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Why ABX with Intent data is the future of ABM

As much as marketers and sales professionals like to think so, account-based marketing (ABM), isn’t a cure-all for revenue woes and misalignment among teams. It’s efficient and undoubtedly a solid strategy, but the approach has its limits and its downfalls. So what should B2B companies looking to scale their marketing programs do next? Well, we’re glad you asked.

Let’s talk about ABX (account-based everything) paired with the power of Intent data. By focusing on a coordinated customer experience with 360-degree visibility of accounts actively searching your products and services, this duo is the ultimate informant and the next chapter of ABM. Here’s why.

Creates sustainable marketing programs with less reliance on human biases and intervention

ABM may claim a completely unbiased, data-first view, but many of its tactics aren’t 100 percent reliable. Picture this: Marketer A thinks target #1 has moved from awareness to consideration, but salesperson B believes this account isn’t even in-market. If there’s no data source to prove the answer, whose opinion is correct? It’s because of these human biases and intervention that most ABM efforts fail; according to the ABM Leadership Alliance, account selection is one of the top three challenges faced by account-based marketers.

Intent data, however, throws your team a life jacket. In ABX campaigns fueled by Intent data, both sales and marketing teams make account-selection decisions based on actual insights. The data gives clear, accurate direction—providing undisputable answers and simultaneously improving team cohesion and building a more sustainable program.

Focuses on accounts that are ready to engage

In an ABX paradigm, Intent data can whittle down the selected accounts even further, identifying which of those in-market accounts are actually ready to engage. It’s important to note this process is ongoing. With the help of Company Surge® Intent data, the account lists are updated in real-time, refreshing on a weekly basis. These are the accounts you should prioritize, the accounts that want to hear from you.

Informs the direction and messaging of each piece of content

If it’s not apparent, ABX with Intent data takes the guesswork out of strategies and next moves—including content personalization. If you know the topics the recipient or in-market account is interested in and currently researching, you can tailor your messaging and outreach accordingly. Without Intent data, you have to assume Target 3 from a FinTech company wants more information on a certain aspect of your product; with Intent data, you come to find out they’re truly interested in product comparison. Now you can serve them that piece of content with more precision, accuracy, and a higher chance of a conversion.

Boosts your long-term ROI

In most cases, the deciding factor upon moving forward with something new, be it a new strategy or purchase, is cost. ABM with Intent data is no different. While there are some additional costs from implementation upfront, the long-term ROI makes those costs negligible—as there are no wasted efforts on accounts not actively in-market. Decreased waste, increased ROI. At the end of the day, ABX has a greater return than ABM, but ABX with Intent data outperforms ABX by itself—and those numbers will impress everyone from marketing to sales to the C-suite.

While some may be initially wary of using Intent data to inform ABX strategies—due to the aforementioned implementation costs or uncertainty about the insights—the pros outweigh the cons ten out of ten times. Layered into most existing ABX or ABM platforms, Intent data aligns teams, builds confidence in decision-making, and boosts the ROI of an entire ABX program.

Learn more about how you can fuel your ABX strategy with the intel of Bombora’s Company Surge® Intent data by downloading our informative infographic here.