Market View
Beyond MQLs: Reframing success in B2B marketing
Sponsored by:
Produced by:
Megan West
Director for ABM and Marketing Services at Hotwire Global
Market View
Beyond MQLs: Reframing success in B2B marketing
Sponsored by:
Produced by:
Megan West
Director for ABM and Marketing Services at Hotwire Global
About Megan West
Megan West serves as the Director for ABM and Marketing Services at Hotwire, a leading marketing and communications consultancy. Based in London, she partners with global technology clients to develop full funnel marketing strategies that connect brand to demand and drive sustainable business growth. With extensive experience in B2B tech marketing, Megan is passionate about driving alignment between sales and marketing teams to achieve long-term business objectives and build lasting client relationships.
How can businesses effectively measure the impact of account-based marketing (ABM) given its long-term nature?
When it comes to ABM, it's crucial to understand that we're looking at a long-term relationship-building strategy, not just a quick fix for pipeline gaps. This means we need to focus on short, medium, and long-term KPIs that align with overall business objectives.
To start, we always begin by clarifying the business strategy and goals. Everything we do in marketing and sales should stem from these overarching objectives. Once we understand what the business is trying to achieve, we can define our marketing and sales objectives and set appropriate KPIs.
We typically consider four key areas: reputation, relationships, revenue, and retention. In the short term, we might measure reach on social media or in the media at large, new contacts added to our database, or how we're addressing immediate competitive threats. Medium-term focus could be on engagement uplifts, especially at the executive level, or increasing the value of pipeline opportunities. Long-term metrics often revolve around turning customers into advocates, increasing word-of-mouth referrals, and of course, boosting revenue.
Account based marketing requires you to look at measurement holistically and build a complete picture of the health of your relationship with the target account, rather than just focusing on campaign vanity metrics or baseline figures.
To support this measurement approach, we leverage various data sources and technologies, including our proprietary tools like Performance IQ for bespoke reporting dashboards and Account IQ for comprehensive sales account intelligence.
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We typically consider four key areas: reputation, relationships, revenue, and retention.
Given the lengthy sales cycles in B2B tech, how do you advise clients to demonstrate marketing's impact within shorter time frames?
This is indeed a challenge, particularly in the B2B tech space where sales cycles can range from 12 to 18 months. The key is to set realistic expectations upfront and implement a framework that allows for consistent progress tracking.
I advocate for a blend of quantitative and qualitative approaches – think of it as a balance between a scorecard and storytelling. Your scorecard should detail your short, medium, and long-term objectives and KPIs, measured against specific timeframes. Define what 'short-term' means in the context of an 18 to 24-month strategy – perhaps it's six to twelve months rather than three to six.
On the storytelling side, collect qualitative feedback that demonstrates the program's effectiveness. This could be insights from sales teams who have discovered new stakeholders through the ABM process, or customer feedback praising specific content that articulated your value proposition clearly.
Combining these detailed qualitative stories with robust quantitative tracking provides a comprehensive view of your ABM program's impact while maintaining stakeholder confidence throughout the campaign. It's about marketing the marketing, so to speak.
How do you ensure clear contracting and alignment between sales and marketing teams in ABM initiatives?
The key to successful sales and marketing collaboration is to work hand in hand throughout the entire journey. It's crucial that this partnership starts right at the beginning of any program—sales should be involved from the initial setup, through scoping and objective setting.
Clear contracting involves having open, honest, and transparent conversations right from the outset. It's about holding each other accountable. Sales should hold marketing accountable, and vice versa, ensuring everyone does what they are committed to.
Regular check-ins are crucial. Whether it's monthly meetings or more formal quarterly business reviews, these regular touch points allow teams to revisit the established roles and responsibilities and assess how well everyone is adhering to them. This regular cadence of communication is vital for keeping the contract clear and on track, allowing both teams to monitor progress and make necessary adjustments.
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The key to successful sales and marketing collaboration is to work hand in hand throughout the entire journey. It's crucial that this partnership starts right at the beginning of any program.
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Account selection is a critical step in ABM, and it's where the collaboration between sales and marketing really comes into play.
How do you approach account selection in ABM, and what role does marketing play in this process?
Account selection is a critical step in ABM, and it's where the collaboration between sales and marketing really comes into play. Some of the most effective ABM campaigns I've seen are those where sales identify an account they want to target and marketing then challenges that choice by asking, "Why this account?"
Marketing plays a crucial role in vetting these selections against the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). For instance, sales might be eager to target a major account because of its prominence, but then marketing checks against the ICP and realises it may not be the right fit based on certain criteria and metrics.
This often poses a cultural challenge within organisations—whether marketing feels empowered and supported by their leadership to assertively communicate, "No, I'm sorry, despite its size, this account doesn't align with where we see success." It's crucial for marketing to feel confident enough to push back when necessary.
When marketing lacks the business support to assert this kind of influence, they end up simply taking orders from sales and, focusing on targets that sales wants to pursue without proper vetting. Unfortunately, this typically leads to unsuccessful campaigns. The key is for marketing to have a seat at the strategic table and be, actively involved in shaping and achieving business strategies, not just generating leads.
About Hotwire Global
Hotwire is a leading global marketing and communications consultancy. They partner with the most innovative technology brands from around the world, providing expert advice and execution that scales and supports their client’s businesses. Specialising in account-based marketing, digital marketing, channel and alliances, public relations, and strategic communications planning, Hotwire offers tailored services that align with the unique challenges and opportunities of its clients. With operations in 11 countries across multiple continents, they weave global experience and local expertise to define, measure, and repeat success across programs that deliver reputation, relationship, revenue and retention.
About 6sense
6sense is on a mission to revolutionise the way B2B organisations create revenue by predicting customers most likely to buy and recommending the best course of action to engage anonymous buying teams. 6sense Revenue AI is the only sales and marketing platform to unlock the ability to create, manage and convert high-quality pipeline to revenue. Customers report 2X increases in average contract value, 4X increases in win rate and 20-40% reduction in time to close deals. Know everything, do anything, with 6sense.
