When evaluating the results of ABM, you need to focus on the business impact being delivered. Securing stakeholder commitment to your chosen metrics and how they link to the account team’s objectives and goals is critical. Early in the process, agree the metrics you will track and capture in your ABM dashboard, then schedule regular discussions with the account team on shared progress towards the defined account goals.
Taking a holistic view of your ABM accounts and comparing their performance to accounts that sit outside your ABM programme — a control group if you like — can be a valuable indicator. So, how can we realistically measure impact?
The 3Rs — Reputation, Relationships and Revenue — provide a bedrock for a reliable ABM dashboard. Measuring against these criteria will not only present a snapshot of your ABM universe at any point in time, but also deliver the flexibility to evolve with the changing needs of an individual account or strategic programme.
Reputation
Consider if your reputation is strong enough to enable growth within the key accounts, or, if there is a lack of awareness and you need to change the current perception or challenge misconceptions that are creating blockers? Key indicators include measuring interaction with senior stakeholders, peer-to-peer recommendations, and tracking an increase in sole source opportunities.
Improving our reputation and demonstrating relevancy at an account level ultimately impacts relationships and revenue.
Relationships
The type of relationships you have with customers are pivotal to achieving your vision, not only from an ABM perspective but also from an organisational one. It is important to regularly measure whether you are engaging with the right stakeholders and their level of trust. Is your organisation on ‘speed dial’ when they have an issue? And would they recommend you to others?
My go-to relationship metric is an advocacy scale for the key stakeholders within the account which measures the shift in movement from ‘unaware’ to ‘advocate’. You can use this to continually track relationships as the account develops.
Revenue
This is a powerful metric and is typically the one of greatest interest, particularly from sales and business leaders. But it shouldn’t be viewed in isolation. If your reputation is improving and strategic relationships are being nurtured, then revenue will grow.
Under revenue, I recommend tracking pipeline velocity and client lifetime value as consistent measurements and focusing on metrics that consider the short, medium, and long-term.
