Account Based Marketing vs Traditional Marketing: 5 Key Differences

Instead of casting a wide net, imagine if your marketing team narrows its focus to engage only the most valuable accounts, personalising every touchpoint to address specific business challenges. That’s the power of Account-Based Marketing (ABM). But how does it truly compare to traditional marketing methods that prioritise broad reach?

This blog delves into five critical differences between ABM and traditional marketing, revealing how personalisation, sales alignment, and focused content strategies can create stronger relationships with key accounts while traditional approaches still hold value in certain scenarios. Let’s explore which strategy best suits your business goals.

 

Key Takeaways
ABM focuses on hyper-personalisation, delivering tailored content to specific accounts, enhancing relevance and engagement, while traditional marketing targets broader audiences.
Traditional marketing uses mass-consumption content like blogs and webinars: ABM, however, utilises account-specific materials, such as personalised case studies and presentations.
Sales and marketing alignment is central to ABM: Ensuring that both teams collaborate closely from the outset, which contrasts with the more separate roles seen in traditional marketing.
In ABM, success is measured by account-specific engagement and sales progression: Whereas traditional marketing relies on metrics like leads generated and website traffic.
While ABM offers higher ROI through targeted efforts: It is resource-intensive and best suited for businesses targeting high-value, long-term clients. Traditional marketing, with its broader approach, is more cost-effective for mass audience engagement.

 

Traditional Marketing vs. Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

 

Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a focused, strategic approach where businesses concentrate their resources on engaging high-value accounts, treating each as an individual market. This contrasts sharply with traditional marketing, which casts a wide net to attract a broad audience. ABM, however, zeroes in on personalisation, ensuring every interaction is customised to the specific needs of key accounts.

In ABM, marketing and sales teams work in unison to identify target accounts that align with the company’s ideal customer profile. These key accounts are chosen based on factors such as revenue potential, the possibility for long-term partnerships, or their strategic importance. Once identified, tailored marketing campaigns and content are developed to resonate directly with the unique challenges and objectives of each account.

Successful ABM strategies hinge on in-depth research and a deep understanding of each target account. This enables the creation of highly personalised messages, delivered through multiple channels, including email, social media, content marketing, and bespoke events. The primary goal is to foster strong, enduring relationships with decision-makers within these accounts, nurturing them over time and ultimately converting them into loyal customers.

ABM proves particularly effective in industries with extended sales cycles, intricate buying processes, or high-value transactions. By narrowing the focus to a select group of high-value accounts and customising marketing efforts to address their specific pain points, ABM allows businesses to cultivate deeper connections, elevate the customer experience, and achieve more efficient, targeted revenue growth.

 

Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing refers to long-established methods that businesses have employed for decades to promote products or services, relying primarily on offline channels and mass media to reach broad audiences. Unlike digital marketing, which leverages the Internet and online platforms, traditional marketing techniques have been in use since well before the digital era.

Common forms of traditional marketing include:

1. Print Advertising: Print advertisements appear in newspapers, magazines, brochures, and flyers, providing a direct way to reach local or regional audiences through tangible, visual media.
2. Broadcast Advertising: Television and radio commercials offer broad exposure, enabling businesses to communicate their message through short, engaging video or audio content to mass audiences.
3. Outdoor Advertising: Billboards, posters, and banners in high-traffic areas, along with transit advertising on buses and trains, capture attention from people in public spaces, often making a lasting visual impact.
4. Direct Mail: Physical promotional materials such as catalogues, postcards, and samples are sent directly to consumers’ mailboxes. These campaigns can be precisely targeted based on demographic data or geographic location.
5. Telemarketing: This strategy involves contacting potential customers directly via phone calls to promote products, conduct surveys, or gather valuable customer insights.
6. Events and Sponsorships: Companies engage in events, such as trade shows, conferences, and sponsorships of sports or community events, to increase brand visibility and directly interact with their target audience.
7. Public Relations (PR): PR efforts are essential for managing a company’s reputation through media coverage, press releases, interviews, and other communication channels to shape a positive public perception of the brand.

