Account-based marketing (ABM) campaigns involve a harmonious blend of varying components to successfully deliver on campaigns, and B2B marketers can often be thought of as orchestra conductors. In the ABCs of ABM series, we’ve explored the fundamentals of building an account list. We’ve also learned how establishing a set of guidelines, called audience governance, is fundamental to shaping the audience experience. In Part 3 of our series, we’ll discuss what to look for in an ABM platform.
Why do I need an ABM Platform?
As a primary foundation, an ABM platform helps B2B marketers execute and measure campaigns by adding account-based attributes. Various platforms can provide marketers with the basic ABM capabilities, but give limited transparency on some analytics that would be crucial in helping ABM marketers execute and plan for future campaigns.
An ideal ABM platform will enable you to activate data for targeting and measurement all in one environment, but not all ABM platforms are created equal. We’ve narrowed down three must-haves in an ABM platform in the various stages of targeting and measurement.
Transparency
For an ABM platform, transparency is fundamental in ensuring you’re doing ABM in a privacy-conscious manner. ROI:DNA’s EVP of Ad Services, Kara Alcamo, says, “Advanced ABM today and the future of ABM moving forward is all about transparency, which in turn creates accountability.”
Transparency allows you to see how data is being activated, while also providing a clear path on organizational and pipeline contribution. An ABM platform’s transparency should also help you remain accountable by clearly indicating any fees related to data, platform, and media, and provide clear documentation on data and platform performance.
Accountability
A transparent ABM platform will inherently provide accountability into performance. An accountable ABM platform will validate data and media investments to demonstrate its business value. Accountability ensures you are marketing effectively, meaning you should be able to measure account engagements across all your campaigns with a full view of any account overlap with other audiences.
Neutrality
Being able to activate your data across partners by working with a neutral ABM platform is key to campaign performance and success. An ideal platform is equipped to connect your marketing campaigns with high fidelity across multiple partners and channels. To guarantee the ABM platform you select is neutral, make sure it will allow you to activate data across channels, as well as provide visibility into both your known and unknown engagements.
Evaluating ABM platforms with the lens of these three must-haves allows you to move into more modern methods of ABM. An ideal ABM campaign must have media, data, and platforms working in conjunction to perform. The platform that delivers will help you develop a better understanding of the personas and accounts engaging with your content, along with seeing the path of how your marketing activities are reaching the buying committee.
For more information on how LiveRamp can help you move beyond basic ABM standards by creating ABM custom audiences or with ABM measurement, reach out to [email protected].