The rapid growth of Account Based Marketing (ABM) tools proves a couple of things.
One, you can’t please everyone – not in today’s competitive B2B market.
And two, you better focus on the markets that really matter.
But running multi-channel ABM campaigns at scale is no joke.
That said, the latest ABM tools make the job a lot easier.
They turn you into a master strategist with real-time insights at your fingertips.
Let’s look at the top ABM tools that you can consider in 2023.
What is ABM?
Account Based Marketing or ABM flips the traditional marketing funnel on its head. In it, marketing and sales work together from the get-go to:
- Identify high-value accounts that fit ICP criteria,
- Engage them with personalized content
- Find key decision makers
- Lead them to closure
- Stay engaged to tap future opportunities
ABM is not about one-and-done selling.
Rather it drives customer lifetime value. And there have been some incredible success stories here.
9 ABM Tools for 2023
1. 6 Sense Revenue AI
6Sense allows marketing teams to identify high-value accounts, predict their buyer journey based on account activity and engage them with the right messaging across touch points.
Features:
- Updates contact lists automatically with additional information
- Segments users into cohorts based on specific behavior patterns
- Can track user activity across channels and attribute to the respective account.
Pricing:
Varies based on the number of users, use case, etc.
2. Demandbase
Demandbase comes with a comprehensive suite of features built around the Account-Based Experience concept.
It has three modules – ABX Cloud (ABM), Advertising Cloud (campaign management), and Data Cloud (integration support)
Features:
- Provides account-level insights for campaign execution and orchestration
- Supports multiple ad formats allowing global reach
- Easy integration
Pricing:
Varies based on the use case, number of users, etc.
3. Terminus
Terminus offers full-funnel ABM capabilities including account management, execution, and reporting. It is designed for multi-channel campaigns and offers easy scalability. Has its own built-in database.
Features:
- In-depth segmentation options including buyer intent
- Supports campaigns across multiple channels
Pricing:
Varies based on the number of users and features needed
4. RollWorks
RollWorks is a good fit for marketers who rely primarily on paid ads for lead generation.
Features:
- Provides useful targeting recommendations based on historical campaign data
- Maps account to key decision-makers and present their contact information
- Provides contextual client information such as organizational changes, mergers, acquisitions, etc
Pricing:
The Starter plan is $975/mo. For information on their other plans, contact customer support.
5. Triblio
If personalization is a priority for you, Triblio could be the perfect solution.
Its USP is predictive orchestration which automates segmentation and targeting for higher personalization.
Features:
- Visual campaign builder with drag-and-drop functionality
- Calculates conversion probability based on user intent and account activity
Pricing:
Varies based on the number of features, use case, etc.
6. Vainu
This is a sales intelligence tool that lets you find high-value accounts from its extensive global database. Vainu speeds up list building and provides contextual information on target accounts.
Features
- Creates targeted contact lists based on ICPs and filters chosen
- Updates new contacts automatically
- Provides a single view of contacts stored across tools
Pricing:
Free trial
Team plan: EUR 4200/yr
Business plan: EUR 9900/yr
Global plan: EUR 12000/yr
Custom Enterprise plan
7. Apollo.io
Apollo offers prospecting, campaign orchestration, and sales engagement capabilities.
It lets you push personalized messages to target contacts and optimize your revenue strategy as you go along.
Features:
- Lead database of 250m people and companies
- Engagement Suite for creating personalized marketing sequences based on ICPs
- Intelligence Suite with tracking, analytics, and targeting capabilities
Pricing:
Basic: $49/mo
Professional: $99/mo
Custom enterprise plans
Free plan with limited features
8. Uberflip
Uberflip is a content creation, curation, and distribution platform that helps marketers deliver relevant messaging.
Features:
- Aggregates and serves personalized content based on intent data
- Built-in analytics for measuring content performance and strategy planning
Pricing:
Varies based on the number of users and features
9. Alyce
Alyce is an AI-powered gifting platform with ABM as a key use case.
It provides personalized gifting options for marketers to engage, convert and retain customers.
It offers gift tracking, budgeting, and reporting capabilities.
