The goal of marketing is to identify and market to a specific group of people, sharing their business’s solution—with the ultimate goal of converting them into a customer.

Remove all the fancy tools, generative AI, dashboards, and everything else… it really is that simple.

So it’s interesting to see how much we, collectively, struggle to reach our targeted audiences with personalized content. 

Personalized content and account-based marketing (ABM) are revolutionizing how B2B marketers engage with their target audiences. 

Our 2024 Content Consumption and Demand Report highlighted the plethora of data available to enable these tailored approaches. When applied correctly, it can significantly enhance marketing effectiveness. 

In this article, we’ll explore how proper personalization can transform your marketing efforts.

The Power of Personalized Content

Consumers want personalization. 

2021 research from McKinsey showed that 76% of consumers become frustrated when personalization doesn’t occur. The same study states that 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions. 

Personalization isn’t just a trend—it’s a necessity. 

Beyond your organization’s own zero and first-party consumer data, buyer intent data represents some of the most actionable information available to organizations. It’s an entrée into personalizing your marketing.

But how prepared are organizations to execute such an initiative?

In August 2023, Convince & Convert teamed up with ICUC, a social media and online community agency, to get a clear picture of how organizations are navigating data-driven personalization. In total, they surveyed 319 marketers across B2B and B2C industries. 

Here’s what they learned:

• About a quarter of marketers feel their companies are very or somewhat mature in using data to drive personalization. 
• 22.6% consider themselves moderately mature, 18.5% slightly mature, and 9.1% not mature at all. 
• Only 25.2% of marketers strongly agree that their company can effectively analyze owned customer data to generate valuable insights. 
• Another 39.3% somewhat agree, leaving the rest either in disagreement or neutral. This indicates a significant number of brands need to step up their game to remain competitive.

What the 2024 State of Data-Driven Personalization in Marketing underscores is that while consumers are ready for personalization, businesses are not. 

Perhaps this is why we’ve seen such an explosion in ABM in the past decade.

ABM is Now Just “Marketing”

The primary goal of account-based marketing is to generate more sales for your business with less waste. Pretty standard stuff.

While the practice (under the ABM moniker) has been around for more than 20 years, account-based marketing has become one of the hottest marketing practices within the last decade, especially the last five. 

So why did interest rise so significantly in the 2010s?

My theory is that technology-enabled personalized messages at scale, providing marketers with a wealth of new data from the explosion of social networks and mobile devices. Traditional marketers, still viewing the market as demographics, wanted to work in volume. However, consumers began basing decisions more on detailed online reviews and social media, seeking to belong to niche groups.

As a result, ABM became the ideal solution, targeting specific accounts and aspirations, driving much higher engagement and conversion rates—exposing the flaws of old marketing methods and highlighting the essential role of ABM. While many savvy data and media teams capitalized on individual signals, the majority of teams were content targeting the masses within a single account.

And, hey, it worked! Why bother rocking the boat?

However, ABM has evolved significantly over the past year.

ABM Has Competition

The allure, and even impact, of ABM have waned since the COVID pandemic. Google Trends appears to support this anecdotally. 

The sense I’ve gotten across LinkedIn is that despite its popularity, ABM no longer delivers like it once did. Recent discussions on the platform highlight how ABM is now seen as a holistic marketing approach that emphasizes personalization and strategic targeting rather than just a sales-focused tactic. 

A conversation with NetLine’s General Manager, David Fortino, revealed his thinking on the practice in 2024. “Account-based marketing is, effectively, just…marketing now,” Fortino said. “It has evolved to the point where ABM is no longer a separate entity from the rest of your marketing programs or tactics. Teams now begin with their ABM plans and everything else falls in line.”

Insights from Brett Kahnke, Principal Analyst of Revenue Operations at Forrester, might be the most salient on the matter.

“Forrester has written a lot over recent years, five or six years now on the convergence of account-based marketing with broader demand techniques. And it’s something that the leaders are able to accelerate on in a way that others can’t because the rise in available technology and data that things we’re talking about today has allowed marketers to take some of the individualized messaging and kind of tailored journeys that used to be reserved for just a few key accounts and account-based marketing motion and do them at scale across hundreds of accounts or more.”

There it is: individualized messaging and tailored journeys can now be achieved at scale.

This is why ABM can no longer be king.

