Key Metrics for Measuring the Impact of ABM

December 13, 2021 Stan

Account Based Marketing, or ABM as we know it, has been adopted by many B2B organizations. ABM maturity and proficiency however varies widely. What is behind this? What factors play a role in ABM success? Proper planning, sales & marketing alignment, integrated technology to name a few, but one of the standout factors for success is measurement. While ABM as a practice has been around for several years many marketers still struggle to effectively measure their ABM programs.

Ultimately marketers need to be able to answer the question “Is ABM delivering a significant revenue impact?” To do this properly, a shift in focus is needed. Traditional lead generation efforts place an emphasis on measuring leads. Typically, the more leads the better. ABM redirects the focus to more of the “right” leads. Leads related to the Target Account List (TAL). Traditional channel performance is still important to understand but the real prize is now pipeline and influenced revenue.

If you are new to ABM, or are struggling with measuring your ABM efforts, we’ve gone ahead and compiled a list of key metrics, definitions, and sources to help. Fundamentally marketers need to be focused on three key areas when measuring the effectiveness of ABM programs:

Are we creating and deepening relationships with target accounts?
How are accounts moving through the buying journey to reach desired outcomes?
What is the return on investment (ROI)?

Engagement Drives Relationships

The channels used for ABM are the same channels used for traditional lead generation only now the insights are through the lens of the TAL. How engaged the TAL is reflects how well ABM efforts are driving relationships. This is where the focus moves to quality over quantity. When measuring engagement across channels these are the primary metrics marketers rely on.

Channel	Metric
Digital Advertising	TAL reached, TAL CTR (click through rate), TAL conversion rate, TAL CPM (cost per impression), TAL CPC (cost per click)
Email	TAL Open Rate, TAL CTR, TAL click to open rate, TAL unsubscribes
Webinars & Events	TAL registrants, TAL attendees, TAL on demand views, TAL meetings booked
Website	TAL Page views, TAL time on site, TAL pages/visit, TAL bounce rate, TAL conversion rate, TAL unique visitors

Evaluating the Buying Journey The same types of engagement metrics apply for chat, video, social, or sales outreach programs. Wherever your programs reach your TAL be sure you are measuring engagement.

Influenced revenue may be the ultimate measure of ABM success but there are many leading indicators marketers can rely on to show progress during the sales cycle. Again, these metrics are similar to those used to track individual leads through the funnel. The benefit for ABM is in using the insights to further optimize the experiences for specific accounts whereas with individual leads optimization tends to occur for the broader audience.

When looking at the buying journey there are two sides to keep in mind. One is the account’s status. This is where metrics focus on acquisition, retention, and expansion efforts. The other side is how effective ABM programs are moving accounts through the journey. Metrics such as volume, value, and velocity come into play. If we break these apart, here are the metrics many organizations leverage.

Acquisition

Metric	Description
Opportunities	The total opportunities generated from TAL
Pipeline Value	Dollar value of the net new TAL opportunities generated
Sales Velocity	Average speed an account move through pipeline to generate revenue
Close Rate	How many TAL open deals are converting to closed won
Average Value	The average value of deals from TAL

Retention

Metric	Description
Customer Churn	The percentage of TAL that stop doing business with the organization
Revenue Churn	The percentage of revenue from TAL that has been lost
Retention Rate	The percentage of TAL that continue to do business with the organization
Average Recurring Revenue	The total revenue recurring from accounts
Customer Lifetime Value	How much revenue is generated by an account over time
Net Promoter Score (NPS)	A measure of general satisfaction and loyalty to a brand

Expansion

Metric	Description
Upsell Opportunities	The total opportunities generated for upsell
Upsell Value	Average value of upsell deal contracts or opportunities
Upsell Win Rate	How many TAL upsell deals are converting to closed won
Upsell Cycle Length	Average length of time to move an upsell deal through to closed won

Marketers have relied on attribution models to measure the ROI of their campaigns and to inform budget allocation. This remains true for ABM. While an organization can use pipeline growth or overall revenue growth as an indicator of ABM success, attribution is critical for understanding the specific activities behind the growth. Attribution

There are three types of attribution models: first touch, last touch, and multi-touch. For ABM many organizations rely on multi-touch attribution due to the length of the buying cycle and having multiple points of contact through the buying journey. For marketers getting started with multi-touch attribution know that creating a model isn’t easy and often requires a bit of trial and error before it becomes reliable. As organizations become more sophisticated, attribution models not only look at marketing touches but also sales interactions, leveraging data across the techstack.

Armed with ROI data and attribution insights, marketers can scale the best performing channels and understand the effectiveness of individual campaigns. All of which brings us back to the original goal – to be able to determine if ABM is delivering a significant revenue impact.

These are a few measurement tips you can use in your ABM marketing strategy. As you’re planning your initiatives, Relationship One is here to help. Contact us anytime.

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