Features:
- Comes with CRM integration and inventory management features
- Built-in analytics for monitoring spend, conversion, and ROI
So How Exactly Does ABM Work?
In ABM campaigns, marketers think of buyers not as individuals but as companies.
They work with sales to identify target businesses, nurture contacts (in buying teams), and engage key decision-makers.
Both teams will work together to create personalized messaging for each key prospect to drive purchase intent.
This can include unique sales pitches aimed at dramatically increasing the odds of conversion.
ABM may involve a lot of research and coordination but the returns (deal size) are well worth it.
What are the Big Challenges of ABM?
ABM comes with its own set of challenges. Let’s look at some of the big ones:
1. Poor sales and marketing alignment
Sales and marketing alignment is crucial for succeeding at ABM. The challenges are many:
- Both have different KPIs and processes
- Incomplete or inaccurate lead data
- Reporting issues
These problems can be mitigated by:
- Integrating workflows so that both teams can function effectively
- Syncing campaign management and reporting
2. Flawed key account mapping
Many ABM practitioners fail to find the right contacts which affects campaign performance.
The solution? Put buyer behavior in context with their organizational structure and business goals.
Caveat: you have to be looking at the right data points.
3. No clarity on attribution metrics
Finding the right attribution metrics is another problem B2B teams struggle with.
Firstly, the raw customer/activity data may be unstructured as the number of channels increases.
Then there are multiple buyers with different needs.
For these reasons, aligning marketing and sales attribution for ABM is hard. The right ABM tools can make things much easier though.
4. Lack of scalability
ABM is high-touch marketing.
It requires relevant messaging at scale – a tall order if you have a large audience.
The solution: create a base template of content that hits key talking points and iterate it based on the exact buyer journey. Choose a dedicated scale-based ABM tool.
Role of Clean CRM Data in Making ABM Successful
From measuring buying intent to scaling campaigns, data is a key element for successful ABM. The data must be cleaned and synced across the workflow. What’s in it for you?
1. Better targeting
Without accurate data, you could end up targeting low-value leads.
The result: wasted time and effort for your sales teams and low ROI.
2. Targeted personalization
Personalization, early on in the buyer journey, is a key advantage for ABM over traditional strategies.
Bad data could result in incorrect or conflicting messaging.
We recommend a regular data quality audit to prevent this.
3. Faster sales cycle
Validating data can help buyers complete multiple buying jobs simultaneously.
If you can position the right content at the right touch points, you will drive conversions faster, boosting growth.
Things to Consider While Choosing ABM Tools
The ABM landscape is expansive with multiple options to choose from.
Some focus on analytics while others are designed to automate campaign execution. ABM is a key driver of revenue. So choosing the right tool is critical.
A good question to ask is:
What’s the gap in my current ABM stack I need to fill?
Your answer will probably be either reporting or execution.
This exercise will give you a good feel for what features you are going to need.
For example, if you want to plug gaps in prospect data, the tool you buy should be able to clean and integrate CRM data.
If you want to grow the pipeline, the tool should have comprehensive segmentation and targeting features.
If you want to expand your reach or find new market opportunities, look for tools with analytics and data management features.
Some additional questions that can help:
- Can the tool run email campaigns, advertising, landing pages, etc using your customer data?
- Does the tool support multiple attribution models for different products?
- Can the tool identify key accounts, target key decision-makers, and optimize messaging accordingly?
Clean Data is at the Heart of Successful ABM Efforts
Account Based Marketing tools come in all shapes and sizes.
From all-in-one platforms to specialist tools that can plug gaps in your existing stack.
If you are just getting started with ABM, a comprehensive platform will probably fit you best.
However, if you adapt your marketing strategy often or use multiple databases, you need an advanced solution that works well with your existing workflows.
Either way, keeping your data clean and pipeline visibility intact should come first. It is the heart of revenue growth.
Get a free CRM scan today to discover hidden opportunities. Or talk to us today!
Nektar is not an all-in-one ABM tool.
However, it is a specialist at unifying customer data across workflows.
It provides complete visibility into pipeline activities, sales performance, and revenue growth.
And it also automates CRM data entry for sales teams.
