Data: The Key to Account-Based Marketing Success for Law Firms

An account-based marketing strategy that doesn’t properly use data is like a long road-trip with no GPS system (or map). Even with crystal-clear goals, you’re not likely to achieve your objectives without data driving your account selection and content creation along the way. What does data health have to do with your law firm’s account-based marketing strategy? In short, everything. 

Benefits of an Account-Based Marketing Strategy for Law Firms

If you didn’t get to read our past deep dive on ABM, here is a reminder: account-based marketing is a tactic in which marketers treat every account as a market of one. With ABM, marketers collaborate with business development teams to develop a highly targeted list of companies rather than a broader list of individuals. There are many benefits to a program like this, including: 

• Enhanced client experience – Effective ABM requires personalization. By offering highly targeted information to each orgnanization or account, you can address their specific needs. Future clients will feel more appreciated and understood from your earliest interactions. 
• More relevant campaigns – Since each interaction and communication is thoughtfully targeted, you won’t waste time reaching out to people who aren’t interested in your services. This makes AMB campaigns more efficient and more likely to generate an ROI. 
• Business development and marketing collaboration – Since ABM is a firm-wide initiative, it requires business development and marketing to align on shared goals. 

If you’re ready to reap the benefits of your own account-based marketing strategy, you must first understand the importance of data and the role it plays in your firm’s efforts. 

How Does Data Impact Account-Based Marketing?

In order to really reap the benefits of ABM, you should be using (good) data to inform and optimize your overall program. Here are four ways that healthy data can facilitate a stronger ABM initiative. 

1. Prospect and client data help you tailor your account targeting strategy. 

At the heart of your ABM success is the account list you put together. Account selection is a critical step in your law firm’s ABM program and it hinges solely on contact and client data analysis.

To select the right accounts, you need to put together an Ideal Client Profile – or an ICP. An ICP is a profile detailing critical characteristics of your most valuable clients and accounts. An ICP is created using a combination of firmographic and behavioral data points. Analyze your best clients and identify commonalities across demographics like industry, company size, location, engagement timing, etc. 

Remember that the ICP will inform your overall strategy – and if you get that wrong, none of the other steps matter. 

2. Contact and account data ensures optimal account coverage.

Your strategy depends on your ability to identify and penetrate your chosen accounts. No matter how many accounts you have or how great your selection criteria, if you can’t actually reach the key business decision-makers within the company, you won’t see results.

There are two primary types of data you will need for optimal account coverage – business structure data and accurate contact data.

Business structure data: This refers to information regarding your target account’s hierarchy and decision-making process. Create an organization chart that shows an account’s key stakeholders and where they fall in the general structure of the business.

Contact data: It goes without saying: you won’t reach key stakeholders if you don’t have their accurate contact information.

3. Sharing data facilitates business development and marketing alignment. 

Remember how we mentioned that this team alignment is critical? Well, too often law firms keep marketing and business development – and the data that each uses – in separate silos. Ideally, you are able to integrate your technology tools so that the departments can work together. Use shared reporting and create dashboards for ABM programs. Also have regular check-ins (such as weekly meetings) where performance data is shared, discussed, and used to optimize campaigns.

4. Data is key for personalization.

Since customizing communications is key to an ABM strategy, the data that can help you to personalize is crucial. Look deeper into your prospect’s demographic data and learn more about their pain points, challenges, online behavior etc. This information will allow you to craft content that speaks directly to the matters that are most important to them.

Takeaway

Did you know over 90% of B2B marketers consider ABM a “must-have” strategy? Advancements in marketing technologies and the availability of robust data makes it easier than ever to employ an ABM strategy. The only problem is that many marketers admit that their data isn’t as clean or comprehensive as it should be. Many legal marketers tell us that the overall health of their data is unreliable. 

Join our upcoming webinar, Account-Based Marketing for Law Firms to learn how to get started with your own ABM strategy. Our expert panelists will cover everything from ABM basics to how to map and profile stakeholders and develop targeted value propositions. You’ll be able to see for yourself why so many marketers say ABM delivers a higher ROI than any other marketing approach.