Let’s face it, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has evolved considerably from a single-flavoured offering to, well, a veritable smörgåsbord of flavours. I’ve been talking a lot with fellow marketers about the differences between ABM and Account-Based Growth (ABG). I wondered whether those marketers starting a journey with sales to focus on accounts would begin with ABM and then perhaps ‘mature’ into ABG. So I got to thinking about how these strategies and approaches differ in their goals, scope, and execution. Here’s how I see the key distinctions between these two approaches:
1. The primary goal:
- ABM is marketing-driven. This is where my experience started as my team was tasked to attract and engage target accounts with a focus on marketing and lead generation. The ABM part of that rather “lead gen” statement is that the trick is identifying high-value accounts, creating truly personalised content and campaigns, and nurturing relationships to drive conversions and revenue. Often you’re needing to win the hearts and minds of your sales teams. Often this is where account-based anything really starts.
- ABG drives long-term growth, expands existing relationships and maximises customer value in those very top, strategic accounts. ABG is a company strategy that encompasses marketing, sales, customer success, and often SMEs within the organisation. In my experience, a successful ABM program provides the foundation from which ABMers can really refine their program. Often ABG becomes a critical strategy for key accounts that the business needs to focus on. This could include:
- retaining a customer: Maybe at a renewal stage of their buying journey, or to stave off a competitor.
- expanding share of wallet: Most sales people will want to go broader into their accounts and make what they’re selling really sticky.
Marketing represents the CMO on the account. That’s not an overstatement.
2. Account types:
- ABM often focuses on both new and existing accounts. It tailors marketing efforts to engage new prospects and nurture relationships with current customers. So reputation and relationship are often two areas of focus when it comes to the marketing support needed on those accounts. I can remember very clearly a conversation with a very senior regional sales lead that said “you work on getting us known in the account and I’ll take care of the revenue”. The account selection aligns with 1-1, 1-few, 1-many strategies and is often structured around a scoring model for 1-1 and 1-few accounts. You MUST do this with sales. It means they have skin in the game, it means that you can show the value you can bring with an ABM strategy and it will demonstrate the lasting impact that is possible by having marketing and sales teams working shoulder to shoulder.
- ABG is mainly centred on existing accounts and often a few, very top accounts. What we’re doing here is deepening relationships (usually CxO plus their core influencers from the buying committee), uncovering upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and driving expansion within these accounts. There may be additional focus around the timing of a deal, or around a lengthy and complex sales cycle that warrants a much deeper focus. This is typically an approach for a much smaller, highly-strategic set of accounts. Your account selection needs to have agreed criteria as often marketers are challenged with having an unreasonable number of accounts to manage.
3. Alignment with Sales:
- ABM needs really close collaboration between marketing and sales teams. Its primary focus is likely to be marketing-driven with the sales team being vital in conversion. In my experience, ABM needs to be part of the account plan to be successful. Your sales teams need skin in the game and their account plans are usually a used and known way to officially track the goals of their accounts.
- ABG requires a really tight alignment between marketing and sales. Here, the sales team is actively involved in identifying growth opportunities within existing accounts, fostering expansion, and maintaining customer satisfaction. Marketing represents the CMO within the account and is knitted into the fabric of the account plan for each account. My team members have been at the table during planning sessions, attending regular monthly reviews as well as presenting at QBR.
I should add here that sales enablement is something that you need to think about. Ensure that your sales team understands what ABM or ABG is. Get them onboard with the approach and why it will move the needle on their accounts. Include proof points, e.g. reference independent leaders in this space such as Inflexion Group or ITSMA.
4. Measurement and Metrics:
- ABM typically measures success through metrics like lead generation, engagement, and conversion rates. Here we’re evaluating how well marketing campaigns attract and convert target accounts. Pipeline velocity is often a great metric that clearly demonstrates the value of ABM, as well as the overall increase in pipeline contribution.
- ABG uses more comprehensive metrics to assess account health, customer satisfaction, customer experience and growth within existing accounts. Metrics like account expansion, customer lifetime value, and churn/retention rates become essential and are carefully monitored. You’re likely to partner with other teams to create a thorough view of what’s happening, e.g. customer success teams, or retention teams.
Make sure your measurement and metrics are achievable!
5. Customer-Centric vs. Account-Centric:
- ABM is customer-centric and concentrates on creating personalised experiences for individual decision-makers within the target accounts. So here, the sales team is likely to want to target the persona that is responsible for the budget but the ABM program must look across the buying committee within the account. Again reputation and relationships are key here.
- ABG is account-centric, focusing on the holistic relationship with the entire account, identifying opportunities for growth at the organisational level. So for example, these customers might be part of your Customer Advisory Board or other strategic initiatives set up by your company to engage and influence CxO within your core customers.
So, it would be fair to say that ABM focuses on marketing-driven activities, while ABG takes a more holistic approach, aiming for long-term growth within existing accounts through collaboration between marketing and sales. The choice between the two depends on your specific business objectives and where you are in the customer lifecycle. For those familiar with the 4 R’s (reputation, relationship, revenue and retention), I think those are the foundation for successful ABM and ABG. A topic for another blog perhaps!
We’re here to help unpick your thinking on ABM and ABG.
