ABM methodologies need to be integrated across our entire marketing function; it's no longer just a peripheral programme. We've identified high-value accounts using custom work in our CRM, flagging them based on strategic value, which may not always be tied to immediate revenue potential. We're currently reassessing our entire measurement strategy and rebuilding our marketing funnel from the ground up. A key focus is rethinking the MQL metric. In our sector, each deal typically involves nine to sixteen people, so a lead can no longer be just one individual—it needs to encompass an entire account. Given this shift to an account-based methodology, we're evaluating whether MQL is still the appropriate metric or if it should transition to something like a marketing-qualified account.

I would prioritise measuring the MQL to SQL conversion rates, as this could make a big impact quickly. I'd also start monitoring the conversion from MQL to business won. Additionally, instead of only focusing on cost per lead, I'd shift towards cost per marketing qualified account—looking at how many contacts within target fit accounts are entering our funnel and how many we're actually engaging. If we know each account has five key decision-makers, I'd measure how many of those decision-makers we've engaged in each account.

I would focus on rebuilding our entire marketing funnel to achieve complete visibility at every stage, extending through the entire customer lifecycle. I'd like this integration to extend to our products, enabling us to see what customers are actually using and how they are using it. This would allow us to build much more of our automation based on real data from actual customer and prospect interactions. Essentially, I envision complete end-to-end funnel visibility encompassing the entire bow-tie model, from initial engagement through to upsell and cross-sell opportunities.