The order flips.
The usual approach reaches a broad audience first and picks prospects from whoever shows interest. Account-based marketing turns that round: you choose the companies you want to work with first, and every contact goes only to them and to the decision makers inside them.
That’s why, in ABM, the list isn’t groundwork; it is the strategy. Which companies are on it decides who the message goes to, and why.
There are no cold lists. Only companies you haven’t reached yet.
Account-based work in five steps.
Ideal customer profile
Which companies, in which sector, of what size and in which region, are the right customers for you? The customers you work best with today are the best source for this profile.
Target account list
The companies that fit are listed one by one. The list doesn’t need to be long; it needs to be right.
Decision-maker map
At each company, work out who takes part in the buying decision: who decides, who influences, who uses it.
Personalised contact
The message is built around the company and the person’s role. Sending the same text to the whole list isn’t account-based work.
Measurement
Success isn’t how many people were reached; it’s where the accounts on the list now stand: who replied, which account has a meeting, which one is stuck.
Two approaches, two starting points.
| Account-based | Broad outreach | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Companies chosen in advance | The widest audience you can reach |
| Message | Written for the company and the decision maker’s role | Written for what the audience has in common |
| Measure of success | How target accounts move: reply, meeting, sale | Reach and the number of prospects gathered |
Five steps, four pages.
- Ideal customer profileThe SilverOps team writes the target definition with you. Target account lists
- Target account listThe list is built and every account enriched. Target account lists
- Decision-maker mapThe decision maker is found at each account. Target account lists
- Personalised contactMulti-step follow-up, written for each account. Follow-up sequences
- MeasurementEvery account shows its stage on the pipeline panel. Pipeline panel
Customers who’ve gone quiet are handled the same way. Customer win-back
Questions about ABM.
What’s the difference between ABM and lead generation?
Lead generation gathers interest from a broad audience and turns it into prospects. ABM starts by choosing the company and builds every contact around the decision makers there. One narrows the funnel from a wide top; the other starts with chosen accounts.
How do you put account-based marketing into practice?
In five steps: describe the ideal customer, list the target accounts that fit, identify the decision makers at each, build the message around each account and role, and track progress account by account. With SilverGrow, the SilverOps team sets these steps up and runs them.