We have all heard the incredible DemandBase stat that 92% of companies recognise the value in ABM, going as far as calling it a B2B marketing must have, but how are companies actually applying ABM to their marketing strategies? Well this is exactly the question that Engagio asked to 1,260 B2B companies when compiling their 2018 ABM Outlook Survey and the results are very interesting! To save you ploughing through the entire report, here is our take on the key findings:
1. ABM plays well with others.
Very few companies surveyed were solely utilising ABM in their marketing strategies…8% to be exact. This isn’t a huge surprise for me…ABM can be a sizeable investment and is not the right fit for every business model. I have discussed this in detail in previous blogs, but suitable foundations must be in place before ABM can be considered. So, what marketing strategies were companies leaning on? Well, 27% indicated that they relied exclusively on Demand Generation, leaving a remaining 65% who applied a combination of Demand Gen and ABM in their marketing efforts. However, out of the 69% of companies who stated that they use ABM in some form (some of whom had only just started their programmes), on average allocated 20% of their marketing budgets and 40% of their marketing man power to ABM outputs; highlighting that hybrid approach mentioned before.
2. The ABM framework across companies is flexible.
However, it is important to say that this only works if the teams who actually run the ABM campaigns have clearly defined roles and are fully aligned. ABM is collaborative in its very nature and therefore the people involved must be flexible, as long as all parties are working off the same song sheet and ensure complete transparency.
3. Companies worry most about their ability to execute ABM campaigns.
This is a concern as the effectiveness of ABM does not rely on tools and technology, but on the team’s ability to execute the strategy. However, employing a specialised marketing agency who can fully manage ABM programmes provides a solution to this.
This opens a can of worms as choosing an agency in the ABM minefield can be difficult, but luckily, we recently published 5 tips to help choose the right agency for Partner ABM which should help with that decision. Ok, there is a distinction between Partner ABM and standard ABM but the application is very similar and applying it through the channel requires an even more refined level of expertise. Leveraging the right agency’s expertise of ABM, project management, monitoring, optimisation and measurement, as well as their extensive marketing knowledge not only tackles the challenge of stakeholder buy-in, but is a sure-fire way to guarantee successful ABM campaigns.
For more information or to discuss how Sherpa can transform your marketing through ABM campaigns, please get in touch: