Account-based marketing (ABM) is unlike traditional marketing. Instead of trying to reach the masses, you focus on a small set of high-value accounts.
The ABM team crafts individually tailored content, advertisements, and emails for the target accounts, increasing the likelihood of conversion. For instance, consider a company that sells cybersecurity solutions to financial institutions. The target accounts are large banks and credit unions looking to upgrade their cybersecurity measures.
The ABM team creates tailored content such as case studies, whitepapers, and infographics. They also design advertisements highlighting the revenue losses from security breaches. All the content is tailor specifically for the financial industry, and sometimes even for specific companies.
This targeted approach makes ABM a powerful strategy. Businesses that used ABM strategies saw revenue growth of 208% and an average increase of 171% in their annual contract values.
But you need a strong account-based marketing team structure to succeed. Without a proper team, even the most ambitious ABM strategy can quickly fall apart.
That’s why it’s important to know the key players and qualities of a good ABM team member before you begin structuring your ABM department.
TL;DR:
- Account-based marketing (ABM) focuses on high-value accounts, requiring a well-structured team and diverse skill sets
- Key team members include C-level executives, data analysts, strategists, designers, and content creators
- CEO, CMO, and CRO provide strategic direction, align ABM with company goals, and drive revenue growth
- Operations, Marketing, and Sales Managers oversee and execute various aspects of ABM campaigns
- Execution-based roles include Performance Marketers, Graphic Designers, Content Marketing and Strategy, Social Media Marketers, and Copywriters
- Proper team structure is critical for ABM success. It requires collaboration, strategic thinking, adaptability, and strong communication skills
- Tools like Factors.ai can optimize ABM efforts by providing insights into customer journeys, visitor tracking, and marketing ROI optimization
Account-Based Marketing Team Structure
The account-based marketing team brings together people of diverse skill sets and varying levels of expertise to come together with a focused vision.
C-Suite and Directors
The C-Suite and Directors in the ABM team have higher-level access to company information and the long-term vision to align the team towards a singular goal.
Chief Executive Office (CEO)
Before any ABM campaign is planned out, the team needs to understand the long-term vision of the company. That’s where a CEO comes into play. With the top level view of the company, the CEO can assist the ABM team plan things out, provide feedback on strategies, and assist with connecting the team to high-value accounts through their networks.
Some of the key responsibilities of the CEO in terms of the ABM team are:
- Setting the company's vision and long-term strategy
- Providing leadership and guidance to the executive team
- Building and managing relationships with key stakeholders
- Representing the company to the public and media
- Work with stakeholders for account scoring
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
The CMO has a critical role in the ABM team. This person helps define the strategy and keeps the ABM team aligned to the company’s goals at all times. The responsibilities may vary, but a CMO is generally involved in:
- Providing strategic direction and guidance for the ABM program
- Aligning ABM initiatives with the company's overall marketing strategy
- Collaborating with the sales team to identify target accounts and prioritize outreach efforts
- Ensuring that the ABM team has the necessary resources and tools to execute campaigns effectively
Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)
The CRO manages all things revenue and has the highest level access to the company’s inflow and outflow. A CRO can help the ABM team to:
- Bring the sales and marketing teams together to create a cohesive ABM strategy
- Ensure high-quality leads and revenue growth through the ABM program
- Approve budgets to execute campaigns as and when required
- Measure and analyzing the ROI of campaigns
- Collaborate with the marketing team to help refine the ABM strategy over time
Sales Directors
Sales directors are responsible for driving revenue growth by managing the sales team and maintaining relationships with key clients. The sales directors might be involved in:
- Collaborating with the marketing team to identify target accounts and prioritize outreach efforts
- Providing feedback on the effectiveness of ABM campaigns in generating leads and driving revenue
- Helping to refine the ABM strategy over time based on sales team feedback
- Ensuring that the sales team is aligned with the ABM program and has the necessary resources to engage with target accounts effectively.
