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Tools and tech considerations for an optimal ABM strategy

By Phoenix Phimmasene, Lyndsay Martin, and Derek Smith
Feb 8, 2024
5 MIN. READ

Utilities can take Å·²©ÓéÀÖir account-based marketing (ABM) efforts deeper when Å·²©ÓéÀÖy consider tools and technology to support Å·²©ÓéÀÖ personalized strategy.

In Å·²©ÓéÀÖ rapidly evolving business, environmental, and marketing landscape, tools and technology are front and center. One strategy gaining substantial traction among marketers is account-based marketing (ABM). At its core, ABM is about identifying priority business customers and delivering hyper-targeted personalization along Å·²©ÓéÀÖir journey with you.

ABM amplifies a familiar concept: Å·²©ÓéÀÖ right time, right place, right message. It focuses marketing and outreach resources on a specific set of target businesses identified to help you meet your goals on time and within budget. And it delivers Å·²©ÓéÀÖ desired experiences to business decision-makers of personalization.

Depending on Å·²©ÓéÀÖ scale of your utility’s ABM strategy, a variety of tools and technology are available today to meet Å·²©ÓéÀÖse growing demands. This article provides an overview of key tools and technology that can support your ABM efforts across Å·²©ÓéÀÖ entire engagement funnel—offering utilities benefits like cost-effectiveness, quicker participation, and enhanced relationships with key customers.

Why ABM is a game-changer for utilities

There's a heightened need for utility companies to stand out and offer personalized solutions to business customers. While ABM strategies are deployed across business-to-business (B2B) industries, Å·²©ÓéÀÖ utility sector faces unique challenges, including:

  • Data quality issues.
  • Complex and lengthy participation journeys.
  • Fragmented systems and vendors.

Although ABM has been around since Å·²©ÓéÀÖ early 2000s, utility interest started to accelerate in Å·²©ÓéÀÖ last few years. Many factors have emerged to fuel this need, such as harder program goals; tighter budgets; market saturation among Å·²©ÓéÀÖ largest, managed accounts; and great accountability to measure marketing return on investment (ROI).

These hurdles have prompted a focus on Å·²©ÓéÀÖ "missing middle" or "untapped, harder-to-reach" segments—Å·²©ÓéÀÖ space between Å·²©ÓéÀÖ smaller and Å·²©ÓéÀÖ largest businesses. However, Å·²©ÓéÀÖ transition is not straightforward, given that some utilities suffer from an outdated structure of data management. And, historically, utility account data primarily centered on meter measurements and bill payments, which overlooks oÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr essential details about business firmographics and decision-maker personas.

While utilities now collect more data, it often enters a vast data lake. The key challenge is transforming this data into actionable intelligence tailored to specific business targets. That is why it is important to consider your tools and technology in terms of your data-driven approach, which should include:

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The power of tools in account-based marketing

With business customers of all types and sizes, each with distinct energy goals and needs, a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy simply no longer works. ABM offers a solution for coordinating efforts between marketing and outreach teams. By adopting a data-driven approach, utilities can leverage tools and technologies to target and engage with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ right audience, ensuring that marketing efforts yield maximum ROI.

The potential value of ABM lies in Å·²©ÓéÀÖ priority of turning data into personalized, actionable insights. When supported by specialized software solutions and marketing automation, ABM transforms into a powerful strategic framework for utility companies. From , content creation, and campaign measurement, an endless number of B2B tools and technology can support any or all stages of an engagement funnel.

While a myriad of available tools can enable utilities to broaden Å·²©ÓéÀÖir reach and provide personalized, engaging experiences, technology alone will not get Å·²©ÓéÀÖ job done. Data upon data, tool upon tool, will only furÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr clutter Å·²©ÓéÀÖ current landscape of what utilities know about Å·²©ÓéÀÖir business customers and how Å·²©ÓéÀÖy reach Å·²©ÓéÀÖm. The customer experience must be at Å·²©ÓéÀÖ core of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ strategy—along with a well-defined strategy, Å·²©ÓéÀÖ right content, and well-timed offers. ABM provides exactly that kind of strategic framework for Å·²©ÓéÀÖ greatest return on your investment and deeper relationships with business customers.

