Concluding the ABM Review Process

Welcome to the last episode of the Review series

Next newsletter I’ll write about reviewing the review process?

Fine fine. I won’t, don’t look at your screen like that. 

Anyways, here’s the first episode of the series where it all started.

This week, I’m covering the final topics to review: KPIs, Metrics & Scalability.

1. Reviewing KPIs and Metrics

KPIs are essential to understanding the overall effectiveness of your ABM efforts. They provide a clear window into how well your campaigns are converting, engaging, and delivering results compared to other marketing channels. Let’s focus on three core metrics:

Conversion Rates

The first metric to assess is your conversion rates at different stages of the funnel:

• Lead-to-SQL (Sales Qualified Lead): How many of the engaged accounts turned into SQLs?
• SQL-to-Opportunity: From SQLs, how many advanced to opportunity stages?
• Opportunity-to-Deal: The final and most crucial metric—how many accounts closed into deals?

What this tells you:
If your conversion rates are low at any stage, you need to investigate further. A low lead-to-SQL rate might suggest poor initial targeting or weak messaging, while a low SQL-to-opportunity rate could indicate a misalignment between marketing and sales efforts.

Action:
Analyze each drop-off point, refine messaging, and optimize nurturing at each stage to boost progression. Additionally, improve sales-marketing alignment by involving sales in earlier stages of your ABM strategy.

Engagement Metrics

Engagement metrics are key to measuring how much interest and interaction your target accounts have with your content and outreach:

• Email Open and CTR: Did your email campaigns drive interest?
• Website Interaction: How much time did key accounts spend on your website, and which pages did they visit?
• Webinar Participation: Were your target accounts present and engaged in your webinars?
• Social Media Engagement: Did your LinkedIn or social media outreach generate interaction?

What this tells you:
If engagement metrics are high but conversion rates are low, there’s a disconnect between the value proposition in your content and what’s truly resonating with target accounts.

Action:
Reassess your content, focusing on tailoring messages to specific pain points for each account. Test various content formats (video, blogs, case studies) to discover what drives the most engagement from your highest-value accounts.

Cost-Per-Account (CPA)

Lastly, calculate the cost-per-account to evaluate how efficiently you’re allocating resources to target accounts:

• Compare CPA with Other Channels: How does ABM compare with other marketing efforts (e.g., inbound, outbound)?
• High vs. Low ROI Accounts: Are you spending more on certain accounts than you’re earning back in revenue?

What this tells you:
If your CPA is significantly higher than other channels without corresponding revenue increases, you may be investing too heavily in underperforming accounts.

Action:
Reallocate resources to high-ROI accounts. Adjust your ABM tactics for low-performing accounts, or drop them from the ABM focus if they are not a good fit.

2. Evaluating Scalability

Once you’ve fine-tuned your KPIs, the next step is ensuring your best performing strategies can scale without losing personalization. ABM is resource-intensive, and scaling requires a strategic approach that leverages tools and automation.

Automation Opportunities

Scaling ABM doesn’t mean sacrificing personalization. Look for opportunities to automate while maintaining the tailored feel of your outreach:

• Email Sequences: Use marketing automation tools (e.g., HubSpot, Marketo) to send personalized email sequences based on account behavior.
• Retargeting Ads: Automate personalized ad retargeting for accounts that have visited specific pages of your site or attended webinars. 
• Content Personalization: Use dynamic content in ads and landing pages that adjusts based on account data (industry, size, etc.).

What this tells you:
If your ABM campaigns rely too heavily on manual tasks, your team could become overwhelmed as you scale. Automation keeps personalization intact while reducing workload.

Action:
Identify the tasks that take up the most time but can be automated without losing the human touch. Build workflows that adapt based on account interactions, allowing you to scale without sacrificing engagement.

Tools for Scaling ABM

Using the right tools can make a world of difference in scaling your ABM efforts. A few tools to consider:

• Salesforce or Hubspot CRM: To master the Account list
• Pardot or HubSpot: marketing automation to track engagement, and build automated workflows.
• Recotap: For account-based advertising and engagement tracking.
• Outreach.io or Salesloft: Tools for automating and personalizing outreach sequences at scale.

What this tells you:
If you’re struggling to scale your ABM efforts, it could be a sign that you’re not leveraging enough automation or the right tools to optimize workflows.

Action:
Evaluate your tech stack to ensure you have the right tools to streamline ABM efforts. Focus on tools that allow you to personalize at scale while reducing manual tasks.

And that’s a wrap on how to review your ABM process to ensure your strategy is best suited for your ICP and generates the results you want to deliver.

What do you want me to talk about next? You can DM me or my CEO with inputs. We’re both friendly chaps who don’t bite :-) 

Check out the latest from our comic series:
The Marketing Tales