How do you recommend companies adjust their KPIs as they move to an ABM-centric marketing approach?

If you're still on an inbound (MQL) model, I would start by pivoting every report through the lens of "target account vs. non-target account".    # of campaign responses # of opportunities generated $ pipeline generated ACV # closed won $ closed won What matters gets measured. Over time, (ideally) it will reflect that target accounts drive the biggest impact to the business. (If not, it likely means that you'll need to take another look at the target account / ICP criteria.) In my experience, th ...Read More

In any strategy, it's not just about how much you measure but also what you’re measure and why. It's about setting the barometer for what success looks like and how KPIs are monitored, discussed, and leveraged to drive improvements. It's beneficial to break your KPIs into Operational North Stars – these are the Key Results (KRs) that every GTM TEAM should strive for. They are the metrics on your CEO's daily dashboard. Remember, ABM is about targeting specific audiences and accounts with more spe ...Read More

ABM is an upmarket play which means sales cycles are longer and the buying committee is bigger. Marketing needs to target, engage, and convert multiple persona within an account. This means the account will have multiple engaged leads/contacts. Hence it is important to switch to an account-based scoring model to get a holistic view of the account.  KPIs to track include:  Target Accounts Engaged Marketing Qualified Accounts  (MQAs) Opportunities from target accounts Closed-won deals from target ...Read More

A marketing organization that is set on a traditional waterfall for KPIs (ex: AQL, MQL, etc.) will need to adjust metrics for an ABM approach. This does not mean the entire org needs to rip and replace their current success metrics, but when it comes to the specific ABM motion, it should be held to a different funnel than a traditional demand generation motion. The funnel structure I like to start with is as follows - Identify: This is the holding pen for accounts that are identified to go to ma ...Read More

The first KPI to monitor is leads generated from target accounts. The rest is all noise. If an organization has adopted an ABM centric approach, your sales reps are working on named accounts, so even if you engage with accounts outside that list and generate leads, you won’t find any takers. So, focus all efforts only towards those accounts. The other big shift is from pure lead generation to account engagement. How many CXOs have you engaged with? How many mid-level, senior stakeholders are eng ...Read More

You'll need to adjust the way you measure account vs lead activity: Instead of measuring leads generated, measure account engagement and influence Instead of measuring marketing qualified leads MQLs, measure account qualified opportunities Instead of measuring pipeline creation, measure pipeline and account progression Instead of measuring customer acquisition cost only, measure account lifetime value and develop ROI of CAC <> LTV Then align those KPIs with sales goals Work with sales to d ...Read More

KPIs should shift from individual activity to account progress. The first change is reporting at the account level, not the lead level.Stop asking how many leads came in. Start asking which target accounts are active and which buying committee members are engaging. Next, measure buying group coverage.Which roles from which accounts are showing up inbound, and where there are gaps that sales needs to outbound into. Then track account momentum, not isolated conversions.Accounts moving from unaware ...Read More

I largely view ABM as a way to help drive revenue targets. The KPIs should be in support of this not in comparison to it. Some of these KPIs will include: % Closed won of target accounts Pipeline generated from target accounts Engagement rates from target accounts There also needs to be alignment across the entire business on this go-to-market motion. It can’t be the ABM department in a silo. This means being okay with saying no to potential opportunities that are not part of your target list wh ...Read More

I'd recommending focusing a lot more on engagement and less on lead generation or MQLs. In general, you should know the people you want to engage in each account, and you'll have them already populated in your CRM. This completely eliminates the need for any "lead source" tracking to prove effectiveness. Additionally, you'll want your team to keep engaging the important few until they're ready to take the next step with your company, so measuring actual engagement with marketing materials/progra ...Read More