Want to know when your ABM programme will start paying off? We’ve tracked the key ABM metrics and the timeframes in which you can expect them, adding findings from our global ABM survey of 300 B2B marketers. Mary-Anne Baldwin reports.
It’s crucial not to oversell timeframes, especially to key stakeholders – better to under promise and over deliver. That can be hard when ABM timeframes are markedly longer than traditional demand generation, so it’s important to ensure you have realistic but also motivational measurements all across the sales cycle.
If you’ve read the B2B Marketing feature on setting your ABM KPIs, you’ll be aware of the best (and most common) metrics by which you can measure your ABM success – but when can you expect to see them? That’s what we’ll be uncovering here.
The feature also discusses the typical time it takes to reach ROI, as determined from our recent global ABM survey, including:
- The most common estimated time to hit ROI: 12 months (in line with typical sales cycles)
- The global average it takes to hit ROI: 9.8 months
- The UK average it takes to hit ROI: 13.3 months
The length of these timeframes will likely mean at least some of your stakeholders will be impatient to see progress. Remember, the value of the pipeline you’re influencing is important, but ABM is about building and profiting from stronger client relationships, which take time to develop.
Think honestly about your sales cycles and the length of time it may take to close a deal – particularly a large deal with a new account. How can you demonstrate ABM’s value before closing that big deal? (And indeed if you don’t?) Soft metrics will show stakeholders the engagement you’ve secured, the additional information you have on the account and the relationships you’ve forged. But you should also look at the internal benefits of ABM and what it’s doing for your business at a foundational level.
“I’m a massive believer in ROI and I can’t spend any piece of my budget unless I can show the return we’ll get on it. But there’s a balance between long- term strategy and quick wins. You’ve got ROI in terms of revenue and growth, but actually there are softer indicative metrics, which in the early stages are what my team will be looking for. For me, the ultimate nirvana with ABM would be for people in my team to work with others as a joint unit. That’s when I’ll know we’ve truly been successful.”
When to expect results
The two timelines that follow give estimates for when you should expect to see results with regards to some key ABM metrics, such as alignment, customer engagement, data and revenue.
The timeline covers your ABM pilot, a period for review and more time to upscale your efforts. The darker the shade, the more results you should be seeing.
You will notice there are two timeframes, one covering new accounts and one covering existing ones. While there are multiple variables affecting these timeframes, these are the two most apparent ones. Simply, the more you already know about your account the quicker you can expect results.
Shifting the mindset from demand generation to ABM
Many stakeholders – particularly those in sales – are wired to the pace of quarterly results, whereas ABM is not. This can cause challenges. Andy Bacon, lead advisor for B2B Marketing’s ABM Head-start programme believes it’s best not to push against this, but to work with it.
He says: “I don’t believe a reorientation of sales targets is likely given that the existing expectations are typically quarterly and synchronise with the business’ overarching financial reporting. However, marketing does need to understand how their counterparts in sales are being measured and rewarded and ensure there is an alignment to the ABM strategy.”
That means demonstrating results (be they soft or hard) on a quarterly basis. If you’re not able to show pipeline or revenue, you can show the efforts and progress made to get there.
Take comfort in the fact that this disconnect between quarterly targets and the longer timelines involved in ABM is only a short lived one – there for however long it takes to get fully up and running.
“The current challenges are the symptoms of ABM being new and getting the ball rolling,” says Andy. “Once ABM has proven its worth as a strategy that supports sustainable business growth, results will become apparent quarter by quarter.”
However, given that ABM is likely to be subject to inappropriate short-term demand gen oriented KPIs, there are important considerations. Ignoring these may put your ABM strategy at risk:
- Those of the demand gen mindset will typically adopt one-to-many (programmatic) ABM rather than strategic. This can become demand gen under a different name, seeking to take on too many accounts without a formal process. Is this really the type of ABM you had in mind?
- Teams are likely to fall back into their comfort zone of conventional approaches, which can short-cut best practice and erode the benefits of ABM (i.e they may skip investment in insight and resort to generic content). Remember ABM is a discipline that’s important to carry out well.
In short, using ABM to fix broken demand generation comes with the risk of not achieving either. ABM will take time, but that shouldn’t put you off.
“Don’t look at ABM as a silver bullet, it’s not a quick fix for broken demand generation. ABM is a long-term strategy that may require some business transformation to fully harness the benefits. If you’re looking to create sustainable growth, enhanced CX, long-term loyalty, enhanced margins and customer advocacy, this the right route for you,” says Andy.
