Think you’re ready to invest in an ABM Platform?

There’s a LOT of noise out there and the evaluation process can be cumbersome. It’s pivotal to ensure you’re asking the right questions during the evaluation process to identify the best solution for your go-to-market (GTM).

Before you even start evaluating vendors, it’s imperative that you define the primary objectives you’re looking to get out of the investment. Based on the gaps in your existing technology (tech) stack and ability to execute upon your ABM framework, there will be specific things that you’ll want a platform to augment.

Start the evaluation process by internally answering these questions:

• Is there a dedicated ABM practitioner who will own the program(s)?
• Have you implemented either the Growth ABM or Enterprise ABM framework using your existing tech stack?
• Are your current reporting capabilities able to surface account-based attribution metrics and insights?
• How well-aligned are your sales and marketing functions currently?
• Which cross-functional teams will be utilizing the capabilities of your ABM platform?
• What pain points do you hope to solve for on the marketing side?
• Sales side?
• Customer success?
• Which pain points are common across all disciplines?

When Should I Invest in an ABM Platform?

The answer is, it depends.

If you’re looking for a silver bullet to magically propel your efforts into a world-class ABM function you’re looking in the wrong direction.

ABM platforms don’t make or break your program, your ABM framework does.

Here is a quick litmus test to help clarify whether you’re ready to make this investment.

❌ You shouldn’t if:

1. You don’t have a dedicated practitioner who will own the program.
2. You don’t have a strong internal ABM foundation, such as the Growth ABM or Enterprise ABM frameworks.
3. Your cross-functional GTM teams (marketing, sales, customer success) aren’t aligned and enabled on your ABM goals.
4. You plan on simply running paid ads and calling it “ABM”.
5. You hold the expectations that your platform will be fully operational in 2-months (it typically takes 6-months to fully ramp).
6. You’re hoping that intent data will save your poorly built ABM target account list.

✅ You should if:

1. You’ve identified that an ABM platform can augment your existing Growth ABM or Enterprise ABM framework.
2. You’d like to layer intent data as an additional signal to help uncover accounts that are engaging through 3rd party sites, or deanonymize web traffic on your website. 
3. You have exhausted all internal efforts or lack the resources to build an in-house ABM reporting dashboard that measures account-based attribution.
4. You understand the investment of social capital and that will be required to set up the platform properly (RevOps) and articulate tangible impact so that you can enable teams on the data (sales and customer success).

If you meet the criteria listed above, you’re ready to invest.

Here are the Top 10 Essentials for Evaluating ABM Platform Vendors

TL;DR

1. True ABM? Or a tool that supports ABM…
2. Understanding Platform Capabilities
3. Data
4. Education Process
5. Onboarding
6. Support & Success
7. Security
8. Claimed Differentiators
9. Company Details
10. Investment / Cost

1. True ABM? Or a tool that supports ABM…

Beware… there are several “platforms” and CRM add-ons that have sprung up in the market that may perform certain functions relevant to your ABM strategy, but aren’t *actually* an ABM platform. It’s critical to ask clarifying questions in your evaluation process to highlight this differentiation to ensure that you’re getting exactly what you’re looking for.

🤔 Considerations:

• Is the platform limited to only running ads to a target account list?
• What do the reporting capabilities look like? If any?
• Are you able to report out on account and contact-level engagement?
• Does the platform surface intent and signal data?

2. Understanding Platform Capabilities

With your specific use-cases in mind, these questions will draw a line in the sand regarding non-negotiable functions. Use the categories and suggested questions below to hone in on your ideal ABM partner. 

🎯 Targeting:

• What type of targeting is possible?
• Is targeting a self-service function or can I only make requests?
• If I need help with targeting, what is available to me?
• Where does targeting data come from?

📲 Multi-Channel Functionality:

• Which channels are available in-platform?
• Where can I place ads?
• How many networks are available?
• Do I have access to a media buying platform?

📊 Reporting:

• Does this replace or supplement other reporting sources?
• How will these reports make us better?

🔌 Integrations:

• Consider current and potential future integrations that your organization will need. ABM platforms often integrate with Salesforce, Pardot, Marketo, HubSpot, Eloqua, Crossbeam, Linkedin, Bombora, Outreach, Salesloft, Microsoft Dynamics, and more.
• Which Integrations matter most to you?
• Which tools are you using to conduct business?
• Is there an open API environment?
• Is the platform adding additional integrations or do they prefer to limit connections?

🤖 AI Integrations:

• How much does the tool do for me vs. stuff I have to work to create?
• How well can the platform periodically identify intent to help guide our cross-selling and upselling activity in existing accounts, and align marketing, sales and other business groups on the larger go-to-account strategy?
• Does the platform have any upper limit cap for setting up topics specific to accounts or a cohort of accounts?

🚗 Data:

At their core, ABM platforms are software-as-a-service (SaaS) products. The more advanced platforms will be driven by data, and the way a platform handles this data matters. Considering that you’ll be using the data that is housed, mined, and utilized to identify buyers, you’ll want to know how it’s sourced and maintained. 

Yes, you’ll want to ensure that you’re accessing current and accurate data. It’s imperative to confirm that it’s gathered legally, compliantly, and ethically.

🤔 Considerations:

• How is it sourced/managed/updated/enriched?
• Is it collected legally? Compliantly? Ethically?
• Is your organization concerned with GDPR or other data compliance regulations?
• Describe your quality assurance (QA) program and how it influences data quality and reliability.
• First party data vs. third party data - which types of data make up the dataset, and how do they work together?
• How is the solution accounting for the departure of the cookie?
• Is there access to data models outside of the tool?

