Account-Based Marketing (ABM) has quickly become an essential strategy for many B2B businesses, allowing them to focus their marketing and sales efforts on high-value accounts via personalized and targeted campaigns. However, while the benefits of ABM are clear, many businesses struggle with how to effectively track and measure the performance of their ABM initiatives. Understanding which metrics to monitor is essential for optimizing campaigns and demonstrating the impact of ABM on the bottom line. Unsure of where to start? This article explores ten key ABM metrics that B2B companies should consider tracking to ensure their campaigns’ success.

What are ABM metrics?

ABM metrics are measurements used to track the success of ABM strategies. Unlike traditional marketing metrics that track the likes of bounce rates and clicks, ABM metrics focus on the engagement and progression of target accounts through the sales funnel. 

The importance of ABM for businesses lies mainly in its ability to create personalised marketing efforts that align sales and marketing teams, driving higher conversion rates and building genuine relationships with prospective customers. By tracking ABM metrics, businesses can ensure that all marketing efforts target the right people at the right time in the buyer journey, resulting in a higher return on investment.

Essential ABM metrics to track

The primary ABM metrics to track will vary based on the type of business you’re running, clientele, goals and the chosen methods of marketing. Below, we’ve listed ten different metrics to choose from.

Account Engagement Score

Account Engagement Score is a metric for measuring how well target accounts interact with your content and campaigns, typically including engagement signals such as website visits, content downloads, email opens, and social media interactions. By monitoring this ABM metric, marketers can identify which accounts are most interested and engaged in the content, allowing for improved nurturing efforts. It also reflects which marketing channels are the most effective for your audience and the information they’re most interested in, ensuring resources and investments are put into the right areas.

Close Rate

Close rate is the percentage of target accounts that convert into customers, providing data-backed insight into the effectiveness of ABM strategies in closing deals. A higher close rate suggests that ABM efforts are engaging the target audiences successfully, leading to more conversions and interactions. A lower conversion rate, on the other hand, would signal that changes may need to be made to the strategy, or a deeper understanding of the target audience’s buyer journey is needed to engage them effectively.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) measures the total revenue a business can expect from a single account throughout their relationship. For B2B companies, focusing on CLV highlights the long-term impact of ABM strategies and customer engagement. A higher CLV suggests that ABM efforts are not only acquiring high-value customers but also building genuine, lasting relationships with clients that enable sustained revenue and pipeline growth.

Pipeline Generated

An important ABM metric to evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns is tracking the amount of pipeline generated, which assists in understanding how well these strategies are working to create new revenue opportunities. This metric measures the total value of sales opportunities that have entered the pipeline as a direct result of ABM efforts. By monitoring pipeline generation, marketers can assess how well their strategies are converting target accounts into genuine conversions. Tracking pipeline provides valuable insights into the early stages of the sales process, helping to ensure that marketing activities are contributing to a continuously growing sales pipeline.

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) calculates the total cost of acquiring a new customer through ABM campaigns, helping marketers assess the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of their strategies. By tracking CPA, marketers can refine their targeting and engagement tactics to reduce acquisition costs while maintaining or increasing conversion rates, which is key when making the most out of a marketing budget.

Pipeline Velocity

Pipeline velocity measures the speed at which accounts move through the sales pipeline from initial engagement to closed deals, helping to identify inefficiencies in the sales process. For sales teams, a faster pipeline velocity reflects that ABM efforts are effectively accelerating the buyer’s journey, leading to quicker conversions and revenue generation. Keeping track of this ABM metric ensures that marketing and sales strategies are aligned to continually streamline processes.

Account Coverage

Account coverage refers to the extent of your engagement with key decision-makers and influencers within a target account, tracking the number of contacts engaged and their respective roles. This ensures that ABM strategies are effectively reaching the right stakeholders within target accounts, which in turn increases the likelihood of conversion. Higher account coverage reflects a greater reach into target accounts, making this ABM metric essential for understanding the impact of your strategy within key accounts.

Account Retention Rate

Account retention rate measures the percentage of target accounts that continue as customers over a specific period, providing a clear indicator of the long-term effectiveness of ABM initiatives. A high retention rate signifies that ABM efforts are not only successful in attracting high-value accounts but also in delivering ongoing value that maintains their engagement and loyalty. This ABM metric underscores the critical importance of sustained customer satisfaction and the ability of your ABM strategy to foster long-term relationships with key accounts.

Tracking Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)

MQLs are leads that have met specific criteria that prove their readiness for sales engagement, helping sales and marketing teams align on which leads to prioritize. Tracking the number of MQLs generated by ABM campaigns ensures that all efforts are focused on leads with the highest potential for conversion rather than those who require significant nurturing through the sales funnel. This ABM metric is essential for improving the handoff between marketing and sales, as well as ensuring that resources are directed toward the most promising opportunities rather than cold leads.

Churn Rate

Churn rate measures the percentage of customers who discontinue their relationship with your company over a specific period. This is essential for understanding the effectiveness of your ABM strategies in retaining high-value accounts, rather than just initial success. A high churn rate indicates potential issues with customer satisfaction or engagement, whereas a low churn rate reflects success. By closely monitoring churn rate, marketers can identify patterns and implement strategies to improve retention, ensuring that the benefits of ABM efforts are extended over the long term. 

Effectively tracking ABM metrics is essential for the success of any sales and marketing strategy. By focusing on the ten key metrics listed above, businesses can gain valuable insights into the performance of their ABM campaigns, helping optimise current strategies and making data-driven decisions that enable long-term growth and profitability.

Partnering with experts can make all the difference when it comes to harnessing the power of ABM. At Operatix, we specialize in marketing and sales development services that drive targeted account engagement and conversion. Our experienced team can help you implement and track effective ABM strategies tailored to your business needs. Reach out to the team at Operatix today to discover how we can help you achieve your sales and marketing goals.