Account-Based Strategies in 2020

The Fundamentals of Maturing an ABM Practice

Executive Summary

To implement a successful account-based marketing (ABM) strategy, B2B marketers have a big hill to climb. Building the foundation of an ABM practice takes time and resources, but doing the heavy lifting early on can drive long-term success.

What is account-based marketing?

Account-based marketing is a strategic, collaborative approach to marketing and sales that emphasizes quality accounts over sheer quantity of leads. Instead of trying to generate demand by casting a wide net, B2B companies that implement ABM target key accounts they want to sell to.

Where should companies start in adopting an account-based marketing strategy?

B2B companies should start with the fundamentals before rushing in and adopting a technology vendor. To execute an account-based strategy, B2Bs must manage their data, align with sales, get buy-in from executive leadership, select high-value accounts, perform deep background research, create custom content, and develop bespoke buyer journeys for target accounts.

What is the long-term objective of account-based marketing?

B2Bs adopt ABM to be more intentional and targeted in their marketing and sales efforts. Tracking immediate engagements is important and will help inform strategies in the short term, but the long-term indicators of success should focus on revenues. The goal of ABM is to move deals through the pipeline faster, increase closed/won rates, and grow average contract value over time.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report will give an overview of ABM and dig deep into the fundamentals of building an advanced ABM practice.

KEY STAT: Most B2Bs have not implemented a mature ABM program where they can drive strategic growth, according to October 2019 research from ITSMA and ABM Leadership Alliance.

Here’s what’s in the full report

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32expert perspectives

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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. The State of ABM: A Cautionary Tale
  3. Identifying and Prioritizing Accounts
  4. Content, Orchestration and Alignment
  1. Measuring Success
  2. Key Takeaways
  3. eMarketer Interviews
  4. Read Next
  1. Sources
  2. Media Gallery

Interviewed for This Report

Ryan Adami
BetterUp
Senior Manager of Digital Strategy and ABM
Interviewed February 4, 2020
Kevin Arsham
MediaCom
Partner, B2B Media Specialist
Interviewed January 31, 2020
Teresa Barreira
Publicis Sapient
CMO
Interviewed January 29, 2020
Christopher Beaudin
Atlatl Software Inc.
Director of Marketing
Interviewed February 18, 2020
Bernie Borges
Vengreso
CMO and Co-Founder
Interviewed February 14, 2020
Georgia Bradley
gyro
Senior Vice President, Strategy
Interviewed February 7, 2020
Ed Breault
Aprimo
CMO
Interviewed January 17, 2020
Mike Burton
Bombora
Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, Data Sales
Interviewed January 16, 2020
Wendy Buzzeo
Wiley
Head of B2B Marketing
Interviewed February 6, 2020
Erin Craft
Centerline Digital
Vice President
Interviewed February 4, 2020
Samantha Cunliffe
Merkle | DWA
Managing Director, ANZ
Interviewed January 28, 2020
Niraj Deo
Oracle
Vice President, Products, Oracle Data Cloud
Interviewed February 20, 2020
Megan Donnelly
Wellframe
Director, Demand Generation
Interviewed February 14, 2020
Bethany Fiveson
Fastly
Account-Based Marketing Manager
Interviewed February 20, 2020
Meredith Fuller
Quarry
Managing Director of Buyer Engagement
Interviewed February 6, 2020
Tricia Gabberty
Equifax
CMO, Data-Driven Marketing
Interviewed February 7, 2020
Brian Glover
Adobe
Head of Product Marketing, Marketo Engage
Interviewed February 5, 2020
Nicholas Holland
HubSpot
General Manager, Vice President of Marketing Hub
Interviewed February 28, 2020
Joe Kingsbury
Edelman
US Managing Director, Edelman Business Marketing
Interviewed January 20, 2020
Kathy Macchi
Inverta
Vice President, Consulting Services
Interviewed February 14, 2020
Rebecca Martin
Calabrio
CMO
Interviewed February 7, 2020
Danny Nail
SAP
Senior Director, Account-Based Marketing
Interviewed February 20, 2020
Tom O’Regan
Madison Logic
CEO
Interviewed February 12, 2020
Jake Parrillo
Edelman
Executive Vice President
Interviewed January 20, 2020
Gabe Rogol
Demandbase
CEO
Interviewed February 13, 2020
Greg Salmon
Agent3
General Manager, North America
Interviewed February 10, 2020
Ashley Shailer
Inverta
Vice President, Marketing
Interviewed February 14, 2020
Ankit Sharma
Netcore Solutions Inc.
Head of ABM
Interviewed February 13, 2020
Derek Slayton
Terminus
CMO
Interviewed January 17, 2020
Gina Spero
iX.co
Director, Lead Generation and ABM
Interviewed January 28, 2020
Mandy Tsui
Oracle
B2B Product and Strategy
Interviewed February 20, 2020
Michelle Yancey
Centerline Digital
Group Account Director
Interviewed February 4, 2020

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authors

Jillian Ryan

Contributors

Ross Benes
Analyst
Blake Droesch
Junior Analyst
Nicole Perrin
Principal Analyst
Melissa Rosenberg
Senior Researcher

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