Introduction
LinkedIn has become an indispensable platform for B2B tech companies looking to connect with potential customers. But in recent years, generating high-quality leads and achieving a strong return on investment (ROI) from LinkedIn Ads has become increasingly challenging. Traditional Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategies, while effective, often struggle to warm up cold audiences, leading to lengthy sales cycles and missed opportunities.
This is a story about how a new approach – Outbound-led Inbound ABM – emerged from a collaborative effort to overcome these challenges. Working closely with a client facing the all-too-common problem of expensive LinkedIn leads that were proving difficult to convert, we sought a way to generate warmer leads and accelerate the sales process. With a limited budget and a specific list of target accounts, a new strategy was needed.
The solution came from an unexpected source: a competitor’s website and a clever piece of software. This sparked an “aha!” moment that led to the development of a hybrid strategy that combines the best of outbound and inbound marketing.
In this article, we’ll explore the genesis of Outbound-led Inbound ABM, explain how it works, and provide a practical guide to implementing this innovative approach for your own B2B tech company. Get ready to discover how to supercharge your ABM strategy, warm up cold leads, and drive better results from your LinkedIn Ads campaigns.
The Genesis of Outbound-led Inbound ABM
Our journey towards Outbound-led Inbound ABM began with a client, a B2B tech company with a modest monthly advertising budget of $10,000. Initially, their strategy relied on a traditional ABM approach, targeting a list of 300 companies compiled by their sales team. This list consisted of banks that fit a certain profile in terms of size, volume, and territory. However, it lacked a crucial element: intent. While these banks might have been a good fit on paper, there was no guarantee they were actively seeking the client’s solutions.
This initial approach yielded some results, but not enough to justify the cost. Leads were expensive, and even those who submitted their details remained cold and unresponsive. It was clear that a new strategy was needed – one that focused on warming up potential clients before direct outreach.
The turning point came when a member of the client’s marketing team stumbled upon the website of another SaaS company. Shortly after her visit, she received a LinkedIn Conversation Ad from someone at that company within her LinkedIn inbox, offering a demo. Intrigued, she inquired how the company had found her, considering she hadn’t submitted any contact information. The answer lay in a software solution that identified companies visiting their website and allowed for targeted outreach to key decision-makers within those companies.
This sparked a realization: instead of relying on a static list of potentially uninterested companies, why not focus on those who had already demonstrated interest by visiting the client’s website? This shift in thinking, combined with the discovery of tools like Factors.ai, led to the birth of Outbound-led Inbound ABM.
By leveraging website visitor data and integrating it with LinkedIn Ads, we could now target companies with a high degree of precision. This meant no more wasted ad spend on cold audiences. Instead, we could focus our efforts on those who were already familiar with the client’s brand and potentially in the market for their solutions.
This new approach offered a significant advantage over the initial ABM list. Instead of relying on general assumptions, we could now target companies based on their actual behavior, ensuring that our marketing efforts reached the most receptive audience.
How Outbound-led Inbound ABM Works
Outbound-led Inbound ABM is a powerful strategy that combines the precision of intent data with the reach of LinkedIn Ads. It involves a series of steps designed to identify, target, and engage key decision-makers within companies that have already shown interest in your products or services.
Here’s a breakdown of the process:
- Identify Website Visitors:Implement a tool like Factors.ai (or a similar solution) to track and identify companies visiting your website. These tools use reverse IP lookup and other technologies to reveal the identities of anonymous website visitors.
- Filter by Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):Once you have a list of companies visiting your website, filter them based on your ICP criteria. This ensures you’re focusing your efforts on the most promising accounts. For example, if your ideal customer is a bank with over $1 billion in assets, you can filter your website visitor list accordingly.
- Export Lists to LinkedIn Ads:Most intent data providers offer seamless integration with LinkedIn Ads. Export your filtered list of target accounts directly to LinkedIn’s campaign manager.
- Create Targeted LinkedIn Ads Campaigns:Leverage LinkedIn’s powerful targeting options to reach the right people within those accounts. Target by job title, seniority, skills, groups, and more.Craft compelling ad copy and visuals that resonate with your target audience. Since these individuals have already visited your website, you can tailor your messaging accordingly. For example, you could mention specific products or services they viewed.
- Engage with Personalized Messaging:Use LinkedIn’s various ad formats (Sponsored Content, Sponsored Messaging, Conversation Ads, etc.) to engage with your target audience. Personalize your messages based on their industry, job title, and any other relevant information you have gathered.
- Continuously Monitor and Optimize:Track key metrics such as website visits, engagement, and conversions. Analyze the data to identify what’s working and what’s not.Refine your targeting, messaging, and ad creatives to improve campaign performance over time.
By following these steps, you can create a highly effective ABM strategy that leverages real-time intent data to reach warm leads on LinkedIn. This approach allows you to focus your resources on the most promising accounts, resulting in higher engagement, faster conversions, and a stronger ROI.
Important Note:
This method is particularly well-suited for companies that already have a steady stream of website traffic and are actively engaged in other marketing activities. To maximize its effectiveness, Outbound-led Inbound ABM should ideally be combined with a broader ABM strategy that also targets new, “cold” audiences. This ensures you’re reaching a wider range of potential customers while giving extra attention to those who have already shown interest.
Conclusion
Outbound-led Inbound ABM offers a powerful new approach to ABM, leveraging intent data to warm up cold leads and drive better results from your LinkedIn Ads campaigns. By focusing on companies that have already shown interest in your products or services, you can significantly increase your chances of conversion and maximize your ROI.
If you’re looking to take your ABM strategy to the next level, I encourage you to explore the possibilities of Outbound-led Inbound ABM. It’s a game-changer for B2B tech companies looking to generate high-quality leads and accelerate their sales process. And based on my experience, Factors.ai has proven to be an invaluable tool in implementing this strategy effectively. I highly recommend exploring their platform to see how it can benefit your business.
Disclosure:
I do have an affiliate relationship with Factors.ai, but I want to assure you that I wouldn’t recommend this software if I didn’t truly believe in its capabilities. It has been instrumental in the success of our Outbound-led Inbound ABM strategy.
מתמחה בפרסום קרוס – מדיה שיודע לנצל את החוזקות של כל אחת מהמדיות, למדוד את תוצאות הפרסום בהן, ולחלק את תקציבי הפרסום בין המדיות בהתאם.
עם ניסיון של מעל 20 שנים בעולם האינטרנט במגוון תפקידי פיתוח וניהול למיכל יש ניסיון רב באפיון, ניהול, שיווק ופרסום אתרי אינטרנט.