Managerial Roles in ABM
The success of an Account-Based Marketing (ABM) campaign is heavily dependent on the leadership and management of the team. Managers oversee and help with executing various aspects of ABM campaigns.
Operations Manager
The Operations Manager oversees ABM campaigns from planning to execution. They ensure that all tasks are completed on time and that the team works efficiently. The ops manager also helps the ABM team manage the budget and execute tasks cost-effectively.
Some of the key responsibilities of the Operations Manager in ABM include:
- Overseeing the development of the ABM strategy and ensuring it aligns with the company's overall goals
- Managing the budget for the ABM campaign and ensuring that expenses are within the allocated budget
- Setting up systems and processes to track the progress of the ABM campaign
- Collaborating with the Marketing and Sales team to ensure that the campaign is effective in generating leads and revenue
- Reporting on the progress of the ABM campaign to senior management
Generally, the operations manager needs to be on top of things to ensure proper execution of the campaigns.
Depending on the org structure in the company, operations manager may also keep track of the key ABM metrics like customer acquisition, customer retention, and customer engagement.
This can help determine whether the current marketing strategies are effective and whether they need to be modified.
Marketing Manager
The Marketing Manager is responsible for the creative aspects of the ABM campaign, such as developing the messaging and designing the creatives. They work closely with the Operations Manager to ensure that the campaign is executed according to plan. Some of the key responsibilities of the Marketing Manager in ABM include:
- Developing the messaging and creatives for the ABM campaign
- Identifying the right channels to reach the target accounts
- Developing and executing marketing campaigns that align with the ABM strategy
- Measuring the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and making necessary adjustments
- Collaborating with the Sales team to ensure that marketing efforts are aligned with sales objectives
Since a major part of the marketing manager’s role is understanding analytics and data, they can greatly benefit from marketing analytics tools like Google Analytics, Factors.ai, and Microsoft Clarity.
These tools can help measure the performance of marketing campaigns, track visitors and engagement, perform revenue attribution, and identify areas for improvement.
Sales Manager
The Sales Manager is responsible for working with the Sales team to ensure that the ABM campaign is generating leads and revenue. They work closely with the Operations and Marketing Managers to ensure that the campaign is executed smoothly.
Some of the key responsibilities of the Sales Manager in ABM include:
- Collaborating with the Marketing team to identify high-value accounts
- Identifying decision-makers and key contacts within the target accounts
- Developing and executing a personalized outreach strategy for each account
- Reporting on the progress of the ABM campaign to senior management
- Nurturing relationships with key clients and ensuring their needs are met
Sales managers can also choose to employ a conversational ABM strategy to improve the sales team output. This strategy uses chatbots as the first point of contact, helping sales teams filter clients and improve conversions.
Strategy and Execution-Based Roles
While the senior-level team members provide strategic direction, the execution-based roles do the groundwork for ABM campaigns.
Performance Marketers
Performance marketers are responsible for creating and executing paid advertising campaigns. They come up with strategies to target the right audience, work with graphic designers to design ads, and monitor campaigns’ performance to optimize results. The responsibilities of performance marketers include:
- Creating the target audience and segmenting for better targeting
- Keeping track of campaign performance metrics using analytics tools like Factors and Google Analytics
- Collaborating with designers, content strategists, and copywriters to design and create ad copy and landing pages
Graphic Designers
Graphic designers play a crucial role in creating personalized and tailored designs for the ABM campaigns. But generic designs will fail to meet the standards here.
ABM designs need to capture the attention of your target audience and make a lasting impact.
Graphic designers must deliver their highest quality work, bringing creativity and innovation to the table. The designers must also have a deep understanding of the target account's preferences and expectations to truly resonate and drive engagement.
Here are some key responsibilities and qualities of a graphic designer in an ABM team:
- Collaborate with the marketing and strategy teams to create designs that resonate with target accounts
- Craft graphics for various marketing materials, such as display ads, social media posts, landing pages, and email campaigns
- Ensure that all visual elements are consistent with the company's branding and visual identity guidelines
- Optimize and repurpose graphic content for use on different social media platforms
Content Marketing and Strategy
Content is an important part of any ABM campaign. For instance, the content strategy team begins identifying topics that are important to your target audience.