Traditional marketing, while often contrasted with modern digital strategies, remains an effective approach for businesses seeking to reach broad, non-digital audiences or reinforce brand presence through physical and face-to-face interactions.

 

 

How is account-based marketing different from traditional marketing?

 

1. Targeting and Personalisation

In traditional demand generation, the strategy typically revolves around broad targeting. The content is designed to attract a wide range of potential leads across various segments, casting a large net in the hope of capturing as many prospects as possible. It’s a volume-based approach that prioritises reach over specificity.

On the other hand, account-based marketing (ABM) is far more precise. ABM content is hyper-personalised, tailored specifically to the unique needs, challenges, and interests of each individual account or decision-maker within that account. This level of targeting requires a deep understanding of the target account’s business environment, goals, and pain points. Unlike traditional marketing methods, ABM’s strength lies in its ability to deliver highly relevant content to the right people at the right time, ensuring a stronger connection and higher engagement.

 

2. Content Strategy and Focus

In a traditional demand generation approach, content tends to be broader in scope. It often addresses industry-wide trends, issues, and general solutions, aiming to educate and engage potential customers at various stages of the sales funnel. The focus is on brand awareness and nurturing leads on a large scale, which can sometimes dilute the specificity of the message.

Conversely, ABM adopts a more strategic content focus. ABM content is designed to create a highly customised experience for each target account. This content includes personalised messages, bespoke solutions, and materials that speak directly to the unique challenges of that account. The goal of ABM is not merely to inform but to forge a deeper relationship by showing how your solutions align precisely with the specific needs of the target business, providing far greater relevance than traditional marketing content.

 

3. Type and Format of Content

For demand generation, the types of content used are generally designed for mass consumption. These might include blog posts, white papers, infographics, and webinars—informative and educational materials intended to appeal to a broad audience. While valuable, this content often lacks the level of personalisation that ABM offers.

In ABM, content formats shift towards highly personalised outputs. This might include customised case studies, account-specific presentations, tailored emails, and even personalised video content. Each piece is crafted to demonstrate how your offering aligns directly with the account’s business strategy and goals, ensuring every interaction is deeply relevant and impactful.

 

4. Sales Alignment

With traditional demand generation, sales teams typically follow up on leads generated from broadly targeted campaigns. While useful, this process often lacks personalisation in the early stages, meaning the connection with leads can be shallow until later in the sales journey.

In contrast, ABM fosters much closer alignment between sales and marketing from the outset. Both teams collaborate deeply in the creation and deployment of ABM content, ensuring that the marketing efforts are directly aligned with sales objectives. This unified approach is essential, as a profound understanding of each target account is required for maximum impact, making sales and marketing alignment a core element of ABM’s success.

 

5. Measurement of Success

For traditional demand generation, success metrics tend to be based on high-level figures, such as the number of leads generated, website traffic, and overall engagement rates. These metrics are valuable but can sometimes offer a limited view of the deeper impact on the business.

ABM, however, measures success in a far more targeted way. The primary focus is on the depth of engagement within specific accounts, the progression of those account relationships, and, ultimately, the influence on sales within those key accounts. ABM’s measurement of success is closely tied to relationship-building and revenue generation, providing a clearer and more direct understanding of its impact.

 

What Is the Difference Between ABM and ABX?

Account-Based Experience (ABX) is a marketing strategy that shifts the focus from merely driving sales to enhancing the overall customer experience. ABX integrates the efforts of your marketing, sales, and customer support teams, ensuring that the customer journey is as seamless and satisfying as possible. While Account-Based Marketing (ABM) prioritises personalised outreach and sales alignment, ABX builds upon this foundation by placing the customer experience at the forefront of every interaction.

The essence of ABX lies in understanding and mapping the customer journey. By applying the precision and personalised targeting seen in traditional ABM, ABX creates a more enjoyable and tailored buying experience. ABX doesn’t just focus on driving conversions but ensures that each step of the journey provides value, helping customers feel supported and engaged from start to finish.

