The One ABM Rule I Swear By: Balancing Personalization and Efficiency

The balance of personalization and cost

I’ve been doing B2B for a long time and over the last decade or longer I’ve become a firm believer in the power of account-based marketing (ABM) and its ability to engage high-value accounts with personalized messaging and content.

However, as we’ve expanded our ABM efforts, we faced the challenge of scaling our customer’s campaigns without sacrificing the level of personalization that makes ABM so successful. It's a delicate balancing act – on one hand, personalization is key to creating meaningful connections with target accounts, but on the other hand, the costs associated with highly customized campaigns can quickly add up and become unsustainable as we scale.

Though we’ve solved some of these cost challenges with systems and processes, I've also discovered a tiered approach to ABM that helps us scale our efforts while maintaining a balance between personalization and efficiency, all while keeping costs under control. 

Today, I want to share with you the three tiers of ABM that I see most often: One-to-One, One-to-Few, and One-to-Many, and provide insights on how you can templatize each tier with common elements while still allowing for customization to address the unique needs of each account. 

By finding the right balance between personalization and cost-effective scalability, we've been able to drive successful ABM campaigns that deliver results without breaking the bank.

Tier 1: One-to-One ABM

No doubt, One-to-One ABM is the most personalized and targeted approach to account-based programs, focusing on creating highly customized campaigns for individual, high-value accounts. I've found this tier to be best suited for accounts that have the potential to generate significant revenue and require a deep understanding of their unique challenges, goals, and needs.

When I use One-to-One ABM:

• For high-value accounts that have the potential to generate significant revenue
• When I need to demonstrate a deep understanding of the account's unique needs and challenges
• When the account requires a highly personalized and customized approach

Scaling One-to-One ABM:

To scale my One-to-One ABM efforts at the least effort possible, I've developed a system that combines common elements with personalized touches. This approach allows me to maintain a high level of customization while streamlining the campaign creation process. Here's how I break it down:

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Common Elements:

• Overall design and layout. There’s no reason I need to move rectangles and boxes around on every campaign. This part is a no-brainer. 
• Using the core brand, I leverage color schemes that resonate with the industry. Manufacturing, maybe a bit more black and grey… Retail, maybe more colorful… Medical, blues and greens. 
• Industry-specific imagery and iconography. If I’m targeting the automotive vertical, my concepts can lean towards auto imagery, even when my copy might vary slightly.
• Key messaging and value propositions that address common industry challenges. Though I typically create a specific core concept related to the accounts needs, there are always similarities between companies in the same vertical. I will create a template of common industry messaging and positioning and then tailor it to the brand being targeted. 

Where I Personalize:

• Company logo and branding. Though I leave room in my templates to place a logo of specific brand colors, I always personalize with a logo and perhaps (if warranted) some brand imagery. 
• Specific challenges and pain points unique to the account. This is where the magic happens. Though I may use templated industry positioning, I leave a component in all assets for company-specific copy.
• Personalized headlines and subheadings that speak directly to the account's needs. Like the challenges and pain points above, I leave room for mapping the pain points to a list of standard solutions that directly address each… but the pain points are usually custom-developed. 
• Case studies and testimonials from similar companies within the same industry. I usually have our clients give us 4-5 case studies per vertical that solve a specific problem. Then I simply pull the case study that aligns with the challenges of the specific account. 
• Calls-to-action that align with the account's specific goals and objectives. This is usually driven by sales. What do we want the customer to do? Though the offer may be standard, we might sometimes put in a custom offer related to the account-specific needs. 

Tier 2: One-to-Few ABM

One-to-Few ABM targets a small group of accounts (typically 5-10) that share similar characteristics, such as industry, revenue size, or business challenges. I've found this approach allows for the creation of targeted campaigns that resonate with the specific needs and challenges of each account within the group.

When I use One-to-Few ABM:

• When targeting a small group of accounts with similar characteristics
• When the accounts have similar needs, challenges, and goals
• When I want to create targeted campaigns that resonate with the specific needs of each account within the group

How I think about segmentation for One-to-Few ABM accounts:

When it comes to One-to-Few ABM, I've found that there are several ways to micro-segment target accounts beyond just industry. Here are a few common micro-segmentation approaches that I've used successfully:

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1. Revenue size or employee count: I often group accounts based on their annual revenue or number of employees, which helps me tailor my messaging and solutions to the specific needs and challenges of companies at different growth stages.
2. Geographic location: Segmenting accounts by region, country, or even city allows me to create campaigns that resonate with local market conditions, regulations, and cultural preferences.
3. Technology stack: I find it useful to group accounts based on the software and tools they currently use, as this helps me position my solution as a complementary or superior alternative, and tailor my messaging to address specific integration or migration challenges.
4. Business model: Segmenting accounts by their business model (e.g., B2B or. subscription-based vs. transactional) enables me to create campaigns that speak directly to the unique needs and goals of each type of company.
5. Buyer persona: I often group accounts based on the characteristics and behaviors of their key decision-makers, which helps me create campaigns that resonate with the specific priorities, challenges, and communication preferences of different buyer personas.
6. Account tier or value: Segmenting accounts based on their strategic importance, lifetime value, or revenue potential helps me prioritize my efforts and allocate resources more effectively.
7. Pain points or use cases: I find it effective to group accounts based on the specific challenges they face or the use cases they are trying to address, as this allows me to create campaigns that demonstrate a deep understanding of their needs and position my solution as the ideal fit.
8. Buying stage: Segmenting accounts based on where they are in the buying process (e.g., awareness, consideration, decision) helps me create campaigns that provide the right information and calls-to-action at each stage, and move them closer to conversion.
9. Account history:  Sometimes I will segment accounts based on their history with a company. Things like dormant or lost accounts, or maybe accounts that are in the first 6 months relationship with a company can be great ways to get tailored messaging at the segment level, but also personalization based on their specific needs. 

