If you’ve seen a LinkedIn or Twitter ad mentioning your company name around the same time you received a cold email from the same vendor, you know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a 1:1 marketing strategy.
Account-based marketing is widely adopted by leading marketers today to engage with new leads and expand their footprint with existing customers. 1:1 marketing takes ABM a step further into truly personalized marketing designed to speak to individual stakeholders.
What is a 1:1 Marketing Strategy?
1:1 Marketing (One-to-One Marketing) is a relationship-based strategy commonly used in Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategies because of the focus on personal, meaningful relationships.
The One-to-One Marketing philosophy is that companies who foster deeper relationships with leads will have a greater ROI when those leads inevitably become customers. With One-to-One Marketing, ABM marketers can create more personalized, even experiential opportunities to close deals more effectively.
Why Implement a 1:1 Marketing Strategy?
The benefits of 1:1 marketing are natural extensions of the benefits of effective account-based marketing.
- Focusing on Tier 1 accounts translates into more revenue. Focused, highly targeted marketing campaigns lead to higher initial contract value and long term revenue. TOPO research found that ABM efforts result in a higher close rate, higher value contract, and finally more opportunities for upselling and cross selling.
- Investing in 1:1 marketing will improve sales and marketing alignment. 1:1 marketing can’t be implemented in a silo; the strategy requires that sales and marketing work closely together to identify opportunities and plan effective outreach.
- 1:1 marketing results in customers with a higher lifetime value. Taking the time to invest in your most promising accounts will lead to increased customer retention.
Kicking Off a 1:1 Marketing Strategy
Before identifying and categorizing your target accounts, you've got to start with a clear ideal customer profile. With your ICP you can begin executing a 1:1 marketing strategy, in these 3 steps:
- List out your most promising target accounts. Use behavioral, technographic and firmographic data to determine the accounts that qualify for an ABM approach. For more, check out our guide to building your ultimate list of target accounts.
- Identify your 1:1 accounts. Not all of the target accounts you identified will be worth a 1:1 marketing approach. Divide your ABM list into 1:1 accounts, 1-to-few accounts, and 1-to-many accounts. One-to-one accounts will require the highest investment and be the most likely to see the highest ROI.
- Plan 1:1 outreach. This is the time to get creative. Direct mail, personalized ads, event marketing are all successful tactics when executed well. Successful 1:1 marketing outreach can look like:
- Account executives and field marketing specialists collaborating on direct mail, exclusive virtual events or industry introductions.
- Coordinated executive outreach to individuals with similar titles and roles (VP to VP communication, for example)
- Personalized ads with personal follow ups for decision makers in the target accounts.
Three Must-Haves for 1:1 Marketing
A 1:1 marketing campaign should be:
- Customized and personalized. 1:1 marketing cannot be personalized at scale. Time must be invested by both sales and marketing teams to make your communication truly tailored.
- Grounded in data. You've done your research and have an understanding of the decision-makers goals, pain-points and need for your solution.
- Includes a tailored value prop. If you’re sending videos or decks, be sure to tailor your messaging to the target account. Explain explicitly how your solution can help them achieve their goals or solve their challenges.
New tools and data have made 1:1 marketing strategies more scalable and accessible for growing cloud marketing teams. With rich data from Intricately, you can quickly narrow down your ICP, TAM and target accounts for 1:1 cloud marketing efforts.
