13 Keys to Success: The Ultimate ABM Checklist

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With 2016 fast approaching, many B2B marketers are considering account-based marketing as part of their program mix for the new year.

What is Account-Based Marketing?

ABM is an outbound marketing program that provides the unique capability to target the exact accounts of interest to your company, as well as the key contacts or decision makers that you need to reach. ABM programs are more cost-effective in terms of media spend, and help accelerate the pipeline and boost revenues. For more detail on ABM programs and how they work, click here.

As you embark on the ABM path, you might be wondering: “How do we get the best ROI from our ABM program spend?” Well, look no further. Here is a comprehensive 13-point checklist that will help your marketing team achieve great results from ABM.  

  1. ABM Ads Alone are NOT Enough ABM advertising programs are designed to be a seamless part of a larger marketing program mix. Before you get started, consider how to get account-centric across all of your marketing programs—including website, email, display, and more. Your ideal ABM solution enables you to run any outbound marketing program (ABM, retargeting, or display) so that you can scale up over time. Check out “5 Tips for Choosing an Account-Based Marketing Solution” for more on this.
  1. Carefully Identify Your Target Account Lists Sales and marketing are both key stakeholders in the accounts that will be targeted—so make sure to include both teams when finalizing your account list(s).
  1. Consider Account Priorities When Making Lists Do some of the accounts have a higher priority for sales than others? Does your sales team have a Tier 1 List of accounts that they consider “high priority”? If you have the budget to reach all of your Tier 1 List – are there lower priority accounts (Tier 2 Accounts) that you would also like to reach given enough budget?
  1. Clearly Establish Account Inclusion Criteria Make sure that you have defined key criteria for inclusion on your account list(s). These criteria should include items such as: geo, industry, company size, company revenue, pipeline value, upsell/cross-sell value, and more.
  1. Ensure Your Account Data is Accessible Before you commit to an ABM program, make sure that all of your data re: accounts is accessible in one place and can be easily used to run all outbound programs.
  1. Know Your Account Sources Be sure to know where your target accounts will be sourced from—and make sure your provider can onboard list(s) from each of the sources. There are many possible sources for account lists including:
    1. CRM e.g. Salesforce
    2. Web Personalization Tools e.g. Marketo RTP
    3. 3rd Party Predictive Marketing Apps e.g. Lattice Engines, Mintigo
    4. ABM Analytics Apps e.g. Engagio
  1. Understand Account List Submission Protocol In addition to list source(s), it is critical that you are knowledgeable of account list submission protocol prior to program onboarding & launch. So what should you know about account list submission?
    1. Does the ABM platform accept lists via Excel upload or APIs?
    2. Can account lists be changed in real-time? Once you upload your list – are you stuck with that list for the duration of the ABM program?
  1. Segment Your Account List(s) Manage and maintain account list(s) based on key program goals by segment (industry, company size, company revenue, pipeline value, active sales opportunity).
  1. You Have Options [When It Comes to Account Targeting] When it comes to account targeting, your options and potential match rates vary. Do you need to reach global accounts (based outside of North America)? Reaching global accounts requires an IP-based targeting capability.
    1. Global ABM Programs
      • Targeting Method: IP ranges used for targeting accounts
      • Expected Match Rate % (U.S. Accounts): >80
      • Expected Match Rate % (Rest of World): >35%
      • North American accounts can be reached with both IP-based and cookie-based strategies. Why does this matter? Cookie-based account targeting makes job title targeting possible.
    2. ABM Programs with Job Title Targeting [North America Only]
      • Targeting Method: Cookie-based approach used for targeting accounts
      • Custom Segment Size Minimum: 10,000 contacts or more. Larger segment size à more matched contacts à positive ROI.

Regardless of the approach that is used, make sure your provider only charges for ads served into target accounts—after match rates have been determined.

  1. Not All Ads are Created Equal There are a few key items to consider prior to ad development and creation for your ABM program:
    1. Use of List: How will the specific list or segment be used in your ABM ad program? Take an approach to creative that is focused on both audience (and relevant content) and program goals.
    2. Ad Sizes: Does the solution provider support multiple ad sizes (728×90, 300×250, 160×600, Custom)? The use of multiple ad sizes is critical as users have different browsing patterns-showing multiple ad sizes gives you the best shot at reaching/engaging each of your matched users.
  1. Know Where Your Ads Will Be Deployed Be aware that some providers will restrict the DSPs or Publishers on which your ads can be served. Want the best coverage? Choose a provider that allows you to deploy ads through multiple DSPs. Flexibility in ad deployment is key as this provides you with the widest inventory available and the greatest potential for ROI.
  1. Can You Access the (Right) Data? Is your solution provider giving you access to all of the data that is critical for your sales and marketing teams? Some providers will give you high level data (clicks/engagements, # of accounts reached) but do they provide you with enough data to get the full picture?

Here are a few key pieces of data that you should look to have access to in program reporting:

  • Engagement Metrics for each Ad Creative, Content and Offer
  • LP Form Fills
  • Site Visits
  • Ad Activity Aggregated by Account/by Prospect or User
  • Media Budget Caps by Account, Per Account/Day or Account/Month
  • Tracking of Viewability of Ads (Ads served above the fold)

Not sure if your provider provides insight and access to all of these? Double check that you will get everything you need – BEFORE your program is launched!

  1. Ad Personalization is Key to Program Success If you want to make sure that the right content, reaches the right user – and therefore engages the target users on your Account list(s) – don’t forget the value of personalization. You should be able to specify the content that is served to target users by Target Account, Industry, Revenue, Company Size, etc. It’s the “little things” that will make the difference in your program ROI.

Running ABM programs is all the rage and rightfully so—it’s been proven that reaching contacts at target accounts will increase MQLs and accelerate pipeline for your company. Our 13-Point ABM Checklist is designed to help you go into your program fully prepared. Here’s to your success! Best of luck!

This entry was posted in Kwanzoo by Rachel Rocker. Bookmark the permalink.

About Rachel Rocker

Rachel is an independent Marketing consultant who has worked with Kwanzoo since 2014. She is passionate about B2B marketing, ABM, and display advertising. She spends her time uncovering what works (and doesn't work) for B2B companies and sharing her insights with clients and peers in the business community. Follow her on twitter- @r_lei_rocker.

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