ABM for Everyone: Stronger Revenue Growth with Programmatic ABM
The first thing that comes to mind when we speak of ABM is hyper-personalized, 1:1 engagement with a very limited number of target accounts. Usually, these are enterprise accounts with multiple buying committees within the same account. Or you can sell more of your solutions to the same buying group to increase the LTV. Then, there’s 1:Few ABM where GTM teams run after a handful of accounts with deep personalization.
- Bikash
- December 5, 2024
There’s a rise in the adoption of ABM for a broader set of target accounts. The 1:Many ABM or programmatic ABM. This is being fuelled by certain challenges in building pipeline with only a handful of named accounts. The increased proliferation of new technologies and signals that enables marketers to engage with buyer groups at scale has also contributed to the rise in popularity of programmatic ABMs.
Shortcomings of adopting only 1:1 ABM and 1:Few ABM
More marketing teams across sizes and revenue stages are looking to implement some form of ABM. And why not? In addition to revenue success, the ABM approach brings clarity in marketing program design, integrated messaging, and outreach programs. However, the more common 1:1 and 1:Few ABM approaches are not for everyone. These approaches restrict ABM only to teams with big budgets, heavy resources with dedicated ABM teams.
As ABM becomes deeply woven into strategies of more GTM teams (including mid-sized companies and scale-ups), there is an increase in the adoption of 1:Many style ABM. Even for larger teams with big budgets, programmatic ABM offers the opportunity to touch more accounts with an ICP and buyer-group focused program. Not only does this have a direct positive impact on sales velocity and meeting quota but makes life so much easier for the combined GTM team.
The rise of programmatic ABM and related technologies
Programmatic ABM comes with many advantages for marketing teams looking to engage accounts beyond named accounts. These organizations want to focus on their demand generation with the kind of clarity and structure that ABM brings about. Not only are these companies looking to drive revenue goals quickly but ensure long-term relationships as well. ABM brings the kind of continuity in engagement that is the oil to improving customer lifetime value. Let’s look at some of the factors that’s fuelling programmatic ABM today.
- Availability of technology to scale and personalize reach:
A big factor in ABM-at-scale becoming accessible and easier to execute is due to the type of related technologies available today. Not only do modern, AI-first ABM platforms give marketers the insights they need to target accounts with precision, they also offer the means to do it quickly and effortlessly. When you get everything you need to target and influence accounts across the buyer’s journey, all you need to do is expand your TAL to exceed your pipeline goals. It’s not just bundled ABM platforms but the availability of unbundled ABM tech stack too that’s enabling this marketing movement. A tool for every ABM use case. Whether these unbundled ABM tech stack can really beat a comprehensive platform for programmatic ABM is a topic for another conversation.
- The need to widen reach at an account level
At some point, marketers realize that ABM cannot be a separate function. More and more GTM teams realize the need to bring about an account-based process into their overall demand gen or revenue marketing process. Demand creation needs to happen at an account or buyer-group level. The sales cycle will be encumbered if the entire set of decision markers, influencers and users are not empowered to complete their buying jobs from the outset. Not a revelation, we know! The other challenge for marketers is meeting pipeline goals with siloed demand gen and ABM functions. To meet or exceed their goals, the best shot is to target all accounts in their SOM with an account-based approach.
- A cost-effective and optimal method for scaling B2B campaigns
One of the most critical starting points for any ABM implementation is defining a clear ICP. While there could be other ICP programs, even within the usual demand gen playbooks, ABM takes it a notch higher by enabling you with buyer-group focused engagement for your ICP accounts. When your ICP and buyer group is defined, you have the ability to bring in all relevant accounts from your TAM into your TAL. Then, you can segment these target accounts using attributes as filters in line with your GTM strategy. You are then ready to reach your target accounts with the right messaging on the right channels. As you refine your ABM process, you are empowered to reach more accounts as when they fall into your ICP.
- The need to drive a stronger acquisition motion
While the purpose of ABM in the traditional manner is to land and expand, it is changing. 1:1 ABM is about running after a handful of big accounts with massive opportunities for upsell and cross-sell. It’s a long-drawn process and it might not add up to your revenue as quickly as you’d want. If ABM is smart marketing then it has to be applied to more marketing motions, right? Organizations are looking to build entire programs for driving acquisition with ABM. The usual upsell, cross-sell, and churn prevention could continue but it doesn’t have to mean not applying account-based approaches to the rest of your target accounts.
How to approach programmatic ABM
Sure, programmatic ABM can help you reach accounts across all tiers with precision and at scale. You start tracking the buyer’s journey more closely and precisely. There is also a change in the way you handle reporting. The focus starts shifting to opportunities and revenue. It all starts falling in place for your revenue team. But trying to build a relationship-driven program might take longer than your typical lead generation process. Your leadership might start losing patience because they don’t see the immediate results they are seeking from your team. The important thing to note is that ABM will definitely shorten the sales cycle from the first outreach or inbound to deal closure. It’s also about not reaching out to a prospect pre-maturely. When starting on this journey, what’s most important is to build an ABM mindset across the organization before jumping into an implementation.
