How Mature is your ABM Program? 4 Key Indicators to Assess

Assessing your own ABM Program can be difficult, especially when you have limited exposure outside of your organization. At Demandbase, we have visibility into best-in-class ABM programs in nearly every corner of the market –– from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises. No matter the size of your company or industry, we assess ABM Maturity with a deep dive into four key indicators: Strategy, Technology, Execution, and Measurement. 

1. Strategy

When thinking about ABM strategy, it’s important to first understand your objectives for the year. Are you introducing a new product or service? Are you integrating an acquired company? Are you primarily focusing on growth within your existing customers or are you going after new logos? Whatever objectives you choose, your ABM strategy and customer journey should:

• reflect your business focus, 
• include a commitment to a targeted account strategy, and
• have the attention of an ABM Leadership team committed to your success.

2. Technology

While 1:1 ABM can be accomplished without enabling technologies, when moving to 1:few or 1:many ABM, the appropriate tech stack is critical to success. We recommend that our customers have a minimum tech stack of a CRM platform, Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) like Marketo or Pardot, and an account-based management platform like Demandbase. Best-in-class companies will use a Business Intelligence (BI) platform such as PowerBI or Tableau, a sales engagement platform such as Salesloft or Outreach, a chat platform such as Drift, a gifting platform such as Sendoso, PFL, or Alyce, and many other technologies to accomplish ABM at scale. But having these technologies isn’t enough. Your teams must also be fully enabled in order to reap the benefits of ABM.

3. Execution

Execution is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. Companies with the strongest strategy and fully aligned techstack can fall down on execution –– especially if sales and marketing aren’t properly aligned. Here we look for a strong lead process, territory alignment around business goals, an agreed upon targeted account list, well-organized ‘always on’ campaigns, standard campaign naming architectures and use of UTM parameters, use of AI for uncovering intent and engagement, a shared content calendar, and much more.

4. Measurement

Without established objectives, KPI’s and high level scorecards, it will be difficult to understand the success of your ABM program. Traditional metrics like CTR, page views, and MQLs are leading indicators of ABM success. But more important metrics include targeted accounts on site, targeted account conversion rates, # of MQA’s, pipeline, and funnel velocity. Sharing a dashboard with your organization on a monthly basis is a great way to bring visibility to your program, achieve alignment, and encourage discipline from your teams.

A final tip: If you’re still unsure of your ABM program’s maturity, read Jon Miller’s Blog on the Three Levels of Sales and Marketing Maturity and Alignment or take our simple Online ABM Maturity Assessment to see how your program stacks-up. For a more detailed review, ask your account team how you can get a full assessment with one of our ABM Strategists. 

Don’t just take our word for it. Visit the ABM Leadership Alliance for a different perspective and to review their ABM Maturity benchmark reports.