Effective reporting is the key to adapting successful ABM strategies. To achieve goals and KPIs, these are the reporting considerations an ABM strategy should make.
Our definition of account-based marketing is just good marketing. If you only had one prospect to sell and market to, you would treat them with the same principles as outlined in ABM. It’s just aiming at a more well-defined area of that funnel, and treating your best buyers in a much more personal way. And we’re focusing on not only the lead but the account as a whole. - Justin Gray, CMO, LeadMD
Once an ABM campaign has been planned, plotted and implemented - the work doesn’t stop! Continuous monitoring, adjustment and progress mapping are required to ensure a campaign is on track to achieve initial goals.
Regular reporting is integral to keep campaigns on track and moving in the right direction.
So what key aspects do you need to keep an eye on in account-based marketing campaigns?
Account-Based Marketing Reporting Considerations
Your ABM toolkit, particularly your marketing automation platform, should offer an initial level of insight. At a top level, of course, account opportunities will be the priority to monitor. But to be effective, you need to delve a little deeper.
Each ABM campaign will have different priorities on what metrics to measure, but as an example of areas and results to track, you should keep an eye on:
- Website engagement. In an ABM campaign, it's important to personalise your site and content to keep account visitors interested. Knowing what to adapt for best resonance is an ever-changing game. When monitoring site engagement, monitor metrics such as clicks, conversion rates and time on page. If relevant conversions are down, take a look at what’s not working, and test to improve.
- Ad effectiveness. Targeted advertising is a great way to place relevant content in front of key accounts. But how accurate are your ads? And what relevant engagement are you seeing from them? It’s important to monitor the volume and quality of clicks/conversions ads receive - across devices and account segments - to ensure they are worthwhile. Note here that you should also monitor conversions on your linked landing pages, checking that ads and landing pages are related to each other to see quality account conversion. Regardless of ad or ABM targeting, you should also be monitoring your landing pages to ensure they are well optimised.
- Sales cycle length. By presenting key accounts with content and messaging designed to resonate with them specifically, ABM campaigns work to shorten the awareness phase of the buyer’s journey, moving key prospects to a sales decision much faster. In a well-performing campaign, you should see high value accounts closing much faster than usual. This can be monitored by watching the time it takes to move key accounts from first interaction to close, and comparing that with your sales cycle length for non-ABM campaigns.
For more than 90% of B2B buyers, the amount of their product research depends on the price of a purchase; as the price increases, the amount of research increases. - Salesforce
- Revenue. The big one. ABM campaigns are designed to help you close higher value accounts and build long-term relationships with valuable customers - which should translate to an overall increase in revenue. To measure that, you need to benchmark your pre-ABM revenue metrics, and check that ABM activity drives profit, greater deal size, and increased lifetime value over time.
- Retention. With relevant, personalised targeting at the core of ABM, you should be creating stronger relationships with high value accounts, and developing and re-engaging them into longer term client relationships. As with revenue, it’s important to benchmark and monitor metrics, make sure churn and loss are going down, and profit is going up.
- Number of contacts per account. How many quality contacts are you in conversation with from your target account. You need to ensure you’re in contact with all of the key stakeholders and decision-makers responsible for making decisions over your solution. Make sure you’re progressing these relationships, and monitor your contacts to develop trust, educate, and move forward.
Nearly 80% of marketers said ABM provided significant benefits to retain and expand client relationships. - Marketo
Other Reporting Considerations
At a wider level, campaigns should also check in on:
- Data detail. Make sure your account data is as complete as possible and that your team is developing the right conversations with the right people.
- Account awareness & reach. Check that key accounts are aware of your organisation and the solutions you offer.
- Engagement levels. Monitor how well target accounts engage with your company by reviewing interaction with your site, content, emails etc. Make sure the individuals you need to build relationships with are increasing engagement with you.
- Social selling activity. Proper reporting on social selling and social ABM activity are often overlooked. Sales teams and any other stakeholders should be sure to report on their social progress, or look to capture via the marketing automation system or CRM.
- Marketing impact and influence on revenue. Check that your marketing efforts are having a positive impact on sales outcomes. Is your marketing activity reaching the right key audience? Are you seeing good engagement? Are ABM activities having a positive influence on sales outcomes like sales cycle length, contract values, win rates etc? Continually review the data and look for correlations between marketing activities and sales outcomes to monitor this.
Make Sure Marketing & Sales Both Have Access To Reporting Data
To progress your campaigns and maintain effective marketing/sales alignment, reporting must be shared between both sales and marketing. Remember, both teams must be aligned to successfully implement a campaign, so equally must understand and react to reporting data to keep campaigns moving forward.
Keep The Bigger Picture In Mind, As Well As The Details
Monitoring progress on a tactical level is important to keep things moving, but don’t get too weighed down in the granular details; you must also monitor the overall progress you make with accounts. Are you effectively moving them from people, to accounts, to opportunities? Are you on track to achieve your goals and ROI?
Comparison between ABM and non-ABM strategies can also give a good idea of the level of success you’re achieving.