83% of ABMers cite measurement as difficult, or extremely difficult. Why?
Here at Agent3, we specialise in delivering end-to-end ABM programs for some of the world’s largest B2B brands. We help our customers build more pipeline, more quickly, from their key and named accounts.
Sounds simple, hey?
But ABM is a strategy, not just a set of tactics, which starts to make measurement complex. Good ABM programs align value propositions with the needs of key accounts as well as establish a strong reputation and build relationships within these accounts. So to measure ABM performance, you need to be able to measure multiple tactics, both individually and collectively, but more than that, you need to be able to measure outCOMES, not just outPUTS.
And that’s not easy.
This week we co-hosted a webinar alongside the ITSMA and Fujitsu to discuss some of the challenges of ABM measurement and offer some practical advice from consultants as well as a senior practitioner. The high number of sign-ups to the webinar would suggest it’s a problem that many of you grapple with on a daily basis.
Indeed, at the beginning of the webinar, we asked attendees to participate in a poll asking how difficult they think it is to measure ABM. A staggering 83% of respondents said they thought ABM was either difficult (58%) or extremely difficult (25%) to measure, with one respondent saying they’d completely given up!
If you missed the webinar but feel you fall into this category, it’s worth listening to the 45 minute recording for some sound advice from Bev Burgess, SVP and ABM Practice Lead at the ITSMA, as well as some practical tips from seasoned practitioner, Andrea Clatworthy, global head of ABM at Fujitsu.
You’ll be in good hands: Bev is an industry expert on ABM and through her work at ITSMA helps clients plan, pilot, launch and scale ABM She has even written a book about the topic! On the webinar, Bev looks at some of the most common outcomes from ABM programs, and offers advice on what to measure and how to structure those measures.
Having spent decades in the field, Andrea will then share her top 10 tips and learnings as well as reassurance that, as with all best-laid plans, things often go awry. And that’s OK. When spanners appear in the works, there are often valuable learnings to be had as a result. Indeed, as Andrea shares on the webinar, often a listening ear and a spreadsheet are all the tools you need to communicate successes!
If you’re a regular follower of the Agent3 blog, you’ll be aware we’ve placed a lot of focus on measurement recently. In addition to the webinar, it’s worth scanning over previous posts for advice specifically for leadership teams and ABM practitioners, and certainly worth downloading our definitive guide to measurement which details the framework you need for ABM..
Over the years, we’ve learned a lot about the challenges of measuring ABM and, in this guide, have addressed some of them with the aim of making them more manageable and bringing some consistency and rigour along the way. And it’s not just our word; the guide (and seminar) were built on industry expertise, best practise and peer learning and we thank the many ITSMA members and Agent3 customers who have contributed to this thinking
We hope you’ll find it valuable. Let us know how you get on – we’d love to hear from you. Email measurement@agent3.com if you have any questions about measurement.
Remember, what gets measured gets done!