In my experience, combining these segmentation approaches is the key to creating highly targeted One-to-Few ABM campaigns that resonate with the specific needs and characteristics of each account within the group. The challenge is to find the right balance of segmentation criteria that allows for personalization at scale, without creating overly narrow or complex segments that are difficult to manage. By constantly refining my segmentation strategy based on performance data and feedback from my sales team, I'm able to optimize my One-to-Few ABM efforts and drive better results over time.

Scaling One-to-Few ABM:

To scale my One-to-Few ABM campaigns, I focus on creating a balance between common elements that apply to the entire group and personalized touches that address each account's unique needs. While some of the tactics from One-to-One ABM can be effective here, I've found several strategies that work particularly well for One-to-Few campaigns:

Common Elements:

• Segment-specific content assets (e.g., whitepapers, case studies) that address shared challenges and goals
• Targeted industry landing pages that speak directly to the needs of the segment
• Segment-specific webinars or events that provide value and encourage engagement
• Account-based advertising campaigns that target the entire group with relevant messaging

Where I personalize:

• Customized email campaigns that incorporate each account's specific pain points and goals. Typically the email will be templated with industry-specific sections with 1-2 sections that have an account-specific CTA. 
• Personalized direct mail pieces that include account-specific information and calls-to-action. Again, this would include an industry-tailored DM piece that includes a personalized note to the account or a logo included in the printed piece. 
• Account-specific engagement data is used to inform future interactions and content recommendations. One-to-few programs can really start to take advantage of specific interaction and content recommendations that may leverage both broad industry data but also specific sales interaction data from the account.
• Sales outreach that leverages insights from previous interactions with each account. Of course, once you get down to actually interacting with the account, these interactions can be highly personalized and marketing can help sales create account-specific content that may leverage the ABM content but also personalized content based on the account needs.

One tactic that I've found particularly effective for One-to-Few ABM is creating personalized content hubs for each account within the group. These hubs can include a mix of common elements, such as segment-specific whitepapers and case studies, as well as personalized content like account-specific data sheets and tailored solution recommendations. By providing a centralized location for each account to access relevant content, I've been able to deepen engagement and accelerate the sales process.

Another approach that works well for One-to-Few ABM is leveraging intent data to identify which accounts within the group are most actively researching solutions related to their challenges. By prioritizing outreach and personalization efforts on these high-intent accounts, I can maximize the impact of my campaigns and allocate resources more efficiently.

Ultimately, the key to success with One-to-Few ABM is finding the right balance between scalability and personalization. By combining common elements that resonate with the entire group and personalized touches that address each account's unique needs, I can create targeted campaigns that drive results without sacrificing efficiency.

Tier 3: One-to-Many ABM (Programmatic ABM)

One-to-Many ABM, also known as Programmatic ABM, targets a larger group of accounts with similar characteristics, such as industry, company size, or business challenges. I've found this approach focuses on creating scalable campaigns that can be easily replicated and adapted for different segments while still delivering relevant messaging and content.

When I use One-to-Many ABM:

• When targeting a large group of accounts with similar characteristics
• When I want to create scalable campaigns that can be easily replicated and adapted for different segments
• When I want to reach a broader audience with relevant messaging and content

Scaling One-to-Many ABM:

To scale my One-to-Many ABM efforts, I rely heavily on automation and dynamic content. By creating templates with common elements and using technology to personalize certain aspects of the campaign, I can efficiently reach a large number of accounts with targeted messaging. Here's how I approach it:

Common Elements (similar to what I would do in One-to-One Campaigns):

• Overall design and layout
• Color schemes that resonate with the industry or segment
• Segment-specific imagery and iconography
• Key messaging and value propositions that address common segment challenges

Personalization:

• Dynamic content that is automatically personalized based on account data (e.g., company name, industry-specific data points)
• Personalized calls-to-action that align with each account's specific goals and objectives
• Targeted advertising that is automatically customized based on account data and behavior
• Chatbot and conversational AI templates that are tailored to each segment's specific needs and challenges. Using tools like Drift.AI are great ways to scale ABM and are a whole different level of hyper-personalization perhaps for another blog post soon!

Personalization at Scale Really Works

In my experience, scaling account-based marketing efforts is essential for engaging a larger number of high-value accounts while maintaining the personalization that makes ABM effective. It’s a bit of a tightrope to walk but if you master it, you’ll reap more of the benefits of ABM over time. 

By adopting a tiered approach and leveraging common elements with room for customization, our customers have been able to create a sustainable and efficient ABM strategy that drives results.

The key to success, I've found, is finding the right balance between personalization and efficiency for each tier of your ABM strategy. By using the insights and tactics I've shared in this blog post, you too can create a scalable ABM program that delivers high-impact campaigns and drives meaningful business growth, all while keeping costs under control and maximizing your return on investment.

If you’d like to hear more about how we personalize ABM at scale, contact us today.