We know from experience that misalignment around goals is one of the biggest challenges for marketers trying to make the move toward revenue-focused measurement (as opposed to being exclusively lead-focused). Additionally, according to research firm TOPO, 86% of marketers rate measurement as critical to their success when transitioning to ABM metrics and strategies.
So, how can you step out from the lead-based shadows into the new revenue-based sunshine?
Never fear – marketers have walked this path before you, and there is a better way to measure! One that gives you more credit, and focuses on quality engagements over quantity of output.
Whether you’re using Terminus or another data tool to track these ABM metrics, nailing down the following measures will be a centerpiece as you grow your own account-based practice, and gain buy-in from across your organization that you’re on the right track.
1. Target Account List Engagement
If you’re practicing modern account-based B2B marketing, you’re starting with a list of accounts you know are a good fit and are behaviorally ready (or soon to be ready) for a conversation. That means your first job is to get those target accounts engaged.
Terminus lets you concretely measure the number of targeted accounts that have visited your site (initial engagement), and the number that have shown significant engagement (Engagement Spike).
Think of this as your top-most funnel stage, the de facto stand-in for MQLs. Except that here, all of the traffic is pre-qualified (because you did a great job of picking the right accounts in the first place).
2. Influenced Pipeline & Revenue
This is the total live pipeline (in potential revenue) with marketing influence, or influence from specific ABM programs (represented as account lists in the Terminus Account Hub).
By focusing on influence, you can get a true comparative measure of how programs impact revenue, without fights over which attribution model is best and how much partial credit each email or web touch should get.
Instead, you can focus on what matters – which activities show up time and again in successful deals, and how do you use that information to get more of the right content and touches introduced at the right time into future deals.
3. Sales Cycle Velocity
Long under-valued by the marketing team, a speedy sales cycle can be the difference between a KO and a drawn-out battle with more competitors coming on the scene. Speeding the sales cycle means more favorable deal economics (because you’ll spend less marketing and sales resources developing the sale), edging out competitors before they have a chance to gain a foothold, and keeping momentum to avoid the dreaded “no decision” loss.
By focusing on how marketing can impact deal velocity with high-touch, multi-channel programs, you’ll also uncover new ways sales and marketing can work together, and get valuable insight into what content is most likely to impact deals (because you’ll actually be working them alongside your sales team!).
4. Annual Contract Value (ACV)
Average contract size is an indication of how well you surfaced opportunities to introduce more value during your sales process, and how good a fit the account is for your highest-value products or services.
Doubling a deal by uncovering additional need is as good as (and often easier than) acquiring a net new key account. By tracing ACV across different cohorts or marketing programs, you’ll be able to hone in on opportunities to use advertising or other channels in a precision-strike way to ensure every customer you sign has visibility into the full breadth of your solutions.
There you have it – ABM metrics that matter. Once you orient your demand engine this way, you’ll end up uncovering more opportunities for high-revenue-impact activities, and focus on what really matters.
Measuring this way isn’t what many inbound-focused marketing tools are built for – so if you’re struggling to hit your measurement rhythm, we can help!
The Terminus Account Scorecard tracks these metrics automatically so that you can see your ABM success in a single screen. Learn more about our Account Scorecard here.
