Tip 3: Align your martech and ABM strategies
Unlock martech and ABM synergies
Literally every week there are new innovations. Just look at generative AI. There's more changing than you can ever keep track of.
Martech strategies should be closely aligned with ABM strategies. Momentum ITSMA’s Guy Phillips explains: “What are your more typical go-to-market tactics? Are you more likely to be doing paid activity, earned activity, or owned activity? Of course, you could be doing all three of those things and more, in which case you need to start looking at a more sophisticated martech stack.”
Keeping ABM and martech strategies in parallel will, in theory, keep rogue purchases and the so-called "shadow IT" (using tools without IT’s knowledge or input) issue at bay. "Every time I talk to marketers, they feel frustrated about trying to keep up with technology," says Brinker.
He says marketers must determine what is feasible for their organizations and avoid ‘shiny object syndrome’ – getting distracted by the latest new toy. "Literally every week there are new innovations. Just look at what’s happening around generative AI at the moment. There’s more changing than you can ever keep track of."
Marketers should also be wary of selecting products or platforms based on recommendations from other parts of the business and/or external consultants unless they have a deep and intricate knowledge of the environment. Remember: context is key. Matt Hogan, VP of Growth Marketing at HG Insights, a technology intelligence platform, recommends trialling products and focusing on platforms that have an innovative roadmap and offer flexibility. Mitigating implementation challenges and avoid vendor lock-in is key, though thankfully the latter is less and less common.
There are so many variables that affect the efficacy of your ABM program that there’s no shortcut to selecting the right tools. At the most basic level, you need to know what your ABM strategy is, what tech the organization already has, how technically literate the team is, and how much budget is available. Is IT or marketing operations available to support?
Marketers may be able to select vendors based on market share or where they rank in the latest management consultancy-backed quadrant, but it won’t be enough. "The clearer vision you have of what’s important to your company and what your requirements are, the more effective you will be in making your selections and making sure that you’re not letting the vendor drive the process. That’s key," says Brinker.