Most B2B companies employ some form of account-based marketing (ABM) approach. At the very least, they recognize who their most valuable accounts are and try to provide them special care and attention. But how do they track that? In a CRM? Maybe only in shared spreadsheets.
At some point, the question arises: "Do we need dedicated technology to automate these processes?". Because of the expense of ABM solutions, this is an important point to address.
The following are some of the benefits of automating ABM data, analytics, campaigns, and workflow processes:
- Improved sales and marketing alignment. A effective ABM strategy needs collaboration between marketing and sales divisions to identify critical accounts to pursue. This includes deciding on the definition of a critical account and organizing campaigns and communication.
- Reduced sales cycles. Business-to-business sales cycles are notoriously protracted. ABM helps to overcome this challenge by delivering the relevant signals to key decision-makers at target accounts. As a result, ABM possibilities go through the pipeline faster.
- Improved marketing ROI. According to ITSMA, 72 percent of marketers believe ABM provides a "somewhat higher return" than other marketing strategies. That's because ABM initiatives are centered on increasing pipeline and revenue from organizations with a strong proclivity to buy more frequently.
- Increased account value and revenue. According to ABM Leadership Alliance studies, companies that apply ABM boost their annual contract value (ACV) by approximately twofold. And the benefits are not confined to enterprise-level businesses.
- Improved customer experiences. ABM is more than just gaining new target accounts; it is also about keeping and increasing existing target customers through cross-sell, upsell, and advocacy initiatives. As a result, ABM provides more tailored and consistent customer experiences across channels.
Deciding whether or not your firm requires an ABM solution necessitates the same evaluation stages as any software deployment, including a thorough self-assessment of your organization's business needs, personnel capabilities, management support, and financial resources.
- How many of the following questions would you answer affirmatively?
- Have we established our ABM goals?
- Can sales and marketing collaborate to discover our target accounts?
- Do we have C-suite buy-in? Can we invest in organizational training?
- Have we developed KPIs and implemented a system to track, measure, and report results?
It is also necessary to determine which team (or combinations of teams) will own the solution.
