ABM vs. MA in Energy Services: Do You Have the Right Strategy to Drive Sales from Targeted High-Value Accounts?

In the contemporary digital marketing landscape, businesses have access to a wide range of strategies and tools to effectively engage with their target audience. Two prominent strategies often used are Account-Based Marketing (ABM) and Marketing Automation (MA). While both can be effective, there are fundamental distinctions between them.

ACCOUNT-BASED MARKETING (ABM):
ABM is a strategic approach that prioritizes the targeting of high-value accounts or companies for sales and revenue generation. Here’s how it works:

• Highly Targeted: ABM identifies and focuses on individual accounts with high potential to become valuable customers, utilizing in-depth research and segmentation.
• Personalization: ABM campaigns are customized to align with the unique needs and interests of each target account.
• Sales and Marketing Alignment: ABM encourages close collaboration between sales and marketing teams. Both departments work together to identify, and engage target accounts.
• Advertising Component: ABM is usually integrated with specific digital advertising that will identify and discover intent from a target audience.
• Longer Sales Cycle: ABM is particularly effective for industries characterized by longer sales cycles and intricate buying processes, where relationship-building is vital.

MARKETING AUTOMATION (MA):
Marketing Automation, conversely, is a broader strategy that harnesses technology to automate and streamline various marketing processes and tends to cater to marketing communications. Here’s an overview:

• Workflow Automation: MA tools automate tasks such as email marketing, lead nurturing, and customer segmentation.
• Lead Nurturing: It facilitates lead nurturing by delivering pertinent content at stages in the buyer’s journey, to convince buyers who should already be interested.
• Non-intent Based: MA is used for scalability by sending content to people who the user thinks would be interested in their offers, rather than based on intent , resulting in a high volume of leads.
• Shorter Sales Cycle: Although adaptable for longer sales cycles, MA is frequently associated with shorter sales cycles and high-volume lead generation.

ELEVATING ABM WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY:
To supercharge your ABM efforts, a unique data-driven advertising technology can be integrated into your strategy. This premium feature leverages first- and second-party intent data to deliver consistent, qualified opportunities via targeted ads placed in pertinent publications. This enhances the understanding of buyer intent, allowing for more personalized outreach and vastly improved sales efficiency.

CONCLUSION:
In summary, ABM and MA represent distinct but complementary strategies. ABM, with its high degree of intent, is well-suited for industries characterized by longer sales cycles and larger price points, while MA streamlines marketing processes for a broader audience such as those in B2C. The key is to select the approach or combination that aligns best with your business objectives and target audience.

ActiveConversion has helped hundreds of energy and industrial companies reach their goals using account-based marketing strategies to increase revenue. Find out more at:
https://activeconversion.com/