podcast!)
• The fun challenges of going from a solopreneur to team of five

Listen to the Episode Now on Spotify

Or find it everywhere you listen by searching "exitfive" podcast.

Episode #170: How Marketers Can Be Better Partners with Sales with Jen Allen-Knuth

Dave sits down with Jen Allen-Knuth, founder of DemandJen. Jen shares her insights from her 15+ years in B2B Sales, from managing a quota to building great working relationships with marketing.

Jen and Dave cover:

• Co-creating content with Marketing and Sales that drives better customer engagement and grows your pipeline
• How Jen successfully built her audience using video on LinkedIn and leveraged it to start DemandJen
• How companies should focus on genuine diversity efforts rather than superficial inclusivity

Listen to the Episode Now on Spotify

Or find it everywhere you listen by searching "exitfive" podcast.

Upcoming Events

In today's challenging business landscape, marketers face the daunting task of not only crafting an efficient marketing plan, but implementing it quickly, proving its value, and continuously adapting the plan on the fly. The ever-changing macroeconomic environment adds an extra layer of complexity, making success even harder to achieve.

Join our webinar with Dave and Rowan Tonkin, CMO at Planful, where they’ll lead you through the essential steps to building your plan, getting it approved, and unlocking the full potential of your marketing efforts.

You’ll discover:

• Tips to build a powerful marketing plan that aligns with your business objectives.
• Strategies to gain plan approval from executives and board members.
• Best practices and practical approaches to flawlessly execute your marketing plan, turning ideas into measurable results.
• Insights into the advantages of scenario planning and how it can prepare your marketing team to adapt to the ever-changing economic landscape.

The webinar is onSeptember 18th at 3PM ET, click the link below to reserve your spot. 

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