What is Conversational ABM, and why does your account-based marketing strategy need it?

These days, every thriving B2B company either has an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy or plans to launch one soon. ABM has completely transformed how marketers approach their go-to-market motion. 

Unlike broad-based marketing, ABM focuses on selling and marketing at the account level rather than the lead level. This tactic is beneficial for a few key reasons:

1. It enables B2B marketers to focus their efforts on specific accounts that fit the business’s ideal customer profile (ICP) and are most likely to buy
2. It’s suited to how B2B companies buy, which involves a buying team made up of multiple stakeholders within a company
3. It aligns sales and marketing around the same targets, which leads to a cohesive buyer experience

The benefits of ABM are clear

The impact of ABM is indisputable: 97% of B2B marketers said ABM had a higher ROI than other initiatives, companies saw an average of 91% increase in average deal size as a result of ABM efforts, and win rates are 38% higher for companies that invest in ABM.

But challenges still exist

Launching an ABM program can be overwhelming and doesn’t come without its challenges. According to TOPO research, the top three barriers to starting, continuing, or scaling ABM initiatives are:

1. Creating a scalable strategy for multiple accounts
2. Customizing content and experiences
3. Coordinating programs across marketing and sales

There are plenty of ways to fix common ABM mistakes. While the intent behind ABM is to take a targeted approach, marketers still need to find ways to scale their efforts. After all, the vast majority of marketers are doing ABM on top of their existing broad-based marketing efforts. However, scaling ABM can’t come at the risk of delivering non-personalized experiences or a buyer journey that’s fragmented across the marketing-sales handoff.

So what’s a marketer to do?

Enter Conversational ABM

It’s that magic moment when someone from one of your target accounts hits your website. What happens next is usually where ABM programs start to break down…

Is that visitor receiving a tailored experience reflective of the VIP treatment they deserve?

Is your sales team aware the visitor is on your website?

Are you able to engage the visitor in a meaningful way? (Spoiler alert: form gates are not the meaningful engagement your VIP visitors are looking for!)

The concept of Conversational ABM is simple: instantly connect your sales team with target accounts the moment they arrive on your website. Conversational ABM transforms a quick website visit into a full sales conversation with your most meaningful visitors.

Conversational ABM Definition: Conversational ABM is the act of identifying and proactively engaging with target accounts that visit your website in real time using personalized outreach and tailored conversations.

Receiving automated alerts and seamlessly starting real-time conversations with target accounts on your website — even if visitors are anonymous — is just the beginning of how Conversational ABM enables you to scale personalized experiences for your ABM targets.

Conversational ABM accelerates your account-based strategy

Conversational ABM is the next evolution of account-based strategies because it works. It accelerates your account-based strategy with impressive results.

Our customers have seen a 10x increase in conversations with target accounts and have booked 64% more meetings with target accounts. 

This acceleration is attributed to the following outcomes of Conversational ABM:

• Capture and qualify leads faster than ever before. Once you’ve invested in targeted campaigns for your ABM accounts, you can’t afford to force VIP visitors to fill out a form and wait for your response. Replace the form gates with conversations to give your sales reps a better chance at engaging and qualifying top-tier prospects.
• Deliver VIP experiences for VIP accounts. Conversational ABM enables you to have tailored, real-time engagement with prospects (check out our guide for tips on using personalized conversations to proactively engage visitors). This ensures your high-value visitors have a red carpet buying experience.
• Overcome the hurdle of the anonymous buyer. Buyers are increasingly interested in remaining anonymous during their research phase and reject attempts to collect their information. They want to buy on their own terms, and they don’t want to be bombarded with generic, spammy marketing emails that follow a form-fill. Taking a consultative conversational approach can earn your buyer’s trust and get you in the door faster during  the buyer’s consideration and evaluation stages.
• Strengthen sales and marketing alignment. Conversational ABM ushers in a seamless handoff between marketing and sales and encourages both teams to collaborate on delivering a top-notch experience for top-tier accounts. 

Getting started with Conversational ABM

Regardless of where you are in your ABM journey, it’s a good time to adopt a Conversational ABM strategy. Ready to jump in?

In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting in-depth advice on how to build your Conversational ABM program, including:

• How to segment and identify your target accounts
• How to attract target accounts to your website
• How to alert and route visitors to the right reps for real-time engagement
• How to start compelling conversations with target visitors
• How to measure the impact of your Conversational ABM efforts
  

In the meantime, check out our Conversational ABM Playbook to access a collection of strategies for using Conversational ABM to engage and convert your target accounts.