Struggling with ABX Transformation? You’re Not Alone.
Is #b2bmarketing performance really possible right now? I don’t have to tell you that traditional demand generation tactics are getting more expensive and less effective. Lately, I have personally been involved in cutting millions of dollars from a wide variety of demand generation budgets. And what has been surprising to note is that cutting budgets at this level has had minimal impact on current pipeline expectations. Yes, you heard that right. The same amount of pipeline anticipated from those exorbitant “spray and pray” budgets is coming from budgets half or even a quarter of the size.
But cutting back on old school techniques and ineffective spend is only half the battle. To actually see growth, these same companies are implementing a radical customer-driven approach to their entire GTM motion. They’re leveraging ABX as a holistic strategy, not a siloed discipline. According to Forrester, 72% of CMOs say their ABM programs deliver a higher return than any other form of marketing investment. These same CMOs are asking their marketing and sales teams to work together in a coordinated effort to engage the right people in accounts at the right time. They’re focused on relationships, not MQLs. They're leaning heavily into a buyer-centric, end-to-end GTM approach that uses 3rd party data merely as a way to focus on the audience and refine top-of-funnel activities. They’re focusing on engagement as top priority and the resulting 1st party behavioral data to deliver a connected #experience across a transparent multi-touch program designed to expeditiously close high-value accounts and build customer relationships for the longterm.
By now, you’re either saying “Yes, let’s go,” or “There’s no way we can get this done in our organization.” We hear you. There are so many reasons why the best path to B2B marketing success today is still an emerging discipline. It’s a huge transformation not only in strategy, but in mindset, skillset, and operating model. Even after 10+ years of proven success, ABM is still seen as a niche activity more aligned to the field than a core strategy. Traditional ABM practitioners lack the skills to drive required change across the organization and most organizations lack a critical mass of in-house ABM subject matter expertise. So goes the limitations of siloed GTM organizations.
Marketers accustomed to lobbing MQLs over the fence to hungry sales reps, are not used to the level of scrutiny and accountability that comes with sharing ownership of the entire funnel. It’s still easier to play the finger-pointing game than to really focus on what matters. The experience of buyers and influencers in accounts. Plus, the promise of digital technology is still failing us. Most tech stacks were cobbled together in the same siloed fashion meeting the needs of the sales team over here, the webmaster over there, and some centralized demand generation function in charge of email and display advertising. They weren’t designed to create the visibility, agility, and responsiveness needed to operate in a more fluid, buyer-centric way.
Transform or Get Left Behind
For companies to survive and thrive, this shift has to happen and it has to happen fast. But it’s overwhelming. The squeeze on leadership and talent is intense. This is a new model so it makes sense that very few leaders have the experience of bringing multiple disciplines together into a single, unified strategy and operating model. While many CMOs come from the comms, brand, or product marketing world and may lack the experience to foster organization-wide change, they have more multi-disciplinary skills at their disposal. CROs who may have experience running global sales organizations still lack the skill and experience to lead the role of marketing. But somebody has to lead this transformation.
An Exciting Opportunity for CMOs
We believe this is a perfect role for evolved CMOs charged with an aggressive growth agenda, and armed with the right people, tools, and processes. These are the leaders that are thinking beyond demand generation and into the role that all the channels and communications play in building a positive experience of a brand. They have strong collaborative relationships with sales, customer success, product, and the people and culture teams. Marketing has always been as much a process as an event and building multidisciplinary operations that run like clockwork is our jam. It just makes sense that we would take the lead, in partnership with the CRO, but with an expanded role of tuning the end-to-end GTM model to drive lasting, profitable relationships with customers.
So why aren’t more organizations doing this? There are a lot of reasons. Most of them of our own making. According to a Forrester benchmark study, the biggest challenges organizations encounter are all internal including: customization, personalization at scale, measurement, and building relationships with sales.
Whether you’re new to ABX as a strategy, or trying to scale your way to a new model, you most likely need help. And, you’re not alone. We talk to CMOs and their leaders everyday and they all say this is one of the biggest challenges of their career. There is no one-size-fits all solution. You can’t just plug and play technology or take a magic pill. This is a multi-dimensional process of change. Being able to take a step back and develop the right objectives and plan based on your customer and organizational needs, and driving change across the organization is a challenge for even the most savvy marketing and sales leaders. You need a team who has done this before. You need expert support to transform not just your strategy, but your operating model and team dynamic. You need help sunsetting old ways of doing things as you develop new capacities and techniques. You need to drive a new kind of alignment across sales and marketing and streamline everything including your tech stack.
Ready to Get an Edge?
Organization-wide change can feel like a daunting and lonely up-hill battle. That’s where we come in. We’ve been helping B2B brands effectively navigate the journey to a mature ABX-oriented model with our holistic, ready for anything approach curated to the needs of specific organizations. At Infinite Edge, we’re more than consultants—we’re accelerators. We don’t just drop a playbook and leave you to implement it. We’re there with you, shoulder-to-shoulder, transforming your business with bespoke solutions. Our team of senior-level strategists and executors have deep experience in designing, implementing and managing successful ABX programs. We’re the ones to turn to when you need to drive change on an organizational level.
We knock down silos, get in the weeds, and work with you to transform your organization. From digital ecosystem development to omnichannel storytelling to end-to-end execution, our experts are with you every step of the way.
Unlocking Your Organization's Potential Begins With Our Free Assessment
Our ABX Assessment will provide an objective view of the current state of processes, alignment with sales, technology stack, customer journey, and more. With insights from experienced professionals - knowledgeable on the challenges of organizational-wide transformation to ABX - you will gain access to invaluable insights to help you decide what works best for your team. We’ll work with you to determine your ABX maturity and understand the roadmap to true ABX at scale.
Take Your Marketing to the Next Level. Schedule Your Free 30-Minute Needs Assessment
About Us
Infinite Edge is a consultancy of marketing and culture experts that helps companies build trust and navigate today’s rapidly evolving market environment while providing all the marketing services you'd expect from a top-tier integrated agency. Allow us to help you transition your marketing operation from reactive to responsive and develop a roadmap to help you thrive through the coming unknown.
