TLDR:
Tier buyer personas while creating content and solidifying a website.
ABM is a hot trend. In fact, it’s more than that with the majority of B2B marketers practicing, or mulling over, at the very least, an ABM program strategy.
It’s often stressed that ABM is a focused approach in which marketing and sales work together to target best-fit accounts to turn them from prospects to customers. Given that many marketers get hung up on the tech to run ABM campaigns, content development can fall by the wayside.
To support successful content development efforts, marketers should build three-to-five personas that are representative of the accounts targeted. For instance, some marketers might create a tier exclusively of the decision-makers in target accounts while also tiering influencers and thought leaders in an industry.
When marketers lay their finished tiers out in their content plan, they should next create content for each persona in its own right. This way, the content is specific to the individual’s role. It’s important that marketers create content that resonates with people in a specific industry and all personas in target accounts. High-value accounts get content created for specific people.
All the while, marketers should be creating content that appeals to broad industries, such as eBooks. When creating content for the buying team and their influencers, the content must reflect where that person is in the buyer’s journey. For accounts at the beginning of the buyer’s journey, marketers can deliver value by presenting information paired with consistent messaging. Hyper-personalized content can be served to specific individuals on the buying committee in a 1:1 account.
ABM doesn’t end with the sale, though. Once marketers acquire a customer, they need to keep that customer happy. Precisely because ABM is what’s hot right now in B2B marketing, it also means that every business implementing an ABM program will probably be using similar content strategies. Any effort marketers can make to stand out will advance their businesses.
One of those methods is print. Specifically, handwritten print—letters. In an age where digital rules all forms of communication, the occasional correspondence by handwritten note/letter is a nice touch.
To truly sharpen your content development, ensure each persona is accurate and tailor content accordingly. Personalize content with an eye out for differentiation.
Original article from Marketing Land on 29 March 2019.