Best Practices for Account-Based Experience

Rather than viewing ABX as a replacement for ABM, it’s more effective to see them as complementary strategies. Together, they unlock greater potential across sales, marketing, and customer service, amplifying the customer journey and ultimately leading to improved outcomes for high-value accounts.

To implement ABX effectively, consider these best practices:

1. Prioritise Strong Customer Relationships: The success of ABX depends on the strength of your customer relationships. Sales, marketing, and customer care teams must work in harmony to ensure that relationship-building is a priority. By delivering value throughout the customer journey, you can cultivate long-term loyalty and trust.
2. Focus on High-Value Accounts: While it may be tempting to personalise experiences for every lead, ABX works best when you concentrate on high-value targets. By focusing your efforts on accounts that bring the most value to your business, you can tailor the customer experience more effectively, ensuring each interaction is relevant and impactful.
3. Align Experience with the Customer Journey: For ABX to be truly successful, the customised experiences you deliver must be aligned with each stage of the customer journey. Anticipate what your customer is likely to experience at each touchpoint and identify areas where the journey can be enhanced or streamlined, ensuring a seamless experience that meets their needs.

 

Pros and Cons of ABM

 

Account-Based Marketing

Account-Based Marketing isn’t the ideal strategy for every business, particularly for those selling lower-value products. Due to the high costs and the time investment required, ABM can be a resource-intensive approach. However, it remains highly popular among B2B marketers, with 94% actively using it to drive engagement and revenue. ABM is especially beneficial for B2B tech companies, where the focus is often on high-value, long-term relationships.

Let’s explore the pros and cons of account-based marketing and why it outperforms traditional strategies for certain industries.

Pros:

1. Hyper-Personalisation: ABM enables a deeply personalised approach, focusing on high-value accounts. This level of customisation not only strengthens relationships but also significantly increases the likelihood of conversions and long-term loyalty. By delivering highly tailored content to decision-makers, ABM fosters trust and relevance.
2. Focused Targeting: Unlike traditional marketing, ABM narrows your efforts to a select group of accounts that are most likely to convert. This precision leads to higher engagement and ensures that your marketing resources are directed towards prospects with the highest potential for success, leading to more qualified leads.
3. Sales and Marketing Alignment: One of the key strengths of ABM is the close collaboration it promotes between marketing and sales teams. By aligning these efforts, you ensure that your marketing strategies are in step with sales objectives, resulting in a more seamless and effective approach throughout the sales cycle.
4. Clearer ROI: ABM’s focus on specific accounts allows for more precise measurement of return on investment (ROI). Since you can directly attribute revenue and other key performance metrics to targeted accounts, it provides a clearer view of the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Cons:

1. Resource-Intensive: Implementing ABM can be labour-intensive. It demands detailed research, highly personalised content creation, and ongoing monitoring. For smaller businesses with limited resources, this may present a significant challenge, as it requires substantial investment in both time and personnel.
2. Extended Sales Cycle: The personalised nature of ABM often results in longer sales cycles. While building strong relationships can lead to more valuable outcomes, it may take time to nurture these connections and achieve conversions, which can be frustrating for companies seeking quicker wins.
3. Risk of Overlooking Opportunities: By focusing exclusively on a small number of high-value accounts, there’s a potential risk of missing out on opportunities with other prospects that could deliver value. If the wrong accounts are prioritised, it may result in lost business from overlooked clients.

 

 

How to Choose the Right Approach Based on Business Goals

When deciding between account based marketing vs traditional marketing, it’s essential to consider your specific business objectives, available resources, and target audience. Both approaches offer unique advantages, but the best choice will depend on the circumstances surrounding your business. Below are key factors to help guide your decision.

Your Target Audience:

If your business focuses on a smaller pool of high-value accounts, account-based marketing is likely to be the superior approach. ABM allows for a highly personalised strategy that aligns with the specific needs and challenges of a select few clients. In contrast, if your customer base is larger and more diverse, traditional marketing may be the better option, enabling you to reach a broad audience and generate leads at scale more rapidly.

