• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, August 3, 2020

For all the hype, few companies have a well-oiled account-based marketing (ABM) machine. 

A mere 22% say they have a measurable strategy in place, according to Account-Based Marketing Approach, a study by Ascend2.  

Another 14% are rolling out a pilot program, and 34% are planning for ABM in the future. Still, 30% have no such plans.  

Moreover, while 65% of those embracing ABM are somewhat successful at it, only 22% are best in class. And 13% are failing at it. 

The main obstacles are: 

• Lack of budget/resources — 37% 
• Marketing and sales alignment — 32%
• Lack of quality data — 29% 
• Lack of technology — 25%
• Lack of a unified strategy — 24%
• Marketing attribution — 23%
• Inability to measure or prove ROI — 23%
• Lack of quality content — 19%
• Lack of commitment by management — 17% 

Ascend2 and Research Partners surveyed 261 marketers, 40% B2B, 31% B2C and 29% a combination of both. 

The researchers found 62% of ABM users spend less than 25% of their marketing budgets on ABM, and 25% spend from 25% to 49%. Another 30% allocate 50% to 74% and only 3% more than 75%. 

Email remains a prime medium for ABM, the most effective channels being listed as: 

• Social media — 50% 
• Email — 45%
• Content/resource — 42%
• Website personalization — 33% 
• Paid advertising — 33% 
• Webinar/virtual events — 29%
• Print/direct mail — 13% 

Companies use a variety of metrics to measure ABM success:

• Target account revenue generate — 44%
• Target account engagement — 42%
• Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) — 31%
• Win rate — 28%
• Average contact value — 27%
• Penetration within target accounts — 26%
• Target account pipeline — 23%
• Meetings set — 19%
• Pipeline created — 15%

The most vital account data being collected:

• Lifetime customer value — 41% 
• Financial information — 41%
• Engagement history — 40% 
• Current or planned projects/initiatives — 38%
• Decision-maker profiles — 35% 
• Strategic partnerships — 27% 
• Technology stack architecture — 12% 

Of the outfits polled, 54% are finding and attracting new contacts, 27 are focused on existing contacts and 19% are nurturing and cross-marketing to those existing contacts.