Account-based marketing (ABM) is way more accessible than it used to be for B2B marketers. It's gained momentum, as evidenced by our research that saw that 66% of B2B marketers use ABM as part of their strategy. This popularity is because it's becoming really accessible to most B2B marketing teams—you no longer need to be a big enterprise with a lot of resources and huge budgets. Businesses reap the best results when all departments—marketing, sales, customer success, etc.—are aligned and collaborating on the go-to-market (GTM) strategy for ABM. Forrester’s B2B Needs To Move Beyond Demand And ABM report states, “Too often, internal swim lanes based upon archaic functional boundaries prevent needed innovation that might lead to more intelligent and efficient marketing processes.” Collaboration across teams increases pipeline with an accelerated buyer journey, improved win rates, and more revenue generated from target accounts—and what marketing team doesn't want that? Rhetorical question… we all do! Here’s how to achieve it:

What is ABM? 
Before we dive in, let’s level set. Even though ABM has gained momentum and we have a better understanding of its challenges for marketing teams, B2B marketers still debate the definition of ABM. According to the Gartner Glossary, ABM is “a go-to-market strategy targeting certain accounts with a synchronized, continuous set of marketing and sales activities.”

Streamline processes and create operational efficiencies with buy-in from all marketing channels

Forrester’s 2022 State Of ABM Study found that 82% of respondents envision a future where demand and ABM are broadly or fully aligned by sharing people, processes, and tools. Your ABM lead isn’t the sole person responsible for your ABM strategy—it’s a multi-functional team effort. When asked which departments have ABM accountability other than the ABM lead, Uberflip customer Katerina Maerefat from OpenSesame states: “All departments need to be aligned to successfully launch ABM campaigns and efforts. This is key to success.” 

Creating a unified team that shares buyer engagement knowledge creates a more connected and consistent buyer experience. You can deliver the seamless, curated content experience your buyer craves with less effort when your entire team is brought into the same go-to-market strategy. 

Creating a connected experience for your buyers requires a lot of internal teamwork but the benefits are well worth the legwork! But breaking down silos within the team can be challenging and may require new best practices or even a paradigm shift in how your teams work together. You can better streamline processes, share knowledge, and reduce redundancy in your tech stack. Once you receive buy-in from your go-to-market team, you’ll resolve common roadblocks such as lack of resources and insufficient data simply by changing the way you work together. 

Open collaboration on buyer insights will increase your ABM program's success.

Cross-functional collaboration for a more cohesive buyer journey

Aligning teams creates a smoother customer experience where handoffs between marketing and sales are as natural as breathing. Uberflip’s research shows there’s a disconnect between what buyers want versus what B2B marketers provide. More than half (56%) of marketers are most focused on delivering personalization based on basic information, such as the customer’s name, company, or industry. According to buyers, personalization needs to be based on “the problem I’m looking to solve” and “content I might be interested in”. 

While ABM isn’t a new concept, today’s technology is making it easier to target accounts online with personalized content experiences, at scale, through multiple channels. Buyers want relevance when they’re searching for answers to their challenges. Having marketing and sales working on accounts together builds a clearer picture of the challenges an account is facing and what type of content is most relevant to them. Forrester’s report states that: “The silos that have typically existed between demand and ABM, for example, inhibit potential breakthrough thinking aimed at driving smarter demand and intelligent revenue growth.” If you want to increase the effectiveness of your ABM strategy and create a more cohesive journey for your buyers, you need to ensure your entire marketing team is aligned on the ideal customer, messaging, tactics, and timing to capture demand. 

Engage the whole team to implement and scale personalized ABM as just one GTM strategy

The idea that ABM is a shared responsibility with the ABM lead at the helm, versus their sole responsibility, can elevate your ABM strategies. As Babe Ruth said, "The way a team plays as a whole determines its success.” To gain real momentum and success with ABM, you need buy-in and collaboration from your entire marketing and sales teams. By getting your teams on the same page, you’ll be able to identify efficiencies while simultaneously streamlining your buyer journey—two birds, one stone.

Implementing your ABM strategy requires defined roles and responsibilities within marketing teams to smooth out the handoffs at key points of the buyer journey.

Speak to an expert today to find out how Uberflip can help all channels improve your ABM strategy.

Methodology

Marketers survey:
Uberflip surveyed 250 US-based marketers at the manager level or above in mid-February 2022.

Buyers survey:
Uberflip surveyed 250 US-based B2B buyers in early February 2022. All respondents were full-time employees at the manager level or above, working at companies with $50m or more in annual revenue.