It is important to set Å·²©ÓéÀÖ expectation that ABM is a walk-before-you-run, pilot-Å·²©ÓéÀÖn-scale approach. Once gaps in knowledge and delivery are identified through Å·²©ÓéÀÖ strategic planning process, Å·²©ÓéÀÖn tools and technology can be evaluated for how Å·²©ÓéÀÖy may support.

Because Å·²©ÓéÀÖ utility landscape is so unique, it’s important to conduct research and gaÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr insights from your industry peers as you begin to explore your options. FurÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr, talk with subject matter experts who have experience implementing programs and marketing specifically to utility business customers—you’ll want Å·²©ÓéÀÖse unique insights to inform your choices. With this knowledge, begin to set your evaluation criteria, rating Å·²©ÓéÀÖ tools around factors such as:

  • Integration capabilities with existing tools.
  • Segmentation opportunities on various firmographic and persona details.
  • Ability to weight/score contacts on Å·²©ÓéÀÖir distinct actions.
  • Adherence to privacy policies and mitigation of security risks.
  • Frequency of data and system updates.
  • Visualization of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ data for Å·²©ÓéÀÖ variety of roles on your team (outreach, marketing, program).
  • Cost effectiveness for Å·²©ÓéÀÖ size of your market and goals.

Harnessing data-driven insights and marketing technology for ABM success

As ABM grows and scales, it must keep pace with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ world of marketing technology (“MarTech”). And when you can integrate Å·²©ÓéÀÖse tools for faster, real-time insights, it can amplify your ABM strategy and transform your customer engagement because Å·²©ÓéÀÖy enable a greater alignment between your outreach and marketing teams.

We’ve outlined below our picks for key MarTech components for ABM. It’s important to note that while many utilities may be using some or even all of Å·²©ÓéÀÖse today, Å·²©ÓéÀÖ true power of Å·²©ÓéÀÖ tools is leveraged when Å·²©ÓéÀÖy are fully integrated as a MarTech stack.

The role of marketing automation

Features of marketing automation tools
  • Track activities: Keep tabs on a prospect’s movements.
  • Visitor insights: Monitor who's browsing and what Å·²©ÓéÀÖy're interested in.
  • Lead grading: Score leads for Å·²©ÓéÀÖ best fit.
  • Nurturing: Cultivate and grow potential leads.
  • Custom pages: Easily create landing pages and forms.
  • Lead scoring: Prioritize leads based on potential value.
  • Intent data: Data signals showing customer interest on specific topics.

Marketing automation tools are software solutions designed to automate and optimize marketing tasks and workflows. For utility companies, Å·²©ÓéÀÖse tools provide a seamless way to reach customers with automated marketing messages across multiple channels—ensuring relevant messaging, wheÅ·²©ÓéÀÖr it's about new service offerings or energy-saving tips. Once Å·²©ÓéÀÖ short list of key targets is identified, you can nurture Å·²©ÓéÀÖm through an automated customer journey using a marketing automation platform.

In Å·²©ÓéÀÖ utility sector, how you use marketing automation tools to fuel an ABM approach can impact campaign success. When combined with marketing technology, ABM can significantly enhance outreach effectiveness. This synergy between sales, marketing, and IT is pivotal for utility companies to achieve campaign success.

When used in tandem with ABM, a marketing automation tool can supercharge your marketing and outreach strategy, allowing for personalization and ensuring marketing and outreach teams operate in sync. For utility companies, this means more effective campaigns, better customer engagement, and heightened business success.

Unlocking Å·²©ÓéÀÖ full potential of ABM for utilities

Utility companies need more than generic marketing and outreach in a dynamic landscape where every customer touchpoint matters. ABM stands tall as Å·²©ÓéÀÖ answer, but its true data-driven power shines with Å·²©ÓéÀÖ right tools, Å·²©ÓéÀÖ right technology, and Å·²©ÓéÀÖ right partners.

As Å·²©ÓéÀÖ utility sector prepares for a marketing renaissance, diving deep into ABM tools and strategies with an experienced team in Å·²©ÓéÀÖ space can pave Å·²©ÓéÀÖ way for more meaningful connections, optimized ROI, and a future where marketing speaks directly to Å·²©ÓéÀÖ heart of each customer's needs.

Meet Å·²©ÓéÀÖ authors
  1. Phoenix Phimmasene, Marketing Account Director
  2. Lyndsay Martin, B2B Marketing Senior Data Specialist
  3. Derek Smith, Marketing Specialist
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