Resources:

ABM requires a more significant investment of time and resources due to its deeply personalised nature. It’s essential to evaluate whether your business can allocate the necessary resources for ABM in terms of both time and budget. Traditional marketing, on the other hand, typically demands fewer resources upfront, making it a more cost-effective choice for smaller businesses or startups with limited marketing budgets.

Channels Used in ABM vs Traditional Marketing:

The choice of channels plays a pivotal role in how effective your marketing efforts will be. Here’s a breakdown of commonly used channels for both approaches:

• ABM Channels:
  • Personalised Emails
  • Content Marketing
  • Social Media Advertising (targeted to specific accounts)
  • Event Marketing tailored for high-value accounts
• Traditional Marketing Channels:
  • Television and Radio Advertising
  • Print Advertising (e.g., newspapers, magazines)
  • Outdoor Advertising (billboards, transit ads)
  • Direct Mail

Budget:

Traditional marketing tends to be more cost-effective, especially when the goal is mass communication. It is often the go-to for businesses with tighter budgets. ABM, on the other hand, comes with a higher cost due to the need for tailored content and highly personalised outreach. For businesses with a larger budget, ABM’s focused efforts can provide a higher return on investment through more meaningful client engagement.

Long-Term vs Short-Term Goals:

Account-based marketing is ideal for businesses looking to build long-term, deep-rooted relationships with key accounts. The goal is to nurture these relationships over time, creating loyalty and higher customer lifetime value. Traditional marketing, in contrast, is often better suited for short-term goals, such as generating immediate leads or launching new products quickly.

 

When to Use a Traditional Marketing Strategy

Although ABM offers significant advantages in B2B contexts, traditional marketing still has its place and should not be dismissed. In fact, there are instances where a traditional marketing strategy can outperform ABM, particularly when aiming for a broader reach.

For example, Microsoft adopted a B2C-style marketing approach to reach a wider audience during a shift towards remote work. Their strategy centred around empathising with the needs of individuals working from home, addressing common challenges, and focusing on empowering their audience. By leveraging various channels, including social media, Microsoft successfully reached new customers while also reinforcing their message to existing users.

This campaign included a blend of creative social media posts, emotionally engaging videos, and traditional B2B materials like case studies. By using multiple platforms, including LinkedIn and TikTok, they were able to resonate with a broad spectrum of customers, showcasing the power of traditional marketing when used strategically.

 

Choosing the Right Approaches for Both Methods

 

Traditional Marketing Approaches

1. Poster Ads

Poster advertising remains one of the most time-tested marketing strategies. Despite the rise of digital marketing, physical posters often outperform their digital counterparts when it comes to brand recall, as highlighted by research from USPS and Temple University.

In the past, posters were created with little more than ink and printing presses. Today, technology has enhanced this traditional approach, allowing marketers to create eye-catching, visually striking designs that capture attention. The combination of an old-school tactic with modern tech results in highly effective poster campaigns.

A common mistake is underestimating the potential of posters. They can evoke powerful emotional responses from audiences at a fraction of the cost of digital ads. Unlike pay-per-click ads, posters remain in place for extended periods, with no limits on the number of views. When coupled with an efficient online poster printing service, the reach and cost-effectiveness of this strategy can be substantial.

The return on investment (ROI) largely depends on how well the campaign is designed and executed. However, when done right, posters can be just as impactful as any digital campaign.

2. Creating Impactful Presentations

Presentations, particularly in the B2B space, are a critical form of indirect marketing. They’ve been a staple for years, yet many marketers still fail to give presentations the attention they deserve. Adding transitions or backgrounds may seem tedious, but the effort is well worth it.

A well-designed presentation can leave a lasting impression on decision-makers, especially if it clearly communicates the benefits of the product or service being offered. Conversely, a hastily assembled presentation can damage your brand’s credibility.

With tools like Pitch, creating professional, visually appealing presentations has never been easier or more affordable. There’s simply no excuse for a sub-par presentation, especially when first impressions matter. Presentations should be easy to skim, visually appealing, and convey the core message effectively, ensuring that even if the meeting doesn’t go as planned, the groundwork is laid for future engagements.