The content marketing team then creates blog posts, whitepapers, and case studies around the topics to rank on search engines and be shared with the target accounts.
They may also collaborate with the sales team to identify content gaps and create additional content that speaks to the pain points of target accounts.
Some of the major responsibilities of the content marketing and strategy team may include:
- Conducting keyword research to optimize content for SEO
- Developing content that speaks to the pain points of target accounts
- Creating a content calendar to ensure consistency in messaging
- Developing and executing on a social media strategy to promote content
- Measuring and analyzing the performance of content to make data-driven decisions
Social Media Marketers
Social media marketers are responsible for ensuring regular engagement with the target accounts. They mould the social presence in a way that the target accounts find value in following your company profile—thus giving you direct access to these accounts. The responsibilities of social media marketers include:
- Creating and managing social media accounts
- Developing social media strategies that align with the ABM campaign's objectives
- Creating social media content that resonates with the target audience
- Engaging with the target audience on social media channels
Copywriters
Copywriters are responsible for creating compelling copy that resonates with the target audience. They work closely with content strategists to ensure that the copy aligns with the ABM campaign's objectives. The responsibilities of copywriters include:
- Creating copy for ad campaigns, landing pages, and other marketing materials
- Collaborating with content strategists to ensure that the copy aligns with the ABM campaign's objectives
- Conducting research to identify the pain points of the target audience
- Writing compelling copy that resonates with the target audience
Why is team structure important for ABM?
The process of an ABM campaign goes from designing the strategy, to gathering data and analyzing it, and finally executing the campaign based on the findings. But because of the highly personalized nature, account based marketing involves stakeholders from multiple teams for insights and feedback.
ABM teams need a lot of ad-hoc decision-making and creativity, so everyone on the team works towards a common goal, communicates effectively, and supports each other.
This is why proper team structure is critical to the success of ABM campaigns. It allows for seamless integration of strategies and effective collaboration among team members.
Apart from the basic understanding of the role and being able to collaborate with a diverse set of individuals, here are a few qualities of a great ABM team member:
- Use data and analytics to guide decisions and actions
- Ability to find creative solutions to challenges
- Adapt to changing situations and priorities
Achieve ABM Success With a Strong Team
A strong and effective team is crucial to the success of any ABM initiative. With the right mix of talent, expertise, and collaboration, your ABM team can unlock the full potential of your marketing efforts and drive meaningful results.
But to truly take your ABM to the next level, you need the right tools and technologies at your disposal. That's where Factors.ai comes into play. It offers deep insights into customer journeys, anonymous visitor tracking, and marketing ROI optimization, helping you to identify sales-ready accounts, automate analytics, and prove the revenue impact of every touchpoint.
With Factors, you can reduce your CAC, improve ROI, and accelerate revenue growth seamlessly. Schedule a demo today and see for yourself how Factors can transform your ABM approach and drive more pipeline with less spend.
FAQs
1. What qualities should I look for when building my ABM team?
Here are some of the qualities to look for in an ABM team member.
- Strong collaboration skills
- Strategic thinking.
- Analytical mindset
- Adaptability for constantly changing environment
- Creativity
- Strong communication skills
2. How do I create an ABM team?
Creating an ABM team involves understanding your end goals and finding people to fill the talent and skill gaps within your marketing and sales teams. However, here are the general steps to build your ABM team.
- Establish the end results you want to achieve with an ABM team
- Based on the goals, identify what skills and expertise is needed for your marketing team. This could include account management, data analysis, content creation, and project management
- Hire people with the required skill sets and establish clear roles and responsibilities for each of the new team members
- Create an open environment for the team to collaborate with the stakeholders as an when required for the successful execution of your ABM campaigns