4. Education Process

Choosing a vendor is a huge decision, but signing a contract is only the beginning. The best vendors will provide you with resources to learn the ins and outs of the tool.

🤔 Considerations:

• How will I best learn about your product?
• Is there a library of videos/blogs/webinars/demos?
• Is there a client sandbox?
• Do you offer free trials?
• How will you help me learn more about ABM strategy?

5. Onboarding

Onboarding and product education may feel like the same thing, but learning about a solution’s features is not the same as learning how to put those features to use inside your organization. And nothing brings on buyers’ remorse faster than a lacklust onboarding process. Include

questions along these lines in your evaluation process. Better yet, ask to speak with some recently-onboarded customers of the platform to get a candid view of the latest onboarding experience.

🤔 Considerations:

• How long does the onboarding process take?
• What types of resources are at my disposal?
• Data audit cleanup?
• On-site visit required? Ever?
• Any costs associated with onboarding?
• Outside software or browser extensions to use the tool properly?
• What do I need to do before onboarding?
• What technology or hardware will I need to make full use of your tool?
• Is it productive “out of the box” or does it need something else?
• What roles are recommended to be most involved in using your tool?
• Which baseline metrics are most important at implementation?
• I already have a target list. How do I use it in the platform?

6. Support & Success

You will have times when you hit a roadblock and you need help. At other times, you’ll think things are going along smoothly, and may benefit from a customer success manager who can help optimize your program even further. Both are critical to your success. 

🛠️ Support:

• Self serve help center? Or people I can talk to?
• Is there a phone number that’s answered 24/7?
• What if I forget my password?
• Ongoing “how are we doing” support?

📈 Success:

• Designated and assigned customer success manager?
• Professional services?
• Possibility for regular check-ins with data scientists?
• Tactical Execution?
• Program Management?
• Strategy Consulting?

7. Security

Any platform that doesn’t have robust answers to security questions below should be avoided like the plague. If you don’t want to deal with the embarrassment, downtime, and loss of trust caused by a security breach, look closely at a platform’s practices and posture. 

Compliance is a good measure, but compliance alone is not enough. If an ABM partner has trouble sharing much about their security posture beyond audit reports, you may find a lackadaisical approach to security is the culprit. Asking more questions is a must.

🕵️‍♀️ Posture:

• Information security policy?
• Independent security report? (Audit report)
• Timeline of data breaches/responses
• Do you have a data privacy officer?
• Is the tool GDPR / CCPA compliant?
• Possibility for SSO
• Is it SOC2 Type 2 compliant?

📝 Practices:

• Split user rights for various platform users?
• Audit reports, penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, bug bounties, etc.
• Password policy
• MFA
• What happens to my data when I’m no longer a customer?

8. Claimed Differentiators

Whether it’s a person or a buying group making the ultimate decision, learning as much as you can about the competitive ABM platform landscape is crucial. One terrific source for competitive intel is to ask each platform about their competitors. Each ABM solution should have a talk track that shows areas of strength or weakness relative to competitors. Do not be bashful about asking pointed questions. If you’ve begun to narrow your choices, share the short list and ask for choosing (or avoiding) named platforms.

Use these questions to get you started, but take some time to craft these questions. As specific as your needs and challenges are, the reps you speak with should be able to tell you if their solution is the right one for you. 

🤔 Considerations:

• What makes a service unique/valuable?
• Which features will directly address our pain points?
• Why should I choose you over your top three competitors?

9. Company Details

You will be making a considerable investment in your ABM partner. In terms of dollars, people-hours, and energy, much will be spent. Your demo-request process, the holistic sales process and communities (like ForgeX’s) are the best way to understand each individual provider. There may be details about the company that push you to a go/no-go decision. Get those answers early to avoid surprises later.

🤔 Considerations:

• Customer access to the Leadership team?
• Are the people you will be working with directly collaborative and responsive?
• Recent trends/changes?
• How has the product roadmap changed in the last 18 months and what’s the plan from here?
• Will future product updates always be backwards compatible?
• How much budget/attention is given to R&D?
• Will upcoming legislative or regulatory changes make any part of your service less valuable or even obsolete? How is that being addressed proactively today?
• What is the forwarding thinking mentality? Are they staying current with trends?

10. Investment / Cost

A price quote doesn’t always tell the whole story. And since contract terms can require a magnifying glass, a thesaurus, and a good friend, an evaluation / demo-request process provides a chance to ask about the terms that come along with the contract you may sign. Want to know if you have recourse in the event that you’re not pleased with the partnership? Ask questions that give you a clear idea of expectations, and use the answers as a basis for negotiating anything that gives you pause. 

*Note: Be weary of 2-year contracts, this has become an alarming trend from some of the top providers.

🤔 Considerations:

• Is my price locked? Can it increase without my approval?
• How will I know when it’s working?
• How will I measure ROI?
• How is buyer’s remorse handled? Can I cancel any time?
• Fixed vs. variable pricing for display ad spend

Conclusion

The evaluation process can seem daunting, but the outcomes are critical. 

Remember, the effectiveness of an ABM platform is contingent upon a well-established ABM framework and not the other way around. Therefore, prioritize your internal alignment, evaluate your needs against the capabilities of potential platforms thoroughly, and invest in a solution that truly complements and enhances your go-to-market strategy.

Framework first, technology second → always.