In today's highly competitive B2B landscape, account-based marketing (known as ABM) has become a game changer, allowing innovative companies to focus their marketing efforts on high-value accounts instead of just targeting a broad audience. ABM is a strategy focused on your marketing and sales teams collaborating to identify and engage with specific target accounts, creating highly personalized campaigns to drive conversions and revenue.

For entrepreneurs in startup and enterprise brands, ABM provides an opportunity to focus attention on the target accounts you are best equipped to serve. or 2023 report from Gartner found that effective ABM strategies can increase pipeline conversion rates by up to 14%.

Here's the problem most leaders face with ABM: Traditional approaches emphasize expensive technology stacks and campaigns that only play the long game—which are often destined to fail in environments that support quick wins or a change in direction . The good news? With a “broken” strategy, even businesses with limited resources can harness the power of ABM to grow faster and smarter.

I recently spoke with Lauren St. Amand, EVP and head of marketing at StarCompliance, a leading provider of compliance software solutions to the global financial services sector, about how small businesses can use ABM.

“The reality is that SMBs don't need to invest in the latest and greatest martech suite to get started with ABM,” she said. “Using data analytics to measure campaign effectiveness and optimize programs is an essential component of any mature ABM program, but you can start small by developing relevant organic content, leveraging low-cost digital tools like Terminus and even creating employee advocacy programs to help extend your brand through social channels, the key is to focus on quality engagement with a smaller number of high-value accounts.”

Let's explore how you can scale your efforts, prioritize your resources, and develop a successful ABM strategy without the need for extravagant tools or massive budgets.

Related: Account-based marketing is the magic wand of B2B marketing

1. Prioritize your target accounts before building your tools

An effective ABM strategy always starts with focusing on the right target accounts. Instead of spreading your energy across a wide spectrum of potential customers, narrow your focus to the companies that have the greatest potential for growth. Identify the accounts that are most likely to convert and those that align with your business goals.

Start by asking: What characteristics do your most successful customers share? Are there certain industries, company sizes, or pain points that you've effectively solved in the past? You don't need expensive data tools for this – simple CRM data, LinkedIn searches and a little intuition are often enough to get you started.

PitchBook offers a perfect example of this strategy in action. Faced with ambitious sales goals, he analyzed more than 2,000 accounts using data and machine learning to find those most likely to convert. By combining internal data with actual metrics, he was able to prioritize and target the accounts that mattered most. As a result, visits to the PitchBook website from targeted accounts increased by 79%, and active engagement increased by 220%.

2. Identify the flash signals that indicate readiness

Not every account is ready to commit at the same time. This is where identifying the trigger signals becomes essential. Triggers may include specific actions, such as visiting a landing page on your website, downloading content, or participating in a certain event. By collecting and analyzing this data, you can prioritize accounts that show signs of interest and commitmentallowing you to time your contact effectively.

For example, I used our 4D activation plays during a session at #B2BMX to generate 26 sales opportunities. With 348 attendees registered for the session, I was able to leverage real-time data from the event app, which provided key information such as company name, job title, and other sessions they attended. This data allowed me to target participants more precisely, reaching those most engaged and interested in my content. The insights gleaned from their behavior at the event directly informed my targeting strategy and helped create actionable sales opportunities.

3. Develop hyper-relevant messages that speak to pain points

Once you've identified the triggers, it's time to craft messages that address each account's specific pain points. it personalized approach it's at the heart of ABM – broad, generic messaging won't cut it. To do this effectively without overcomplicating the process, create modular content that can be quickly adapted for different accounts.

For example, use case studies from similar industries to show how you've solved comparable problems, or create custom email templates that can be adjusted to reflect the latest company news or updates. This level of customization makes your outreach much more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach. or McKinsey report from 2023 found that personalized marketing can reduce customer acquisition costs by up to 50%, increase revenue by 5% to 15%, and increase ROI by 10% to 30%.

Related: How to turn marketing into a sales and revenue engine

4. Drive prospects to specific, action-oriented pages

Once you've captured the attention of your target accounts, target them landing pages that provide clear and actionable next steps. These pages should be product specific and highly relevant to the identified customer needs. You don't need a high-budget web development team to make this work; tools such as Unbounce or Leadpages allow you to quickly build professional and targeted landing pages. For example, if you're targeting a company that has expressed interest in a particular product feature, your landing page should focus on that feature only and include testimonials or case studies from similar businesses. This tailored approach increases your chances of conversion by providing an easy path for decision makers to follow.

DocuSign exemplifies this approach. To ensure that its most important prospects always see relevant content, the company customized landing pages and CTAs based on the prospect's industry. This strategy led to a 22% increase in pipeline and tripled DocuSign's click-through rates on industry-specific calls to action. By aligning landing pages with the needs of each account, DocuSign effectively drove high-value prospects to conversion.

5. Don't overcomplicate – start small and scale

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that ABM does not need to be over-engineered. Start small by selecting a handful of target accounts and running pilot campaigns that focus on one or two channels. The advantage of ABM is its scalability. Once you see success with a few accounts, you can gradually expand your efforts.

“In a budget-constrained environment, the success of ABM depends on strategic targeting, personalization and leveraging existing resources,” said St. Amendment. “For example, instead of spending budget on new data acquisition, you can use your existing CRM data to identify pre-defined target accounts with your sales team. Even with a small advertising budget of 1,000 dollars, you can create customized LinkedIn retargeting ads targeting decision makers in a small number of accounts that can generate high-value leads that turn into a large customer.”

Related: What is the true cost of account-based marketing?

Unlock the power of ABM, one step at a time

ABM doesn't have to be an overwhelming or costly endeavor. By focusing on key accounts, using free or low-cost tools, and delivering personalized, targeted messaging, entrepreneurs can build an effective ABM strategy with limited resources. Start with small, testable efforts and scale as you see results. IN today's B2B marketan efficient ABM approach can be the key to unlocking growth without the need for a massive budget.

By following these steps, you'll be well on your way to implementing a successful ABM strategy that drives conversions and long-term success.