What Do You Need to Have in Your Tech Stack to Run Omnichannel ABM?

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The year is 2021; you need more than a so-so technology stack to see results from your B2B sales and marketing teams. What you need is a modern tech stack comprised of software and web-based applications that will ensure your digital marketing and sales strategies are automated, informed, integrated, and optimized.

B2B marketing tactics change just as frequently as the technology, but with the right tools, you can remain competitive and see a much greater ROI.

If you’re looking to get your account-based marketing (ABM) program pilot campaign off the ground or just need better results from your current ABM program, your arsenal of technology must be highly curated and have the ability to:

• Better identify your target accounts
• Understand your prospects’ pain points
• Pinpoint where accounts are in the buyer’s journey
• Deliver content and messaging by account and funnel placement
• Determine the success of your outreach efforts

When it comes to this kind of marketing, we use the phrase “omnichannel ABM,” which simply refers to ABM that utilizes each relevant channel, tool, and best practice to nurture accounts. And while omnichannel ABM is miles away from a quick or plug-and-play approach, an integrated tech stack will simplify and streamline the process—for sales, marketing, and customer experience teams. 

Here are the eight fundamental applications to have in your tech stack if you want to run a results-oriented omnichannel ABM campaign.

Omnichannel ABM Tech Stack Must-Haves

1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Examples: Salesforce, Hubspot, Zoho, Pipedrive 

If you don’t have a clear idea of who your customer is or what their current engagement looks like, your ABM campaign will remain grounded. Without a CRM platform, you won’t be able to detail your customer’s journey, much less make informed decisions about the rest of the nurturing process.

2. Visitor Intelligence Software

Examples: Clearbit, Dun & Bradstreet, KickFire

ABM strategies live and die by access to customer data. Software from companies like Clearbit or Kickfire allows you to gain detailed information on who is visiting your website and which pages they’re spending time on. Without this level of info, your targeting will be far less accurate—impeding your campaign from a more impressive ROI.

3. Intent Data Provider

Examples: Bombora, ZoomInfo, 6Sense

No matter how targeted, engaging, and relevant your messaging is, you can’t sell your product to someone who isn’t interested in it (and never will be). Intent data allows you to sidestep this conundrum entirely, revealing what exactly prospects are searching for and what content they’re consuming—on both your site and third parties. 

Read more about the two types of intent data here.

4. Marketing Automation

Examples: Marketo, Pardot, Oracle Eloqua

If you’re not using marketing automation services, you’re not doing ABM. Marketing automation providers vary in the services they offer alongside email marketing—often including basic campaign management, landing page customization, data and analytics, and even posting on social media channels. What you absolutely need, though, is a reliable solution that works to cultivate your relationship with a prospect or a current customer.

5. Programmatic Ad Platform

Examples: Terminus, Demandbase, 6Sense

Your digital ad campaign can’t go anywhere without a programmatic ad platform. Automatically pushing new content leads and targeting via a one-to-one or one-to-few approach, these types of platforms are critical for precise targeting and reaching audiences across the digital space.

6. Content Enablement/Personalization

Examples: Hubspot, Uberflip, Adobe Target

Omnichannel ABM tactics require a level of personalization that takes time and a significant amount of effort from your marketing team. By tailoring content and landing pages to reflect the audience on a granular level, you increase engagement and showcase your understanding and knowledge of the accounts you’re attempting to sell to. The personalization process can be strenuous, but with a content enablement tool, much of the effort is automated (and your copywriters and graphic designers will thank you).

7. Analytics Platforms

Examples: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics

Analytics platforms are home to interaction metrics—including average session duration, bounce rate, and pages per session—high-level demographic information. They can also be integrated with other aspects of your campaign; take Google Analytics, for example. Google Analytics can link directly with Google Search Console in order to see the effects of organic traffic and diagnose keyword-specific engagement at a page level, which allows you to further refine your SEO efforts.

8. Data Visualization

Examples: DOMO, Tableau, Power BI, Google Data Studio

If there’s one aspect of your campaign every single stakeholder will want, it’s a clear picture of campaign performance. Data visualization allows everyone to communicate, see, and, more importantly, understand a numbers-based, unbiased view of activity within a campaign. This level of clear communication results in a greater awareness of opportunities and gaps within your ABM ecosystem.