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Account Based Marketing Part 1: Measuring ROI

One of the troubles that marketers face is how to properly measure the success of an online advertising campaign. During the first stages of the digital advertising revolution, it was simple because there were only a handful of services, like Doubleclick and Web Connect, one could attribute to. The few methods of attribution, or proof, that each media buy was creating the desired effect, was probabilistically modeled and associated to a given campaign. Now in the complex world of many Supply Side Platforms (SSPs), Demands Side Platforms (DSPs) and the number of marketplace exchanges available to marketers, sales attribution for advertising spend has become a more complex problem than it used to be. Whether you’re talking about online or offline, solving the attribution problem is the holy grail of digital advertising.

Attribution Methodology

Because of the difficulty of attribution, a practice gained traction with the goal of simplifying the ad spend attribution process: Account Based Marketing. The term “Account-Based Marketing” is thrown around frequently, but few people actually understand what Account-Based Marketing (ABM) really is. ABM is the practice in which advertisers customize and focus their efforts on a pre-defined target and tailor their media buys, messaging, and landing pages to those specific targets. It is most often employed as an integrated business and sales strategy, meaning an account is a whole company that is treated as a singular target. With ABM, advertisers do not broadcast advertising hoping that someone, or just anyone, converts. This level of targeting leads to a more direct connection with a potential client, making it much easier to track a conversion.

By using an ABM approach that exploits hyper-targeted media to place relevant messaging in front of predefined targets, advertisers can measure conversions with exact precision to singular accounts, which allows for a proper attribution on advertising efforts. Because we are now entering an era of “lean” marketing, where advertisers can rapidly change strategies to increase the effectiveness of campaigns as a whole, ABM has become a key component to any strong marketer’s toolbox.  

Necessity is the mother of all invention. Account-Based Marketing was a natural step forward as the world of advertising pulls back on broad initiatives and drives toward hyper-targeted approaches. From small startups to large organizations, all companies stand to benefit from ABM tactics. Marketers must adapt, adjusting their approach to maximize the effectiveness of every dollar spent.

The Top Account-Based Marketing Tool

There are a variety of key ABM technology players who have entered the scene. Now that Account-Based Marketing is defined, it’s worthwhile to look at platforms offering ABM targeting as a service, one of which is eltoro.com.

In order to launch an ABM based campaign with El Toro, you simply need a physical address of the potential target. El Toro then takes this physical address and converts it to an IP address. From there, you can target that IP’s wifi network by serving digital banner and video ads to the individuals connected to that network. With this tactic, Account Based Marketing is brought full circle by 1. Focusing your targeting efforts to a singular account i.e. a business location and 2. Being able to track back ROI considering the targeting starts with a pre-defined physical address. If that business, household, or location signs up, buys, or otherwise converts then you have complete attribution.

Case Study

In order to further show the effectiveness of ABM campaigns, here’s a case example of El Toro services being used for Account-Based Marketing. El Toro desired to win the business of Scoppechio, a large and notable advertising agency based in Louisville, Kentucky. Being in conversation with the agency for over a year, but with slow progress, El Toro chose to be strategic and implement an ABM strategy on Scoppechio to finalize a partnership. To start, El Toro harvested the IP address of the the agency in their Louisville office. From there, an IP targeting ad campaign on Scoppechio’s IP network was launched. Essentially, anyone connected to the wifi within the Scoppechio office saw ads that read, “El Toro loves Scoppechio.” This created a viral effect within the office that brought the conversation all the way up to the CEO’s desk. To summarize the discussion, Scoppechio didn’t know how El Toro did it but wanted to learn more and utilize the tech for their own business. Scoppechio is now an agency partner of El Toro, and the relationship has benefited both parties. This case example of Account-Based Marketing led to great press and awards for the savviness El Toro applied by leveraging our own technology to win an account. By utilizing El Toro, this same ABM technology is at your fingertips as well.

The Pivot

Marketers have long relied on a full circle, omni channel drip campaign to “win” B2B accounts. However, generating top-of-the-funnel leads with these watered down, broad-focused strategies tends to leave individuals not knowing what their spend actually got them. John Wanamaker is famous for saying, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half.” With an ABM strategy, the fear of not being able to tie attribution to ad-campaigns is eliminated. This why El Toro’s IP Targeting technology has proven to be so effective.

The digital world will continue to increase their focus on Account-Based Marketing strategies. The question is will you adopt these new methodologies and practices? Or will the industry shift leave you behind? In a world of complex marketing initiatives and advertising technologies, opt for an Account-Based Marketing approach that will give you honest, transparent, and most importantly, measurable results.

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