B2B brands have embraced account-based marketing (ABM), to the extent that ABM now draws 29% of the average marketing budget, according to Moving to ABM Maturity: 2019 ABM Benchmark Study, a paper by ITSMA, a marketing services company, and ABM Leadership Alliance.
Moreover, they are planning an average increase of 21.3% in ABM spend and a 19.3% increase in staff in 2020.
Companies rate themselves in one of the following stages of ABM adoption:
Email ranks with websites, CRM and social, a group of channels utilized by 70%. And email marketing/e-newsletters are first among the top one-to-many B2B tactics.
However, they are second among one-to-few tactics, falling behind in-person events.
And email is sixth in the list of one-to-one ABM tactics. They are behind account-specific custom content and thought leadership, executive-to-executive relationship programs, in-person events, direct mail and paid social media.
Of the companies polled, 63% pursue only one of the above types of programs — 18% practice one-to-one ABM, 25% practice one-to-few and 19% pursue one-to-many. Only 15% utilize all three types, and 22% use two.
Of the most experienced ABM users, 71% say their ROI is significantly higher compared to that from traditional marketing initiatives.
The study also found that 69% of the most effective ABM practitioners use analytics and 67% use account insights.
Here are their objectives, rated on a scale of one to five:
But they face tough challenges, including:
Another issue is aligning sales and marketing. The respondents agree with the following statements on a scale one to five as follows:
ITSMA and ABM Leadership Alliance surveyed 196 marketers at B2B technology and business services companies.