Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is no longer just a buzzword in the B2B world; it’s a must-have strategy for companies looking to drive meaningful engagement with their most important accounts. But as is the case with any marketing initiative, success boils down to one thing: measurement.
How do you know if your ABM strategy is working? What should you track to ensure your efforts are bringing tangible results? This guide is dedicated to answering those questions. Whether you’re a Marketing Manager, ABM Strategist, or Sales Leader, we’ll take a deep look at the metrics and KPIs you should prioritize, and how to use them to refine your strategy.
What Does ABM Success Look Like?
Before we get to the numbers, it’s important to define what “success” means for ABM. Unlike traditional marketing, which often focuses on generating a high volume of leads, ABM is all about targeting specific high-value accounts and fostering deeper relationships with them. Success in ABM isn’t measured by how many accounts you reach, but rather by the quality of your interactions and the real impact on your pipeline and revenue.
Why Measuring matters in ABM
Measurement is crucial in ABM for a few reasons:
- Resource Allocation: ABM often requires significant investment in time, technology, and people. Measurement ensures that these resources are being used effectively.
- Alignment Across Teams: Marketing and sales teams must work in lockstep for ABM to succeed. KPIs provide a unified framework for collaboration.
- Continuous Improvement: Tracking metrics exposes what works and what doesn’t, enabling you to optimize your efforts over time.
Key Metrics for Tracking ABM Success
1. Account Reach and Coverage
The first question to ask is: Are we reaching the right accounts? Account reach metrics help determine how well your ABM campaigns are connecting with your target accounts.
- Percentage of Engaged Accounts
This metric measures how many of your target accounts had at least one meaningful interaction with your campaigns. For example, account engagement could include opening an email, visiting a landing page, or attending an event.
- Account Penetration
Account penetration looks at how many key stakeholders within an account have engaged with your ABM efforts. B2B decisions typically involve multiple stakeholders, so reaching only one person within an account may not be enough.
2. Audience Engagement
Once you’ve reached your accounts, the next focus is engagement. Engagement metrics help you gauge the quality of interaction with your target audience.
- Website Engagement Per Account
How many target accounts are visiting your website? Which pages are they spending the most time on? Tools like Google Analytics or ABM platforms can break this down by account.
- Content Consumption
Track which assets (eBooks, case studies, webinars) are being consumed by which accounts. These insights can help you fine-tune future content to match your audience’s preferences.
3. Sales and Marketing Alignment
- Response Time
How quickly does your sales team follow up on engaged accounts? Faster response times often correlate with higher success rates in converting engagements into meaningful conversations.
- Shared Metrics
Metrics like account engagement score can provide a single source of truth for both marketing and sales teams, ensuring alignment.
KPIs to Measure Pipeline Impact and Revenue Growth
If you’ve successfully connected and engaged with your target accounts, it’s time to measure results where they matter most—to your pipeline and bottom line.
1. Pipeline Acceleration Metrics
- Time to Close
ABM should shorten your sales cycle by delivering warmer leads. Compare the time it takes to close deals for ABM-targeted accounts versus non-ABM accounts.
- Cost Per Opportunity
Measure the investment (time, budget, resources) required to convert an engaged account into a pipeline opportunity. This allows you to evaluate the ROI of your strategy.
2. Revenue KPIs
- Average Contract Value (ACV)
ABM often focuses on high-value accounts, so it’s essential to see if your efforts are increasing ACV for ABM-driven deals. If your ACV is climbing, it’s a good indicator your ABM strategy is paying dividends.
- Revenue Influenced by ABM
Track the total revenue generated from target accounts. Many organizations use tools like attribution models to assess how ABM tactics contribute to deal closures.
3. Retention and Expansion Metrics
- Net Revenue Retention
ABM isn’t just for attracting new accounts. Measure whether your ABM strategy is helping retain existing clients and expand revenue within those accounts.
- Upsell and Cross-Sell Rates
Identify how many current ABM accounts have grown due to upselling or cross-selling initiatives driven by your campaigns.
Tools for Tracking ABM Metrics
To measure ABM success effectively, you need robust tools that can provide detailed reporting and insights. Here are some of the top tools and platforms used by ABM professionals:
- ABM Platforms (Terminus, Demandbase)
These platforms specialize in providing end-to-end solutions for ABM, covering everything from account targeting and campaign execution to analytics.
- CRM Software (Salesforce, HubSpot)
CRMs are crucial for tracking pipeline metrics like time to close, ACV, and overall revenue influenced by ABM.
- Analytics and Reporting Tools (Google Analytics, Tableau)
Use these tools to monitor engagement metrics such as website traffic, content downloads, and account engagement.
- Marketing Automation Platforms (Marketo, Pardot)
Deploy and track campaigns across channels, capturing details about engagement for every touchpoint.
- Web Personalization Tools (Evergage, Optimizely)
Enhance account-level engagement by delivering tailored experiences and tracking interactions.
Elevate Your ABM Strategy
To succeed in ABM, you need more than great email templates and landing pages. You need data. Tracking the right metrics and KPIs ensures that your efforts hit the mark, leading to better engagement, accelerated pipelines, and higher revenue. But remember, measuring success is not just about the numbers; it’s about using those numbers to refine and elevate your strategy.
Start by identifying a core set of metrics that align with your organization’s goals. Then, integrate the right tools to track data seamlessly. And finally, keep an open dialogue between marketing and sales teams to ensure alignment at every step of the process.
Struggling to define the best KPIs for your campaigns? With the right guidance and tools, you can transform guesswork into precision. Sign up for a free trial of Jasper to learn how AI can simplify your ABM reporting and make your efforts more impactful.
