ABM & Technology in 2022 - Things to look out for.

blog • Dec 24, 2021

2021 saw a huge ABM adoption as marketers sharpened customer focus, added investment, and developed more agile and resilient account-based strategies and programs. - ITSMA.

Without a doubt, B2B marketers are fast recognizing the value of Account-based Marketing (ABM). According to Alterra, 97 % of marketers saw a higher return on investment (ROI) with ABM than with any other marketing strategy. If that isn't convincing enough, take a look at the number of marketing technology providers that have upgraded or launched new ABM services to match the increased demand.

New to ABM? Read more about Account-Based Marketing here.

B2B marketers have traditionally used broad-based marketing efforts to attract a big number of prospects. ABM, on the other hand, encourages marketers to concentrate their efforts on a specific selection of target customers that often provide better value for the company.

To execute ABM effectively, one needs an account-based marketing platform that can centrally maintain named account lists, swiftly and effectively execute multi-channel campaigns to decision-makers within these accounts—at scale—and offer real-time information to marketing and sales to act on.

If ABM is ideal for your company, it's vital that you prepare for success and select a system that will help you achieve your goals. Account targeting, personalized cross-channel engagement, and account analytics are three critical characteristics for an ABM solution to support your strategy and assure sustained scalable success. Let's look at these capabilities in more detail and what they should include:

So, how can you navigate the landscape and pick the right technology in 2022 to support a repeatable, scalable business strategy?

1. Identifying, targeting, and account management

One of the primary things to look for in an ABM solution is the ability to handle all of your named accounts in one place. When working with sales to identify strategic accounts for your company, you may utilize a variety of factors to do so, you can read about drafting your ICPs here.

For high-value and easy-to-win accounts, collaborate with your sales team and analyze your customer relationship management (CRM) history. Your ABM solution should enable you to find existing opportunities from your database under any given criteria.

Next, You should be able to segment these accounts into groups depending on the industry, company size, geographic location, and more, and evaluate them based on firmographics, cumulative habits, and even predictive capabilities. Ascertain that you can import your lists from your CRM, classify them as a specific audience, and change them at any time.

2. Cross-Channel Personalized Engagement

Engaging the relevant people from high-value accounts at many touchpoints across the buyer's journey is another important ABM capability. This translates to communicating with the decision-makers with the right message across any channel and device—from ads to email to your website, and on desktop, mobile, and beyond.

According to CEB studies, stakeholders in each purchasing decision might come from a variety of positions, teams, and locations, with an average of 5.4 persons having to formally sign off on each B2B transaction. And each decision-maker may have specific requirements that necessitate customized messaging and content. With the appropriate ABM solution, you can ensure that the most relevant material reaches each decision-maker, nudging them closer to a purchase.

Look for and adopt a cross-channel solution that includes ABM as a core feature of its marketing platform so you can send targeted, consistent messages to your target accounts across all of their preferred channels. Furthermore, your system should enable you to track each decision-engagement maker's levels and share this information with sales in order to discover top prospects and high-value opportunities.

An ABM solution built within your marketing platform can help you track and manage the accounts whilst providing cross-channel engagement. Listening and observing the activities of your target accounts allows you to send personalized communications at the right time.

3. Analysis of Results Across Target Accounts

It's crucial to start tracking results and revenue effects once you've implemented your ABM strategy. Your efforts can rapidly fall short if you don't have a mechanism to provide quantitative outcomes to the marketing and sales teams.

Ascertain that your ABM system can deliver real-time, actionable, and intelligent KPIs that show how each target account, or group of accounts, is progressing and the impact of your ABM initiatives. You should be able to quickly see past and present marketing activity for each account, as well as a score that shows the account's state. Make sure you can track any intriguing or significant occurrences that marketing and sales should be aware of, such as a late-stage piece of content being downloaded or an account stakeholder booking a demo.

2022 would require an ABM platform that comprises targeted advertising, engagement scoring, and data management capabilities. Recotap is an ABM platform that offers all of this and more in a much simpler and comprehensive way. With Recotap B2B marketers can now engage and collaborate with accounts to spearhead revenue generation.