Marketers talk a lot about personalization. B2B account-based marketing (ABM) is a space where it comes to life.
When sales and marketing teams know which companies and people are the best fit for their product or service, ABM offers a way to speak to them directly with relevant messaging and offers they care about.
Whether you’re considering investments in ABM or have already taken that first step, it’s worth a pause to assess the lay of the land. Here’s a look at the latest ABM trends to surface and what remains top-of-mind when it comes to smart ABM strategies.
What’s New in B2B Account-Based Marketing?
Using First-Party Data as Your ABM Strategy Foundation
The best way to connect meaningfully through account-based marketing starts with looking at your own data. The good news is tools like HubSpot and StackAdapt are making that easier.
You can import company lists directly from HubSpot into StackAdapt, and then enhance those lists with demographic filters like job titles and job functions. Identifying where there’s overlap, you can create a finely tuned audience list for your ads.
There’s also the option to import HubSpot contact lists from target accounts, as well. You can build workflows that instantly alert the contact owner or sales team when someone from your list sees an ad and visits your landing page, allowing for timely follow-up.
For more insights on how HubSpot and StackAdapt work together to move the needle faster, watch our recorded webinar with them, along with HubSpot’s Maggie Philbin and industrial marketing leader Robert Rose.
Working Multi-Channel Angles To Reach Target Accounts
When you have contacts in your CRM that have expressed interest, it’s a matter of guiding them down the funnel. And when you can do that across multiple channels with ABM, all the better.
Platforms like StackAdapt provide a way to target those same first-party audiences through display, native and connected TV (CTV) ads. You can also import that same contact list into Google Ads to create a custom audience and add them to a targeted search campaign. If a contact from one of these key accounts looks up a keyword you’re targeting, you can bid more aggressively to preserve your spot.
Through HubSpot integrations, social platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook can also leverage first-party lists for targeted advertising.
Using AI To Sharpen Your Account-Based Marketing Strategy
Sometimes your list for account-based marketing isn’t fully baked, or maybe you’re tapping into a new market of high-value accounts. Backed by expertise, AI can be an ally in getting your marketing efforts off the ground.
You can use AI to define what your list criteria should look like to identify target accounts, brainstorm value-driven, personalized messaging and even recommend optimal channels and touchpoints based on who you’re trying to reach. AI can also help with budget forecasting, letting you estimate what’s realistically needed to make this outreach happen.
And when you’re trying to re-engage deals that went cold or chose a competitor? (More on that below.) AI can highlight differentiators and opportunities to give your outreach renewed relevance.
Re-Engaging Lost Deals and Growing Existing Accounts
ABM is extremely valuable for prospecting, but its worth extends beyond that. It can provide an avenue to re-ignite lights that went out or spark new opportunities with the clients you serve.
Done well, re-engagement campaigns feel personal, timely and helpful. If a former lead had a change in leadership or if you’ve released a new offering that fills a known gap, it’s worth reaching out. If you know a competitor isn’t delivering the experience they promised, a tailored message could get the conversation going again.
If a customer has recently expanded, launched a new initiative or started asking about services you offer elsewhere, ABM empowers you to meet that moment. You already have a relationship. It’s about adding value they didn’t know they needed.
Connecting the Dots for Account-Based Advertising Attribution
ABM has a lot of touchpoints across multiple platforms, and that can make reporting on ABM success difficult. A tighter integration between HubSpot and StackAdapt lends itself well to greater visibility into what’s driving real engagement.
While there’s value in seeing if someone clicked on an ad and converted, the real proof your ABM strategy is working comes from a full sequence of touches. Someone might see an ad and, after receiving a series of emails, return to the site days later through a branded search. When tracking is set up with UTM parameters and structured URLs, marketing and sales teams can start to connect those dots.
This kind of multi-touch attribution helps you spot patterns. Are conversions ticking up in organic or direct traffic while your ABM campaigns are running? Are more people searching your brand name after seeing a series of ads? You can attribute some of these wins to your ABM initiatives.
What Remains at the Core of B2B Account-Based Marketing
The most powerful ABM programs still come down to the same idea: talk to the right people, with the right message, at the right time, and make sure your marketing and sales efforts are aligned and working together.
That means pinning content to where someone is in the journey. If your list is from a tool like Apollo.io or ZoomInfo—and it’s the first time someone is learning about your brand—focus on more of an awareness marketing campaign to peak their interest and collect their information. If you’re targeting mid-funnel leads who are already in your database, you might take them to an ungated resource like an interactive quiz to keep your brand top of mind. For leads further down the sales funnel, focus your ABM efforts around landing pages that prompt them to book a demo or talk to a specialist.
B2B account-based marketing is also about staying present in more than one place. At the same time your target audience is hit with account-based advertising, you could also send them emails if they’re opted in as marketing contacts. If they haven’t opted in, you can enroll contacts into automated HubSpot sequences and have your sales team connect with them on LinkedIn.
Kuno Is Your Strategic Partner for ABM Success
Between evolving tech, shifting buyer behavior, and coordinating across teams, B2B account-based marketing can feel like a lot to navigate. But when you get it right, the impact speaks for itself.
Personalized content, delivered to the right individuals at target companies, when it makes most sense. That’s what moves deals forward in the sales process. That’s what drives revenue growth.
At Kuno, we draw from the latest trends, platforms and tools, while never losing sight of the bigger picture: building strategies that are thoughtful, well-coordinated and built to perform. We make sure those strategies are measurable, so you can see what’s working and driving results.
As your partner, we’re here to help your ABM spend go further and your business grow faster. Let’s connect on how to make it happen.
Kuno Paid Media Director Annie Callahan contributed to this article.
Bridget Cunningham
