DEAL SIZE, COMPLEXITY AND IMPORTANCE
Account-Based Marketing is best suited for deals that have high monetary value, significant complexity where many people are involved in the evaluation and approval process, and that take a significant amount of time to win. ABM integrates complex motions between Marketing, Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) and Account Management across complete sales cycles, with elements that may touch every person in the prospect organization that has a role in the process.
THE TWO MARKET SEGMENT CHARACTERISTICS FOR ABM
Account-Based Marketing works best for two specific types of market segments:
In the first case, the market segment has a fixed number of prospect accounts that does not materially change over time and you have had significant success penetrating some portion of this market segment and can replicate your success with other look-alike organizations. The goal is to be in front of all prospects all of the time, and win deals as prospects demonstrate need until you reach 100% market penetration.
In the second case, organizations are periodically moving in and out of market for your solutions, and you can meet them at their moment of need. The goal here is to detect which of your prospects are in-market for your products or services at any points in time, and then present a well-orchestrated campaign that engages each person at the prospect account involved in the buying process at the right times and in the right ways.
Fundamentally, the first case is an always-on approach with a targeted list of prospects, while the second case has an ever-evolving prospect list that targets prospects only when they are most receptive to your marketing program.