"I run #ABM and understand #engagement is the most important metric to be measuring - but leadership still wants me to generate MQLs." Ah, what a conundrum ?? What does a marketer do in this situation? Satisfy leadership's desire to generate MQLs and make sacrifices with their ABM strategy? Run the ABM strategy they know works best focused on engagement and forget about MQLs? Try to account for both engagement and MQLs? MQL as a metric is becoming less and less common for good reason. Many organizations are hanging on tightly to it because leadership teams use it as a KPI, and don't fully understand that an account-centric approach takes time and creates impact beyond number of MQLs. So much of ABX is education and nurture, and doing that earlier and more often than ever before...then measuring how people and accounts engage. It really comes down to leadership trusting their marketing team and applying a long-term lens to the organizational and operational changes ABX requires. My opinion? Easier said than done, but forget the #MQL. Focus on engagement entirely. Let your marketers and sellers be the engagement valets.
Very well said. I would add that you should also start by making sure you know exactly which accounts you are marketing to, then measure the level of engagement, both known and anonymous from each one all the time. Track which accounts are showing intent signas, and drive tactics to produce engagement. Then measure which are progressing, either by accelerating their engagement (including anonymous) and/or by beginning to engage directly with your sellers. If the 3rd party evidence of a buying process is not met by 1st party engagement in an account, you are failing with that account and need to up the ante. Buyers are going as far as to make short lists and pick a favorite before they talk to your sellers, so tracking how all of that is happening before they talk to you is critical.
I find that when the leadership views ABM as a lead gen campaign, it means the alignment with sales hasn't been done correctly. When the sync between teams is working correctly, sales proactively says "don't worry about leads" because they find value in all the planning, content, engagement etc In most cases, unless the sales team is singing the praises of the ABM efforts, it goes back to a lead gen expectation.
Great post and I totally agree. I would add that it's important to understand the difference in Dmenad Gen, Lead Gen and ABM. What channels and tactics but most importantly what output you expect and then let ABM help with the final mile so to speak. Ultimately it's all the same funnel and the same goal (revenue) but many orgs create a short term plan for a long term vision. On the other hand, we have clients who are really getting it right and are benefiting from alignment across sales, marketing and revenue.
Yes to that Luke J. Rafferty ??
Helping B2B Tech brands grow with ABM. Podcast host of Let's talk ABM. CMO at strategicabm
5 个月Build a warchest of stories, anecdotes, and quotes from customers and your Sales colleagues. When starting out on any ABM journey you're never gonna have the $ numbers to show. But what you can show is what the customer said, how the customer felt, what the Sales colleague said, etc. Get those stories in front of leadership. They are not stupid. They know that happy customers are profitable customers. They know that customers for life is their endgame. Engagement is a clear leading indicator of everything else that will follow.