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ABM Insight Report reveals sales and marketing leaders struggle to be data driven

Clive Armitage

June 15, 2017

We have a mission to change this situation for our customers; we want them to get to a place where ABM stakeholders have the right data at all stages of the buying cycle... Stakeholders should be empowered with data on where to direct budgets, the right person to target, the right channel to communicate and with the right message to drive sales leads and increase growth.

We spend our days working with customers who recognize that data drives success in modern sales and marketing, particularly in Account Based Marketing (ABM) campaigns, however, many customers and prospects still find resistance to move to data driven approaches, mostly because of a lack of skills,bandwidth and organizational structures.

The ABM Insight Report explores common challenges with ABM, existing gaps in the data and processes that are available today and outlines key guidance and recommendations from ABM experts. We surveyed 400 sales and marketing professionals and while many companies trumpet the importance of being data driven, startlingly, 92% of respondents feel the data available to them today is subpar and 64% of respondents rely more often on personal instincts and existing relationships for identifying leads rather than relying on data and evidence. Some other interesting findings include:

  • 62% of sales and marketing people identify prospects through their own research rather than incorporating a specific tool for data
  • 77% of respondents agree they’re drowning in information, but struggle to achieve insight
  • 94% of sales and marketing people polled agree campaigns build on great insights deliver better ROI; but half of all decisions (50%) are still based on instinct
  • 84% of respondents have regretted a decision they’ve made based on instinct

The research confirms that people are still largely working off hunches or dealing with data that goes only as far as their own desk. It tells us that too many sales and marketing professionals are still led by instinct rather than insight, and this is having a negative impact on demand generation efficiency across the entire funnel for most organizations. We have a mission to change this situation for our customers; we want them to get to a place where ABM stakeholders have the right data at all stages of the buying cycle – particularly at the early stage. Stakeholders should be empowered with data on where to direct budgets, the right person to target, the right channel to communicate and with the right message to drive sales leads and increase growth.

Many of the customers featured in the report have come to us because they are looking to make the shift towards an insight-led approach to ABM and, ultimately, help drive a bigger, more qualified pipeline that is quicker to close. What is clear from the report though is that, for many companies, being data led in their decision making for sales and marketing is still an aspiration; they may see the benefit but they remain some way from making the shift. If you believe you are in this situation then get in touch; we’d love to help you make the transition to data driven sales and marketing and, in the process, start to drive increased pipeline velocity for your business.

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