• by Ray Schultz , April 30, 2020

Terminus, an account-based marketing platform, has acquired Ramble -- a chat tool -- in a move that apparently challenges Drift, the conversational commerce firm. Terms were not disclosed.

Last year, Terminus acquired Sigstr, an email signature marketing platform. It has launched on-page website personalization capabilities.

The purchase will help B2B brands “personally engage target audiences at any stage of the funnel,” states Terminus CEO Tim Kopp.

Ramble CEO Justin McDonald will join the Terminus team, and Ramble staff will become Terminus employees. 

The addition of chat capabilities allows buyers to bypass forms and engage in real-time conversations, the company says. In addition, it allows sales, customer support and marketing teams to connect with visitors via browser or mobile app, the firm adds. 

Darryl Praill, CMO of client VanillaSoft, says that after using another chat solution, the company found Ramble "foundational" to its ABM strategy, "rather than being tacked on.”

Last November, Sigstr announced an integration with Drift. That arrangement apparently will remain in place.

“Terminus is committed to supporting marketers by creating an open ecosystem where they can have a central platform for all of their B2B marketing activities," states Justin Keller, VP of marketing, Terminus. "As such, we won't be turning off any integrations and are always looking for opportunities to make strategic technology partnerships"

Keller adds that the feedback from the marketplace clearly indicates that "marketers want fewer point solutions in favor of having a single solution to execute and measure all of their marketing activities."