Account-based Marketing: A Primer for Trade Show Managers
A disproportionate amount of today’s trade show marketing focuses on lead generation, and statistically speaking, this is the number one reason why companies attend trade shows. However, large sales to strategic accounts typically are rarely decided by a single lead – the opposite tends to be more accurate… they are often determined by an entourage from the purchasing team, and each team member has unique wants (and sometimes demands) that must be addressed. It is always a good idea to be strategic and dive deeper into these business to business accounts, and to try and find more than one advocate on the account to ensure your lead turns into a sale.
Taking this approach is what’s called “account based marketing” (or ABM), in which the target company is treated as its own unique market. Marketing to the account thus involves creating highly customized campaigns that address the business’s collective needs, with messaging targeted and personalized to each various stakeholder whose titles may vary greatly.