Busting The Myths of Account-based Marketing

There is nothing new about account based marketing. In fact it is over 50 years old now and a staple in the B2B marketing circles. Recent technology has powerfully transformed it into its current, scalable form offering massive pipeline and revenue growth. Thanks to fact-based analytics, CRM, marketing automation services and personalization, the execution of account based marketing services is easier, measurable and no longer labour-intensive.

But as with most big things that are part of our daily lives, account-based marketing comes with its own set of assumed stereotypes. It is critical to debunk these so that CEOs can make more informed decisions about employing account-based marketing strategies that will turn their organizations into efficient, revenue-generating machines.

Myth #1 : Only Sales Know Their Accounts

So, the misconception here is: ABM is just another form of account planning and duplicates the efforts of the sales team.

Debunked- While sales is an integral part of account selection, marketing has an equal role in discovering new leads in an account-based approach. Account-based marketing successfully aligns both the sales and the marketing teams to work closely with each other in order to identify these target accounts.

Myth #2: ABM is just another “marketing thing”

And the myth goes: Account-based marketing is just another buzzword- latest tactic or vehicle in the B2B world that doesn’t necessarily work.

Debunked- First things first- ABM is not a tactic but a strategy and there are many B2B firms that offer account-based marketing services. It’s not only a marketing tool that has to be executed effectively with the sales and marketing teams, it’s a key sales enabler that aligns the company under one vision and goal. It is measurable and uses actionable insight-driven approaches to increase the return of investments.

Myth #3: Marketing Doesn’t Need To Qualify Leads

The myth here is the question: Why should marketing teams be tasked with generating leads? Isn’t it the job of the sales force?

Debunked- Since, account-based marketing requires the marketing and sales teams to unite their forces in order to achieve those target accounts through personalization, marketing must keep some leads in the pot to gather more information about their needs. These leads may not be warm but aren’t necessarily cold either but after identifying their needs, the marketing team can dole out content that resonates with them to turn them into Sales Qualified Leads (SQL).

Many B2B companies still need to delve a little deeper in account-based marketing services to avail the maximum benefits of such a promising strategy. So, don’t let the myths and misconceptions around ABM block your company’s growth.