Account-based marketing (ABM) is a highly effective marketing strategy that allows B2B companies to engage with key accounts and drive business growth. While ABM has proven to be a successful strategy, scaling ABM programs can be a challenging, even daunting task. But fear no more. Insights ABM has solutions to the top challenges for scaling ABM programs.

Challenge #1: Limited Resources

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to scaling ABM programs is limited resources. ABM requires a significant investment of time, money, and workforce. It can be challenging for companies with limited resources to scale their B2B ABM programs effectively. In addition to the initial investment, ongoing maintenance and optimization of ABM campaigns also require resources, which can further strain limited budgets and staffing.

Solution: Prioritize and Optimize

In order to overcome this hurdle, you need to prioritize and optimize your ABM efforts. Focus on the accounts that are most likely to generate revenue and allocate your resources accordingly. Here are some tips on how to accomplish this so you can start scaling your ABM programs:

• Focus on the high-quality accounts that are most likely to convert. Studies show that ABM delivers a 50% reduction in sales time wasted on unproductive prospecting, making it even more crucial to focus on the accounts that are most likely to generate revenue.
• Allocate your staff resources accordingly. Consider implementing a clear process for account selection and assignment, and establish a cross-functional team to collaborate on account planning and execution, which can help ensure that you have the right people and skills in place to achieve your ABM goals.
• Segment your target accounts based on their fit and intent. To do this, leverage your CRM data and third-party intent data to identify accounts that match your ideal customer profile and are showing signals of intent, and then develop personalized content and messaging that speaks to their specific pain points and needs. 
• Leverage technology. Use predictive analytics and AI to automate some of the ABM processes and free up time and resources. By doing this, it allows your team to focus on higher-level tasks, such as analyzing performance data, developing creative content, or building stronger relationships with target accounts.

Challenge #2: Lack of Alignment Between Sales and Marketing

Another challenge when scaling ABM programs is a lack of alignment between sales and marketing teams. For ABM to be successful, all teams need to work together to identify target accounts and create personalized content that resonates with them. In some B2B organizations, sales and marketing teams will have different priorities, metrics, and processes, which can ultimately lead to miscommunication and friction between the two teams. This is exactly why 35% of B2B marketing leaders are prioritizing alignment between sales and marketing. 

Solution: Collaborate and Communicate

The solution to this challenge is to foster collaboration and communication between sales and marketing teams. B2B businesses have experienced up to a 208% uplift in revenue when their sales and marketing teams are aligned. Here are some tactics you can do to achieve these impressive results:

• Schedule a meeting cadence. Hold regular meetings to discuss progress, share insights, and align on goals.
• Utilize a CRM system. Track account engagement and activity in your CRM system to ensure both teams have access to the same data. 
• Create a shared ABM playbook. This playbook should outline the roles and responsibilities of each team member and provides guidelines for executing ABM campaigns.
• Implement a Service Level Agreement (SLA). The SLA should define the expectations, workflows, and KPIs for both sales and marketing teams, and hold them accountable for their performance. This can help align the two teams and ensure that they are working towards a common goal.

Challenge #3: Inability to Scale Personalization

Approximately 56% of B2B marketers consider personalized content key to the success of their ABM programs, however, this can be a challenging tactic to scale. Personalized content requires a significant investment of time and resources, which can be difficult to maintain when scaling an ABM program. Additionally, as the number of target accounts increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to deliver personalized experiences at scale without sacrificing quality or relevance.

Solution: Leverage Technology

To overcome this challenge, leverage technology to scale your personalization efforts. Here are some specific ways to do this:

• Use data analytics and AI. These tools will allow you to create targeted content that resonates with your target accounts. 
• Implement dynamic content. Dynamic content to personalize web pages, emails, and other marketing materials is a powerful tactic to create engaging and relevant experiences for your target audience.
• Use ABM advertising platforms. Target key accounts across multiple channels, such as display ads, social media, and search engines, to help you personalize content and achieve significant results. According to recent studies, B2B organizations that invest in online personalization achieve more than 30% higher sales results than those that don’t, making it even more crucial to incorporate personalized messaging into your ABM campaigns.
• Include personalization tokens into your outreach. This will allow you to automatically customize messages based on account information, such as name, company name, or interests.

Challenge #4: Difficulty in Measuring ROI

Scaling ABM programs can make it even more challenging to measure ROI, as it becomes increasingly difficult to track and quantify the impact of personalized content and targeted messaging on your target accounts.

Solution: Set Clear Metrics

To effectively measure the ROI of your B2B ABM program, it’s important to set clear metrics. To achieve this, you can:

• Align objectives and identify the key performance indicators (KPIs). The KPIs should be the metrics that are most relevant to your program.
• Analyze account stages. To optimize your ABM campaigns effectively, it is crucial to analyze their performance at various stages of the funnel. By doing so, you can gain valuable insights into how well your campaigns are performing and identify areas that require improvement. This information can then be used to adjust your strategies, messaging, and targeting to increase your chances of success.
• Set up a dashboard to track metrics. Dashboards can provide a clear visual to teams that are responsible for monitoring and optimizing specific metrics, such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and revenue generated.
• Use an attribution model. This model will assist in accurately tracking engagement and revenue generated from your ABM campaigns. 

Account-Based Marketing Services 

Scaling ABM programs can be challenging, but many businesses have successfully placed their confidence in the experts at Insights ABM to handle their B2B account-based marketing efforts and have experienced the benefits. You can also benefit from our expertise in scaling ABM programs. Our account-based marketing agency caters to various verticals, which include:

• SaaS and startups
• Financial services
• Healthcare
• Specialty surgery
• Commercial real estate
• Sporting events
• Repair and service companies

Insights ABM: The Top Agency for Scaling Your Account-Based Marketing Programs

If you are ready to start scaling your ABM programs, Insights ABM is here to help. We provide our clients with world-class ABM solutions that produce real results. Contact us today!