Account Based Marketing teams strive to become more efficient and effective in the pursuit of predictability in revenue marketing. However, they continuously find themselves at the forefront of addressing market uncertainties, business intricacies, and operational complexities. The journey towards capturing demand for B2B software and solutions is filled with both challenges and opportunities.
Delving into the Account Based Marketing challenges for 2024 offers a glimpse into the evolving landscape and serves as a compass for strategic pivots.
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Five major account based marketing challenges for 2024
Buyers are growing more independent when it comes to software research. Further, the democratization of buying decisions has become more aggressive with buying groups increasingly expanding. Coupled with a global economic downturn, ABM marketers face a compelling business case. Let’s take a look at some of the major challenges in B2B software marketing in 2024.
a. Difficulty in surfacing in-market accounts
The biggest business challenge tech marketers expect to face in 2024 is finding new customers. 35% of the respondents in Gartner Digital Market’s 2024 Tech Trends Survey voted for this. Identifying new target accounts with buying intent has not been the easiest but the turbulent economy now presents marketers with more mysterious buying signals. Marketers must drive stronger engagement signals and develop a more exacting approach to intent data use. And combine these signals to arrive at conclusive insights to accurately predict the right-fit accounts ready to buy. ABM programs could be made more scalable and personalized using the right intent data strategy.
b. ABM campaigns siloed in channels and platforms
Even with martech and marketing playbooks evolving into a more account-based approach or focused demand-generation practices, many organizations still lag in building and adopting effective demand-capture models. Marketing teams are investing across an array of channels and martech. However, these channels and tools are siloed and do not yield the effectiveness that justifies their investment. In 2024, marketers will have to start looking at channels, campaigns, and activities from a more integrated lens to drive holistic engagement and boost conversions.
c. Increased regret buying in B2B technology
For 61% of marketers, tech buying in the last couple of years has led to regret. Buying groups have become more cross-functional, and marketing executives have to approach software buying from more angles than just marketing use cases. Product features and functionalities can easily be trumped by a lack of security, integrability, and flexibility. In 2024, ABM teams must dive deeper into buying groups to drive consensus for high-quality deals. Improving ABM effectiveness means adjusting the focus from an account-level zoom to a buyer-group level.
d. Budget constraints necessitate a full-funnel ABM approach
Prevailing macroeconomic conditions have forced marketers to run marketing programs on shoestring budgets. In 2024, marketers expect this situation to become more aggravated. Changes in working environments and the lack of qualified talent to handle software will result in B2B selling roadblocks.
In such a scenario, merely bringing potential clients into the funnel won’t cut it for marketers anymore. Marketers must go deeper into the funnel to guide buyers through the finish line and beyond. Marketers must ensure investments pay off at each stage of the funnel through full-funnel playbooks.
e. Demonstrating continuous business value
For account-based marketers across verticals, it is a race against time to differentiate and demonstrate the effectiveness of your solution. Not only should marketers emphasize building consensus across the buying group but enable quick and seamless implementation. Marketers must become more committed to delivering on the promise of excellent customer experience. Any insights on customer satisfaction or requirements should be acted on promptly.
Effective and efficient account-based marketing in 2024
2024 offers a mix of challenges and opportunities for ABM marketers across B2B verticals. While some challenges are perennial, others are driven by external factors like market scenarios and rapid technological advancements. These challenges are key to predicting the trends for marketing this year. However, one clear takeaway is that identifying the right-fit accounts and running integrated, full-funnel playbooks can make your ABM program more effective and efficient.
Are you evaluating Account-based Marketing platforms? Whether you’re just starting off on your ABM journey or looking to replace your current ABM platform, understand how to choose the right one in 2024. Download our ABM Platform Buyer’s Guide for 2024
