ABM Observations and Learnings from 2022’s B2B Marketing Exchange
After attending the B2B Marketing Exchange (B2BMX) in Scottsdale — the first in-person event I’ve been to in two years — I gained valuable insights into the evolution of account-based marketing (ABM). The event offered a great opportunity to reflect on how much ABM has evolved in the past couple of years. Whether it’s 1:1, 1:Few, or 1:Many strategies, ABM is clearly here to stay and is proving to be an effective method for driving real revenue growth by focusing marketing and sales efforts on targeted accounts.
At B2BMX, I had the chance to learn from leaders at companies like ServiceNow, Google Cloud, Snowflake, and Talkdesk, as they shared how they’ve successfully implemented ABM strategies. While the tools and systems varied, two essential factors stood out across all their approaches — insight and teaming — which are key to ABM success.
ABM Foundational Requirement #1: Insight — The Key to Performance
The first essential element for ABM success is high-quality data. Across all the teams, data was the cornerstone of their strategy. It drives everything: content creation, outreach, targeting, and messaging. The better the data, the more effective the strategy.
Today, ABM teams rely not just on basic firmographic, technographic, and demographic data to keep their lists up to date, but on understanding their audience’s behaviors — particularly their intent signals. The focus is on tracking how accounts behave, whether it’s through external market signals or interactions with their own marketing and sales efforts. This is where the power of intent data comes in.
For example, ServiceNow’s ABM team uses a strategy called “Imperative-Based Messaging,” which is all about understanding what their target accounts need to accomplish in the next 12-18 months. This insight then informs the content that clearly explains how ServiceNow can help. It’s all about delivering personalized, relevant messages at the right time, ensuring that the entire team is aligned to support those goals. Without high-quality data, this level of personalization and customer experience wouldn’t be possible.
ABM Foundational Requirement #2: Teaming — Collaboration Across the Entire GTM Team
The second factor driving ABM success is how well ABM teams collaborate with the rest of the go-to-market (GTM) organization. A key takeaway from the event was how ABM teams aren’t just executing a strategy in isolation but working seamlessly across all parts of the GTM ecosystem.
Take Talkdesk’s approach, for instance. In a session led by Mervyn Alamgir, he highlighted the importance of ABM teams understanding their role in supporting sales and driving short-term revenue. They need to ensure that their efforts complement the work of other GTM teams, like sales and customer success. For Talkdesk, this involved using intent data to fuel sales efforts immediately, making sure that ABM wasn’t just a long-term play but also delivered short-term wins.
Barry Vasudevan from Forrester further emphasized that ABM success relies on the enablement of other GTM teams. It’s no longer just about aligning marketing and sales; it’s about ABM teams working to empower others across the organization. By interpreting data and guiding the GTM team on where to focus, ABM teams become the “brain” that helps direct the “muscle” of sales, marketing, and other departments.
People and Processes Over Technology
Finally, a critical point that emerged from the event was the importance of people and processes before technology. In my early career, especially at large organizations, I often thought technology was the key to faster progress. But over time, I’ve learned that getting the right processes and team alignment in place is far more important than adding more tools to the mix.
Many teams get caught up in the excitement of the latest marketing trends or the latest software, only to realize that it distracts from the bigger picture. In ABM, success comes from having the right people and processes working together, not just having the latest technology. Tech can play a role, but it’s the collaboration and insight that matter most.
In summary, the lessons from B2BMX reaffirm that ABM’s success comes down to two foundational requirements: quality data that delivers actionable insights, and a collaborative, cross-functional approach that ties everything together. The teams leading the charge have moved beyond just implementing ABM tactics—they’ve created well-oiled machines that deliver real, measurable results.