3. Event Marketing

Although in-person events took a back seat during the pandemic, event marketing remains a powerful tactic. It’s the ultimate form of face-to-face marketing, allowing brands to showcase products and services live to a concentrated group of potential customers.

Marketers have long used events to build visibility and credibility, whether by setting up booths at industry expos or hosting their own gatherings. Consistently attending and participating in events can dramatically increase brand recognition. The more people become familiar with your brand, the larger your network grows, leading to referrals and new business opportunities.

4. Cold Calling

Cold calling is one of the oldest and most direct forms of marketing, and while it may be uncomfortable for some, it remains highly effective—especially when done correctly. The key to success in cold calling today is transforming those cold leads into warm prospects.

For this approach to work, cold calling lists need to contain more than just names and numbers. Effective cold calls are personalised, taking into account the individual’s occupation, location, and competitors, particularly for B2B marketing. With the right data, cold calls can be tailored to each potential client, making them far more effective than the broad, intrusive strategy of yesteryear.

5. Direct Mail

Though often considered outdated, direct mail has not completely fallen out of favour. In fact, recent studies show that millennials are more likely to respond to direct mail than older generations. While digital marketing dominates today’s landscape, direct mail offers a personal touch that digital methods often lack.

The secret to success with direct mail lies in targeting the right audience. Rather than sending unsolicited mail, it’s more effective to focus on customers who have already engaged with your brand. Those familiar with your business are more likely to appreciate the occasional promotional offer or physical postcard, making direct mail an excellent way to reinforce brand loyalty.

 

ABM Approaches

Develop Offers to Secure Meetings

A staggering 99.9% of marketers create offers designed to generate leads from content such as webinars or white papers. These offers play a crucial role in helping sales teams secure meetings with potential clients. For example, a social analytics company could provide an hour-long live report analysing a prospect’s social media performance compared to their competitors. Other common offers include free technology assessments or security audits, specifically designed to entice high-value accounts into a conversation.

Use Retargeting to Stay Top of Mind

Retargeting is a highly effective method to keep your brand front and centre for target accounts as their employees engage with online content. This tactic is particularly powerful when applied within an account-based marketing (ABM) framework.

For example, Demandbase offers an account-based insight and targeting solution that leverages IP addresses to identify a vendor’s target accounts as they browse the web. When these accounts visit sites within Demandbase’s ad network, they are served with targeted advertisements from the vendor. Other companies, such as Bizo and Retargeter, provide similar retargeting capabilities, making it easier for brands to stay visible to key decision-makers.

Personalise the Account’s Experience on Your Website

Given the focus of ABM on high-value, targeted engagement, it is essential that your website is tailored to deliver high conversion rates. One of the most effective ways to do this is through personalised landing pages. These can be customised with specific copy, imagery, offers, and forms based on the individual account or person visiting the site.

Personalisation tactics may even include addressing the visitor by name on the landing page—though caution is needed to ensure this doesn’t come across as overly intrusive. The goal is to create an experience that feels bespoke, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Design Sales Territories to Maximise Conversions

Historically, sales territories have been assigned based on fairness or geographic equality. However, in ABM, a more strategic approach can be taken by assigning territories based on the likelihood of deal closure. One approach is social proximity territory planning, where sales representatives are assigned to accounts based on the quality and quantity of their social connections. Other strategies may involve assigning territories based on past selling relationships or historical success with specific accounts.

Reintroduce Direct Mail for Executives

As digital marketing became dominant, many believed direct mail had lost its relevance. However, it remains a highly effective tool for engaging hard-to-reach executives, particularly within an ABM strategy. Many executives do not register for webinars, respond to unsolicited emails, or engage with social media. This makes direct mail a valuable tactic for cutting through the noise.

For instance, prior to a major conference, one company sent empty iPad boxes to top executives with a note inviting them to visit their booth to collect the iPad. The strategy was highly effective, with numerous recipients stopping by the booth to engage with the business. It’s a clear example of how creative, targeted direct mail can make a significant impact when trying to reach key decision-makers.