Use the Account Based Marketing Pyramid and KPI Index to manage and exceed your stakeholder expectations. Your Practical guide on how to build an effective ABM programme from the ground up.

1. #ABM
#Accountbasedmarketing
#kpi
#metrics
#roi
#b2b
#b2bmarketing
#demandgen
#demandgeneration
#transformation
#andybacon
#bestpractice
The Account Based Marketing Value Pyramid
Your essential guide to proving success in ABM

2. Contents
• Why you really need different KPI’s for ABM
• The ABM Value Pyramid explained:
• Level 1: Cohesive Teamwork
• Level 2: Deeper Understanding
• Level 3: Content Resonance
• Level 4: Stronger Relationships
• Level 5: Conversion and Retention
• The ABM KPI Index
• Get more on ABM
• About Bridge Associates

3. Why you really need different KPI’s for Account Based Marketing
• Applying short term demand-generation oriented KPI’s to ABM will result in perceived failure and loss of confidence.
• Managing stakeholders is critical. The Value Pyramid will help you both manage and exceed their expectations.
• ABM is a totally different approach to conventional Demand Generation (DG). It is described as a "Marathon not a Sprint”.
• DG is usually focused on short term goals; i.e. pipeline value added per quarter (MQL/SQL targets).
• ABM strategies build long term profitable relationships with high value strategic accounts. This takes time.
• Usually, ABM requires a period of business transformation to embed new working practices. This takes time.
• It relies heavily on teamwork; a strong sales and marketing alignment to common objectives. Cultural change takes time.
• ABM enables highly bespoke value propositions based on detailed account research and insight. Not generic “persona” based content.
Your existing content may not be fit for purpose. This all takes time.
Want to understand more?
See the article on LinkedIN or go to Want More on ABM

4. Cohesive
Teamwork
Shared Goals Collaboration Trust Sentiment
Targeting People Knowledge Insight
Sustainable
Revenue
Stronger
Relationships
Deeper
Understanding
Voice Relevance Value
Engagement Confidence
Content
Resonance
Conversion &
Retention
Alignment is the foundation to
motivation, effectiveness and
results.
‘Understanding your customer’ is essential.
ABM provides the framework and imperative
for a high quality, informed approach
Improving the effectiveness of communications/content
through a customer centric approach that resonates with their
specific business needs.
Influencing the quality of relationships for mutual benefit to
both parties. Moving from supplier to ‘trusted/strategic partner”
Accelerating win rates, increasing revenue and margin, adding competitive advantage.
Increased customer loyalty and advocacy
Soft KPI
Hard KPI
The ABM Value Pyramid
ABM drives transformation, adding incremental value across the entire GTM strategy. A new mix of hard and soft KPI’s are critical to enable the value
add to be measured at each stage. Conventional KPIs (as used for demand gen) fail to demonstrate the sustainable impact ABM delivers.
Copyright 2019 Bridge Associates. All rights reserved

5. Level 1: Cohesive Teamwork
Ask any experienced ABM practitioner what their top 3 essentials are for ABM success and they will usually answer in this order:
The Top 3 ABM Essentials
1: Sales and Marketing Alignment 2: Sales and Marketing Alignment 3: Sales and Marketing Alignment
Its really important not to confuse "buy-in" with alignment. Buy-in often means someone we half know, half heartedly agreeing to participate
in our latest big idea during a half hour chat. Alignment takes time to build and can be lost in a jiffy. It takes constant nurturing.
The other challenge with alignment is knowing how much you have at any one time. Like bicycle tyres, you'd only discover its been leaking
when everything suddenly feels flat. The rolling resistance becomes obvious when others refuse to commit and fail to deliver on their
promises. You've lost trust.
But there's now a brilliant free assessment tool from The Amplified Group that enables you to measure alignment before you even get started.
Combining DISC profiling and "The Five Behaviours of a Cohesive Team", their free report will really help you understand where your future
challenges lie. Give it a go, you'll see the KPI's in my pyramid leverage some of those principles, so you can plug and play their report.

6. Level 2: Deeper Understanding
“Decisions are made by people. And people start off interested in themselves”
A prerequisite of strategic ABM is an intimate understanding of your customer and how you can deliver value to their business objectives. This
is all about real people and far less about 'personas'. Whatever anyone says, the 'random human factor' is actually your best friend as ABM is
all about fostering long term relationships.
Of course it goes further than this. Marketing can add enormous value to the sales effort by broadening the scope of influence by adding new
contacts, delivering increased knowledge and insight on the target account's current goals and challenges. It is this deeper understanding that
will transform the value of what and how you communicate. You'll need The Pyramid's KPI's here to ensure that marketing add value and don't
think sales are the 'font of all knowledge'. They don't know what they don't know.

7. Level 3: Content Resonance
"Generic propositions that are all about you, your product, your service will
fall on deaf ears"
If a familiar KPI before ABM was engagement in your content, then getting Level 3 working has to come first . Audiences only engage when
confronted with compelling value propositions.
To give propositions real value to you target customer, they've got to be highly relevant to their agenda, offer real value and be communicated
in the right tone of voice. It sounds easy and obvious, but you'll going to need KPI's that consistently drive that behaviour. Without them, I
guarantee you'll start falling back on existing content. And I'll wager the content that you used for the last DG campaign isn't going to cut it.

