FlipMyFunnel Post

Unlocking the Full Potential of ABM

We all know what ABM is, right? It’s sending out generic emails to customers but auto filling their name at the top so they feel special.  

…we must do better.

ABM is about genuine personalization, not the faux-attempts that plague the space and everyone can see through.

We speak with Jimit Mehta, Head of ABM at CommerceIQ, about the idea of hyper-personalization at scale using ABM to its full potential. 

Jimit covers:

  • Understanding hyper-personalized ABM
  • Getting the most out of personalization automation 
  • Consistent data testing

Understanding hyper-personalized ABM

You’ve probably received an email in the past 24 hours that has gone directly to your spam folder or you immediately deleted it when you saw the body paragraph was at least 500 words. Even though, in both instances, your name was displayed at the top, we’ve all perked up to this faux-personalization. 

“That’s the exact way to being marked as spam,” Jimit explains.

For many, this minimal personalization is the assumed standard in account-based marketing (ABM). Jimit explains how this may be many’s idea of ABM but couldn’t be any further from the truth. If we have the ability to automate, use it to its potential. 

  • Target audience: Know who you’re selling to.
  • Create prioritizations: Where are you going to get instant hits? Start there.
  • Gather personas: Knowing many details to a brand will only help you.
  • Categorize: An email to a bakery should look differently than the one sent to a mechanic. 

”You don’t want to just do ABM, but you want to go one or two layers deeper and truly go into persona based marketing as well.” — Jimit Mehta

Getting the most out of personalization automation 

A personalized name on the top of an email isn’t enough — but, then, what is? How can we achieve the level of hyper-personalization that Jimit is referring to? 

To start, look at everything you can automate with an email. According to Jimit, your email should resemble written code by the time you’re done utilizing automation to its capacity. 

“It’s true personalized email; it’s not a mass bulk sent out email, it’s crafted for that unique persona,” Jimit explains. 

Other ways of personalization 

Email isn’t the only way to stand out to customers. Jimit shares other ways to differentiate your brand:

How do you deliver so much content to them, so much value add for them without making these really long emails, which just gets read for the first two to three sentences and gets marked as ‘read,’ and it’s done?” — Jimit Mehta

  • Landing page: Personalizing the landing page with their brand logo or other information that is personalized only to them. 
  • Personalized videos: Hook the customer in the first 7 seconds with a personalized intro and then lead into the content you send to everyone. This can be achieved using a cut and paste technique. 
  • Handwritten notes: Sending handwritten notes using a machine that writes with actual ink can be a big differentiator from a regular printed note.
  • Home gifts: Start sending gifts an individual can use like wine or socks instead of cookies or other sweets that can be enjoyed in groups.

Take a look at any content you’re sending in bulk and ask if it’s unique in any way to every customer. If not, it’s time to look at ways to automate. 

Consistent data testing

Not all personalization will work. As with any content for the consumer, there’s some trial and error until you get it right. This is why it’s so important to consistently test data. Imagine automating everything, seeing that your customers are engaged, but you have no metrics to see where your efforts are most successful compared to those that are not. 

If you don’t collect as much frequent data as possible, you may continue wasting time and energy where it doesn’t matter. Think of all the time that could’ve been used in other areas over the course of just a year. 

”Yes, this is a true number. This email is definitely performing better than this one. This is the time when I’ll start to optimize it [and] turn off the lower performing one.” — Jimit Mehta

Gone are the days when a company can skate by with minimally personalized content. It’s more important than ever to capture the attention of your audience. If you’re not differentiating yourself by hyper-personalizing your content with automation tools you likely already own, you’re wasting a huge opportunity. 

This post is based on an episode of the #FlipMyFunnel podcast. Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Flip My Funnel in your favorite podcast player.