TLDR:
Artificial intelligence can help in easing the tension that typically exists between marketing and sales teams. It can be challenging for those with seasoned careers that existed before the emergence of AI to accept it.
The basic premise that underpins Account-Based Marketing is nothing new. The idea of aligning marketing and sales teams to achieve greater success isn’t new either.
And ABM has a proven track record. The majority of B2B marketers agree that ABM is a massive driver of business success. It’s hardly surprising, given that every company has their own twist on how to make ABM work for them.
Instinct, experience, and general know-how has been the way marketing and sales teams would work together to qualify and sell to a customer. This combination of skills and traits is one of the most challenging to put together.
This is where AI may come in handy. But it’s not a sure thing because while accounts can be identified easily, what’s much more difficult is qualifying those accounts. Each team may see something different when qualifying a prospect.
It’s not an easy thing, and AI alone may not be enough to be the glue that holds these teams together.
In order for the AI to do its job, marketing teams need to embrace ABM as a solid strategy. They shouldn’t treat it like a fad. ABM is not solely for the purpose of accelerating sales, but to generate a higher ROI for the efforts of the marketing team.
With proper application, teams should achieve nearly double the deal size, double the full-funnel conversion rate, and double the pipeline velocity when contrasted to companies not embracing ABM.
ABM really isn’t something you just go in and out of. It takes dedication to develop a business around a core set of marketing, sales, and technological considerations. Based on what it takes to grow a business around those priorities, businesses can generate solutions that support them.
In short, ABM has the power to change businesses for the better. But ABM coupled with AI may be hard for marketing and sales professionals to accept if they’ve seen success so far without it. These people may need to see proof of AI’s promise before they get on-board with AI-enhanced ABM.
Without a basic understanding of the players in the market, as well as the market itself and managerial support, ABM’s promise is reduced.
Original article from Forbes on 05 February 2019.
