Five reasons to rethink ABM

Our research shows 45% of enterprise buyers switch providers in search of fresh ideas, and 44% of technology investments fail because vendors don’t fully understand buyers’ needs. Today’s clients demand personalized experiences and deeper vendor knowledge, pushing marketers to continually adapt and innovate. 

The popularity of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) mirrors this shift. A niche strategy 20 years ago, it’s become a cornerstone of modern B2B marketing. Our latest ABM Benchmark (ABX) shows 91% of organizations have an ABM program in some form, and 81% see higher ROI compared to traditional marketing initiatives. But does that mean we’ve seen everything ABM has to offer? Far from it. 

At Momentum ITSMA, we’re urging marketers to rethink their approach to client-centricity. ABM may have matured, but it hasn’t been perfected. I asked two senior leaders who have seen ABM evolve and solidify its standing in marketing, Dr Charles Doyle, former CMO at Arup, and Rhiannon Blackwell, ABM Leader, Global Marketing at PwC, what they thought about the client-centric shift and why ‘rethinking ABM’ is essential to growing your most important clients. 

Here are five reasons to rethink ABM as you know it:

Some practitioners see the label ‘ABM’ as problematic, not just because it singles out marketing. “‘Account’ is an old-fashioned sales term. You're reducing the massive complexity of clients to an economic transaction that is focused on extracting revenue,” says Charles. “The term ‘client-centric marketing’ is more appropriate. We need to view clients as partners, not targets, and center our strategies around genuine client relationships and mutual value.”

While ABM can – and should – integrate brand, PR, and advertising into a client-centric framework, Charles cautions against becoming too inwardly focused. “There’s a danger that ABM has become too narrow, functional, formulaic, and technical. If you can immerse yourself in, and then interpret the client's world and the impact that world has on their firm and their stakeholders, then you’re in a good position.”

The ‘triangle’ is a pivotal concept in ABM, representing the layers of strategy: one-to-one, one-to-few, and one-to-many. However, we need to be more flexible and responsive, moving beyond the layers of the triangle to adopt a dynamic, client-centric strategy that aligns with today’s complex market. “In my experience, there's more to life than the layers within those triangles,” says Rhiannon. “At PwC, we’re coming up with a ‘sense-and-respond’ approach to give us more agility across a broader portfolio of accounts, so we can respond to changing client needs and business priorities.”

“The biggest inhibitor of successful ABM, in my experience, is the structure of the firm,” says Charles. “Few firms have a flexible structure that can fully embrace the client's world. Most firms create internally focused silos and silos don’t correlate to the world of the client.” 

But ABM can help you overcome those organizational silos, according to Rhiannon. “ABM can translate and bring that unified message from your organization to the client in a way that makes sense to them.” 

If we want to strengthen trust and collaboration, we must be prepared to dismantle these silos and embrace a more integrated approach. Our 2023 Global State of Account-Based Marketing report named ‘all-in marketing’ and ‘sales integration’ as top priorities for 2024. Read it for some tips on overcoming the silos.  

Discover how your ABM efforts stack up against 300 B2B organizations with our ABM assessment. Take our short questionnaire and receive a personalized performance benchmark based on our recent survey of marketing leaders. Contact us to take the assessment.

In a world where trust is scarce and organizations are increasingly risk-averse, the value of a trusted partnership has never been more critical. Our latest CBX research confirms this, with 66% of buyers opting for their incumbent in 2024, up from 46% in 2021. 

"For me, the purpose of ABM has always been to build enduring trust with our clients.” 

Rhiannon Blackwell, ABM Leader, Global Marketing, PwC

“Trust is the currency for business and life. There are eight pillars of trust, including clarity and competency. As ABM-ers, we’ll naturally tick off these, but there are others around compassion, connection, and contribution,” says Rhiannon, citing David Hall's book, The Trust Edge. “If you're not thinking outside of content when you come to ABM, you might be missing a trick to build trust in those areas."

Technology has dramatically reshaped ABM, with generative AI offering new tools for scaling your strategies. “We'll see new flavors of ABM, possibly not even called ABM, emerging with the help of technology. It's going to enable us to scale the previously unscalable, but we need to make sure we don't undermine the ethos of what we’re trying to achieve in the first place,” says Rhiannon. If you over-rely on technology, you risk eroding the essential human connection. “You can't build a trusting relationship with a persona.”

Generative AI, which marketers have been quick to adopt, poses a risk to personal relationships and trust in B2B buying. Our data shows 50% of buyers now use generative AI to mitigate risk in their purchasing decisions. It's our job to integrate AI responsibly, ensuring it enhances, not undermines, the personal connections central to ABM. 

As client expectations and market complexities continue to evolve, ABM must adapt. By focusing on trust, personalization, and a client-centric approach, we can break free from the account-based inertia and drive meaningful, lasting engagements with key clients. The journey may be challenging, but with thoughtful innovation and commitment to ABM’s core principles, the future holds great promise. 

Find out how organizations are segmenting and orientating more of their marketing efforts behind priority accounts by joining our webinar Going all in on accounts: The new customer-first model on November 7, at 9am PT.