We are living in the glory days of marketing technology. Never before have we had so much customer information. Real-time optimization capabilities. The ability to tailor campaigns down to the individual level. All this new technology has allowed account-based marketing (ABM) to thrive, but also begs the question: How do we make sense of all this data?
To run an ABM campaign that’s truly effective, you need to know how to measure it. But account-based marketing KPIs are different from other types of marketing. So which ABM metrics should you track to get the most from your campaigns? Read on.
Traditional marketing and sales tactics are based on quantity – you cast a wide net and hope for the best. ABM, on the other hand, can target anywhere from hundreds of accounts down to just one. It’s often referred to as “flipping the funnel” because you start with a lead at a high-value company and aim to expand your contacts within that organization.
ABM focuses on quality over quantity, so KPIs like net-new leads, marketing-qualified leads (MQLs), and conversion rates don’t apply. You’ll also want to avoid visitor-centric metrics like general page views and impressions. These metrics can be valuable to indicate engagement when segmented by account, but are difficult to link back to your pipeline. This can be quite a change for both sales and marketing teams, but with a clear understanding of ABM KPIs, you’ll be able to explain your reasoning to all stakeholders.
There are ABM metrics for every stage of the funnel, so you can start proving your pipeline impact as soon as possible. Sales and marketing alignment is essential, so get your team together and discuss these top 10 account-based marketing KPIs to determine which are right for your campaign.
Marketing-qualified accounts (MQAs) are an ABM metric that’s similar to traditional MQLs, but cover an entire account rather than a single lead. MQAs are a subset of your target account list (TAL) that are ready to be handed off to sales. What qualifies an account? It can vary based on industry and TAL, but would include number of engaged contacts within an account, level of engagement, and so on. Requesting a meeting or demo is always a qualifying event.
The goal of ABM is to turn one contact at a high-value account into a list of decision-makers you can target with personalized content. Your reach within an account, or the number of contacts you have within the organization, is therefore a very important ABM KPI. Even better, when possible, is the number of contacts within target roles. The more reach you have, the more likely your campaign is to succeed. This KPI also provides a way to see overall brand awareness at your target accounts.
Account engagement can include a broad range of individual KPIs depending on what actions your targets are completing: clicking on ads, opening emails, going to your campaign landing page multiple times, and so on. You can roll these up into an aggregate score, for example, collective minutes of account engagement, or activity "points.” Measuring account engagement also helps you personalize your content: Highly engaged accounts are more likely to be near the bottom of the funnel and receptive to product sales pitches.
You can’t engage leads and nurture your TAL with personalized account-based content marketing if you don’t know anything about them. Account-based marketing KPIs are all about data – and the more of it you have, the better. Knowing who is filling out your forms, which account they belong to, and whether they are a high-value contact is essential to reaching the right people with the right message. Form fills are also crucial to understanding what stage an account is in the buying journey. On the other hand, low overall form fills can indicate that you need to switch up your strategy.
Now we’re getting into the real bread-and-butter of ABM measurement. Meetings booked is a concrete number that tells you whether your campaigns are really working. When a meeting is booked, you can pass the lead to sales – always a great feeling. Follow-up with sales about the quality of the meeting and how they’re feeling about the account. If there are a lot of no-shows to meetings, you may need to adjust your campaign strategy.
The ultimate ABM metrics are ROI and revenue won. To get there, you’re going to need to close some deals. Luckily, the entire point of ABM is to increase your close rate by targeting the accounts that are the best fit for your product or service. In fact, 84% of marketers say highly personalized content like that used in ABM results in higher revenue and more closed business. If you’re not seeing high close rates and ROI, it’s time to adjust your ABM practices.
Closing deals is excellent, but if those deals are small or don’t have a great ROI, they won’t have as much impact on revenue. A profitable ABM strategy goes after large contracts that provide value not only immediately but also over time. This ABM KPI can also give you insight into which target accounts are most valuable, for example in a certain industry or geographic location.
Another benefit of account-based marketing is a shortened sales cycle. B2B marketing is notorious for being a slow process, but ABM moves customers down the funnel faster thanks to its highly targeted nature. Pipeline velocity is the ABM measurement that tells you just how fast your target accounts move from MQA to opportunity, and then from opportunity to close. It’s a valuable metric for optimizing your strategy.
It’s always been difficult to prove marketing’s impact on sales. The marketing influence metric helps to change that. It connects opportunities that would normally be counted as net-new back to marketing campaigns. For example, if a lead has been targeted and nurtured through a campaign, but then calls sales directly, marketing influence ensures that the campaign still receives credit for the lead. It can also be applied at different stages to understand and prioritize specific marketing tactics that are effective in raising awareness, re-engaging accounts, or converting accounts.
Don’t stop tracking account-based marketing KPIs once the deal is done. Customer retention is just as vital to a long-term, sustainable growth strategy. You can measure customer satisfaction in several ways, including collecting NPS scores or simply emailing out a survey. Ask for feedback on your product and customer service and take it to heart. And keep track of which customers leave and why, so you can determine if there are patterns that you can fix.
The world of ABM metrics is a little bit different than traditional sales, but once you understand how to measure your campaigns, you’ll finally have a way to connect marketing directly to revenue. Your CEO will be pleased.