Account-based Marketing 101 – Phase 3: ABM Play & Value Proposition

by Sven Blaukat

Part 1 of the 6-part ABM series: >>Link<<
Part 2 of the 6-part ABM series: >>Link<<

An often underestimated part of account-based marketing (ABM) is the careful preparation and adaptation of all content to the desired target group. As part of our #MarketingClass23, we are presenting the different phases of ABM in more detail in a series of articles. This time it's about “ABM Play & Value Proposition”. 

In the first two parts of the ABM MarketingClass series, important preparations were discussed, such as the definition of objectives and segmentation of buyer groups.

The third part deals with adapting the content of products or services to the needs of individual accounts or the corresponding segmentation in order to draw attention to specific challenges, build thought leadership and partnerships and ultimately offer a solution.

A 1:Few campaign is considered here as an example (ABM Lite). The same principles apply to strategic ABM measures (1:1), but they are more focused on individual companies and people. Company-specific factors such as personality types, interests and public image are examined.

Various studies show that in the B2B sector, around 70% of the purchasing decision process is already completed before contact is made by sales or the provider. However, this does not necessarily apply to complex projects. It is therefore important to know what information buying committees normally need.

 SWOT-Analysis

 ABM Play creation

The “ABM Play” is necessary because an individual roadmap must be developed for each customer, segment or buyer group. Careful preparation of the play makes it possible to communicate the unique advantages of the products/services for each customer in a customized way and to present the differentiation from the competition. It helps to focus on promising topics.

The GE McKinsey Directional Policy Table can help to prioritize the topic (example):

 Messaging development

The messaging is now prepared by defining a detailed value proposition for each pre-defined persona / decision-maker / influencer group separately (workshop if necessary). The added value is weighed up against pain points and divided up among the decision-maker segments. Content specialists use the results to create a messaging framework that is divided into several phases of the customer journey (awareness, education/evaluation, justification). The messaging is later translated into advertising material, landing pages and content assets. It is a good idea to think about a suitable visual theme for the ABM campaign as early as possible to ensure recognition value during the campaign. A lot of time must be planned for this part, as the content leads to the trigger points that lead to interested parties and business opportunities.