Account Based Marketing Benchmarks

Account based marketing, or ABM, can bring success to your team when it is done properly. One of the keys to ensuring that this happens is to set target benchmarks to work toward. Set both key performance indicators (KPIs) and revenue benchmarks as part of a well-rounded ABM plan.

There are many KPIs that can be set for account based marketing 2020. These include:

• Deanonymization rate: This is the percentage of visitors from targeted accounts that convert to known contacts over a specified time period. The more, the better.
• Website visits: Before a visitor can deanonymize, he or she must come to your site in the first place. With Terminus’ Visitor ID feature, it’s possible to tell when these visitors come from your targeted accounts. Terminus is an account based marketing B2B SaaS that makes it easier to engage in ABM and keep track of your designated key indicators.
• Percentage of targeted accounts engaged: This compares the number of targeted accounts who have engaged with your brand against the total number of targeted accounts. As with most benchmarks, the more, the better.
• Time from first engagement to opportunity for revenue: This is the time between when an account first engages with your brand and when that account qualifies as a real revenue opportunity for your team.
• Number of targeted accounts: These are companies that fit your profile of an ideal customer, but who have not yet engaged with your brand.

Account based marketing B2B efforts should also be done with an eye on revenue benchmarks. These include:

• Meetings booked. This represents a prospect’s commitment to talking with a member of your team, regardless of medium.
• Customer acquisition cost. How much does it cost to get a new customer?

Several other benchmarks can be added to your account based marketing report. This will make it easy to do things like compare account based marketing vs lead generation.

Account Based Marketing Examples

Creativity and personalization are essential for meeting your ABM benchmarks. Using account based marketing examples makes it easier for your team to create thoughtful campaigns and plays. The more of these your team sees, the better. They can then use what they’ve learned from the examples to devise their own campaigns and strategies.

Some of the best ABM examples can be found in Terminus’ account based marketing course or in its account based marketing PPT slides. These are available on Terminus.com.

Once a member of your team takes the Terminus course, he or she will have a good grasp of effective account based marketing tactics. This will lead to improved performance for the team member and the team as a whole. Have all of your team members take the course and view the PPT slides for best results. That way, no one will be out of the loop on this important subject. Even better, everyone can then work together from the same knowledge base.

Those who take Terminus ABM courses are also eligible for account based marketing certification. This is a great motivator for everyone to get on board with the idea of improving themselves in this way.

Of course, the goal isn’t to simply copy the examples provided by the course. Instead, the examples should serve as raw materials for new campaigns aimed to catch the attention of your desired customers.

Account Based Marketing Best Practices

As with every other endeavor, there are ways to go about key account marketing that are better than others. These account based marketing best practices have been developed through years of trial and error, studying methods and results, and other research.

A standard “account based marketing for dummies” overview will tell you to do things in a particular order: Research, evaluate examples, build a strategy, determine what qualifies as success, and only then begin executing the plan. Getting these things in the wrong order leads to inefficiency, missed moves, and even failure. It is definitely not a “best practice” to jump into spending time and resources with no clear roadmap or specific goals.

One way to prevent the temptation to do a “ready, fire, aim” effort is to use an account based marketing strategy template. This can also be referred to as an account based marketing framework, and can include a more-detailed account based marketing playbook, as well. The resources section of the Terminus website offers several options for these things.

Once you have chosen an account based marketing strategy and set your benchmarks, it will be much easier to decide on the details of what to do to reach your goals. Then, you can proceed with the knowledge that what you’re doing is working towards something concrete. This will help to prevent false starts and the wasted time and money that goes with them.

Account Based Marketing Tools

Thanks to the increase in the account based marketing market size, there are many account based marketing tools available to help you. Some of these are platforms dedicated to this goal, while others are simply sites that people have found to be useful for it. LinkedIn is an example of the latter. It is not specifically made as a tool for ABM, but many find that LinkedIn account based marketing is effective enough for their goals.

Of the platforms made specifically for ABM and related tasks, some of the most popular are HubSpot, Demandbase, Engagio, and Terminus. These account based marketing companies all have approaches that are at least somewhat different, leading them to each have some diehard fans.

With account based marketing HubSpot services, ABM itself is not noted to be the focus. Instead, the company advertises its platform as being best for “inbound marketing” as well as for general CRM (customer relationship management) needs. However, many of these functions overlap with ABM. HubSpot offers courses for various marketing goals, as well.

Demandbase is explicitly set up for ABM, and it offers a variety of goal-setting, account identification, and tracking tools. It also offers integration with other tools, such as HubSpot.

Engagio’s site announces that it has been purchased by Demandbase, which means that changes are almost surely coming. For now, it boasts a multi-channel strategy that focuses on making data not only available, but easy to read and understand.

Terminus powers the ABM strategies of many big-name companies, such as Salesforce, 3M, and Salesloft. Its suite of account based marketing services includes its platform, which makes it easy to collect and read data, as well as a training, support, and a dedicated team available to help build your ABM strategy.

When choosing one of these account based marketing solutions, it’s important to consider your specific needs. You will likely find that one or two of these account based marketing companies serve them better than the others.

Account Based Marketing Case Studies

One of the best ways to get ideas for your own ABM campaigns is to read account based marketing case studies. These often show different tactical details between campaigns, such as whether they used content marketing, direct mail, or some other method of reaching their targeted accounts.

There are several sources of ABM case studies and general account based marketing articles. Start with Terminus’ account based marketing blog, and then check out HubSpot’s account based content marketing blog as well. Look for blogs on the sites of other ABM platform companies, too. These B2B ABM case studies will give you a good general feel for ABM, what it can do for your team or company, and how you can go about it.

We also suggest that you read the Forrester Total Economic Impact report found on the Terminus site in the form of an ebook, here.

After you’ve gotten a good overview of ABM, it’s time to devise a plan of your own. Not everything in every case study will pertain to your organization, so feel free to discard what you can’t use or that would be too cumbersome to implement. Then, use what is left to guide your own strategy and tactics as you work out how to advance your plan.

As you implement your ABM plan, be sure to keep track of results along the way. This is part of what account based marketing is all about. Keeping good records and comparing them to target benchmarks will allow you to be sure that you are on track. You’ll also be able to make any needed adjustments along the way.

Account Based Marketing Statistics 2019

While account based marketing statistics 2020 are not available yet due to the year being only half over, we do have account based marketing statistics 2019 ready to go. Last year’s account based marketing statistics show that this category is now out of the early adoption phase, with 45 percent of 2019 survey respondents who have active programs saying that they have been running them for at least three years. Almost none of the responses say they have no experience with ABM, meaning that is mainstream enough for most to have at least had contact with account based marketing methods. This is a big jump compared to 2018, when only 14.7 percent of responders said they had been running an ABM program for at least three years.

The spread of ABM means that there are now more account based marketing jobs than ever before. This increases competition for those who know how to do it, so an account based marketing manager salary will be higher than it used to be. More companies will need an account based marketing manager, too. Software and B2B tech companies are the ones who are at the forefront of adopting ABM and hiring people who know how to go about it.

Of those using ABM, specific goals vary. In 2019, 30 percent of respondents said their main goal was simply “marketing leadership,” while the next-largest segment, 25 percent, were focused on demand generation programs. Other goal groups were much smaller.

In terms of specific account based marketing tactics 2019, 40 percent of 2019 survey respondents said that their biggest concern was getting the right content for their targeted accounts. Meanwhile, 39 percent said they were concerned about measurement and reporting. This shows the importance of those categories for those engaged in account based marketing. A person whose account based marketing resume shows that he or she can solve these problems will have an advantage in being hired.