8. Level 4: Stronger Relationships
"The fact people rarely get married on their first date helps explain why ABM
is a long term investment"
ABM works because its the catalyst to building lasting relationships within your key accounts.
Your KPI's need to reference the broader terms of engagement. Its not about email open rates. It is about mutual confidence; improved
accessibility to the client by the sales team, and in turn, customer confidence in you as a strategic supplier; one who consistently demonstrates
they understand their business.
Eavesdrop any sales meeting and listen to how they describe their pipeline opportunities - it will be about how confident they feel. If
marketing are measured by their ability to influence sales' ability to build stronger, more confident relationships, then a critical stage of ABM
will be harnessed.

9. Level 5: Conversion and Retention
“Look for low hanging fruit.
Net new accounts is not the easiest place to start”
It would be easy to focus purely on revenue here and so you should. The challenge is knowing how much growth to attribute to the marketing
effort, particularly if sales are keen to claim most the credit. Their success at your hands will be infectious, so in the early days invest all the
positive sentiment you can back into Layer 1 to fuel trust and even greater commitment. You'll need all you can get to scale effectively.
Its important to resist the pressure for net new logos - another DG metric. ABM is so much more than this and is much easier to implement
within existing key accounts first. The value of growing and protecting existing revenue and the long term value of advocacy should never be
ignored.

10. The KPI Index
• The following index provides example measurement criteria for each pyramid level.
• KPI’s progressively move from soft to hard with each layer.
• If you are able to apply numeric values so much the better, but remember to deliver change means the
acceptance of new ideas and embedding new behaviours. This is the heart of true ABM.
• It is important to remember that the early stages (foundational layers) are critical to success. Just because
they are soft KPI’s doesn’t mean they are not important in delivering the end result.
• Purchase and implementation of new marketing technology excluded. While critical for scale, remember
true ABM is a strategy, not a technology.
Best of luck with your journey!
Your feedback to my original article on LinkedIN is very welcome.

11. ABM Value KPI Index for Transformation Measurement
Revenue/ROI Conversion
Volume/value of closed deals. Is
deal velocity increasing? Are
sales meeting target?
Retention
Has churn rate reduced? Is
account revenue increasing? Is
there increased business
diversification within accounts?
Bids
Has RFP/Bid success and revenue
increased?
Advocacy
Are existing accounts supporting
new business wins. Are more case
studies/testimonials being
delivered?
Relationships Engagement
Have engagement rates
increased? Are sales in dialogue
with more contacts within their
ABM accounts?
Confidence: Account Behaviour
Are target accounts actively
participating in dialogue, sharing
their business goals and showing
increased buying signals?
Confidence: Sales Behaviour
Has sales team confidence
increased? Are they addressing
increased business opportunities
/pipeline value?
Resonance Voice
Is content prioritising customers’
own language over your own
brand messaging. Does it have
human value.
Relevance
Are propositions based on insight
so they are relevant to the target
audiences’ current focus of
attention.
Value
Do value propositions reflect the
individual needs of the target
audience, their role and
responsibilities.
Understanding Targeting
Have the accounts been selected
objectively with evidence of their
fit to the ABM strategy?
Did selected accounts score
> 75%.
People
Has the full DMU been mapped in
target accounts to understand
their roles. Is marketing increasing
scope of influence by building
relationships with new contacts.
Knowledge
Is account intelligence a team
responsibility and transparent and
accessible to the whole team? Is
the CRM fully populated and
regularly updated by the whole
team?
Fresh Insight
Is marketing adding new layers of
insight? Is there new detailed
understanding of the account’s
changing business needs, pain
points and buying objectives?
Teamwork Shared Goals
Does the whole team understand
and contribute to the plan. Have
smart objectives with clear
timelines have been mutually
Collaboration
Is there shared commitment and
accountability? Have sales shared
account plans. Is the entire team
delivering value to deadline?
Shared Trust
Is the entire team openly
supporting/enabling each other’s
objectives. Is there constructive
debate around new ideas.
Sentiment
Are all team members providing
positive feedback to each other?
Will results be attributed to the
combined effort of the whole team?

12. Get more on ABM
Andy hosted a full on-demand webinar series with B2B Marketing covering the essential components of ABM including:
• Embedding Best Practice ABM
• Plotting your route to Success
• The Top 10 steps to Success (Conference Address)
• Account Selection and Mapping
• Data and Insight for Value Propositions
• When will I see results?

13. Bridge Associates
Andy Bacon is Managing Partner of Bridge Associates, a strategic marketing
consultancy. It is built around his broad network of highly experienced marketing
professionals drawn from all disciplines across numerous verticals. The team
frequently advise on strategy to both heads of agencies and enterprise client
CMOs.
He previously founded and led a London based B2B marketing agency for 25 years
working with global IT brands. One of the first B2B agencies to offer ABM, Andy’s
first project was for a pan EMEA ABM programme. It won The Sirius Decisions
EMEA Programme the Year award.
Lead ABM Advisor for B2B Marketing, Andy is a frequent conference speaker and
delivers their ABM Head-Start Consultancy Programme into enterprise clients
across a wide range of verticals including IT, Professional Services, Banking and
Finance.
He is based near London in Surrey.