The Convergence of Personalization and Buyer-Level Intent 

Building on our earlier discussion about the evolution and impact of ABM, let’s delve deeper into how personalization and intent data are transforming marketing strategies today. 

Insights from Forrester’s B2B Summit 2024 revealed that personalized interactions are highly valued, with attendees appreciating content that made them feel understood and catered to. Personalized content resonates more deeply with prospects, leading to higher engagement rates. 

For instance, personalized emails receive 29% higher open rates and 41% higher click-through rates compared to generic emails according to Salesforce (p. 30). Additionally, personalized interactions help build trust and rapport, positioning your brand as a trusted advisor rather than just another vendor.

Brett Kahnke emphasizes the role of intent data in enhancing these personalized interactions. 

“With the rise of intent data and tools and platforms putting that at people’s fingertips, it is allowing companies to start to mimic some of that behavior at least get some of those benefits because we’re using those insights and, you know, near real-time to tailor both what marketing is saying and what sales is saying using the same source of information.”

With tools and platforms making this data accessible in near real-time, companies can tailor both marketing and sales messages more effectively, leveraging the same source of information.

Measuring Success and Continuous Improvement

While data is integral to marketing strategies, there’s ample room for growth. Most marketers acknowledge the need for more data and recognize opportunities to enhance its utilization within their organizations.

Continuous measurement and improvement are crucial to benefiting from personalization and ABM. Track key metrics such as engagement rates and conversion rates, and refine your strategies based on data insights.

How Account-Based Marketing and Personalization Co-Exist

ABM still holds a prominent seat at the marketing table, with personalization already existing within the practice. The difference lies in the focus.

Tania Saez, an ABM expert, underscores the importance of balancing demand generation with demand capture, leading to better conversion rates and less competition. Use intent data to identify high-value accounts and develop tailored campaigns addressing their specific needs and challenges.

Note: NetLine did sponsor this post.

Enhancing Customer Experience

Tailoring customer touchpoints to individual needs enhances the overall experience, making interactions more relevant and engaging. Author and keynote speaker Zontee Hou shares in her book Data-Driven Personalization that a personalized approach ensures customers find learning, shopping, and engaging with your brand easier and more meaningful. 

Our own data supports this, showing that users willingly share information for high-quality, gated content, providing invaluable first-party intent signals.

Gaining Deeper Customer Insights

Understanding specific customer segments, especially loyal ones, boosts customer lifetime value (CLV). Hou emphasizes the need for deeper insights, and McKinsey notes that leaders use data analytics to build detailed views of customer life cycles, driving strategic and effective personalization.

Achieving a Competitive Advantage

Knowing your customers well allows you to deliver better content and products, giving you a competitive edge. Hou suggests this advantage, and the rise in AI-related content demand indicates that incorporating AI into personalization strategies provides a significant edge.

Improving Customer Retention and Boosting Conversion Rates

Providing relevant experiences ensures customer loyalty, as meeting customer expectations improves retention. Tailored offers and messages significantly boost conversion rates. 

Our report confirms that content formats like playbooks, case studies, and trend reports are associated with immediate buying decisions, making them effective for conversions.

Enhancing Relevance and Identifying Opportunities

Better customer understanding improves content marketing and merchandising. Leaders use predictive analytics and AI to deliver the right content at the right times, revealing cross-selling and upselling opportunities. 

NetLine’s intent data provides real-time insights into buyer behaviors, making it easier to act on these opportunities.

Enhancing Marketing Performance and Efficiency

Focusing on high-converting channels and addressing specific customer needs enhances marketing performance. Investing in rapid activation capabilities and agile models optimizes marketing efforts, resulting in stronger performance and higher ROI.

Leveraging Intent Data for Personalization

Intent data is crucial for effective personalization. NetLine’s INTENTIVE platform provides real-time insights into buyer actions and preferences, enabling tailored content and marketing efforts that improve engagement and conversion rates.

Conclusion

Incorporating these insights into your personalization strategy helps B2B marketers create meaningful and effective customer interactions, driving better business outcomes. Personalization is about knowing what your customers want and delivering it at the right moment, leading to sustained success in the B2B landscape.

Personalized content and ABM are not just buzzwords; they are critical strategies for effectively reaching and engaging target audiences in the B2B space. 

By leveraging the insights from NetLine’s 2024 Content Consumption and Demand Report, marketers can develop highly targeted and personalized campaigns that drive higher engagement and conversion rates.