Another ABM Benchmark Report?

Yes, indeed, it’s that time of year again. Time for the year-end studies and recommendations for next year. And you’ve already seen more than a few studies on the latest in ABM, never mind the endless stream of tips, tricks, and tirades on why ABM is the best thing since sliced bread.

So why pay attention to Moving to ABM Maturity, the third annual ABM benchmark study from ITSMA and the ABM Leadership Alliance? Four reasons:

• It’s a broad-based look at ABM objectives, spending, tools, tactics, metrics, and results from almost 200 ABM programs from large and smaller firms
• It includes a detailed review of differences in how companies are implementing the three types of ABM: One-to-One, One-to-Few, and One-to-Many
• It’s filled with actionable insight on the hallmarks of the most experienced and most effective ABM programs
• It provides essential guidelines for 2020 focused on program maturity, investing in insight, collaborating with sales, mastering multichannel campaigns, and moving to a blended ABM strategy

Key findings include:

• ABM spending is on the rise. Companies implementing ABM are now dedicating almost a third (29%) of their total marketing budgets to ABM, and most are planning substantial increases next year

• Companies are using ABM to support both growing business with existing accounts and selling to new accounts; about 50% put each of those as their most important ABM objective
• Sales alignment is one of the most important factors in ABM success; the most effective ABM programs are much more closely aligned with their sales organizations, including alignment with sales coverage models, working hand-in-hand with inside sales, and collaborating more closely throughout the entire ABM process

• Companies are still early in adopting technology to support their programs, but the most effective programs are more heavily invested in tools and technology for account insight and analytics
• Maturity matters: Although many programs see results quickly, reaching the full potential of ABM takes time; the most experienced programs are seeing much greater results across the Three R’s of Marketing: Reputation, Relationships, and Revenue.