TechBytes with Susan Borst, VP of Mobile at IAB

How should B2B Marketers work with AdTech platforms to boost ABM outreach?

The key to effective partnerships with AdTech platforms to boost ABM outreach are two-fold:

• First, it goes without saying that you need to know your budget which will help you determine which aspects of ABM you can realistically afford to execute to support your strategy. This also means gauging the time and resources of your team to execute the program with excellence.
• Second, is to do your homework to evaluate the various AdTech options available to deploy ABM activations. There are many platforms to choose from and most exist to simplify and automate many processes in some way shape or form. As the Playbook expounds, often times a combination of MarTech and AdTech solutions are needed with different bundle options available that are designed to achieve different levels of results.  Put the time in to investigate options that meet your goals based on the level of personalization desired (see first point on realistic budget expectations!)

In Account-based everything, what data types (audience, customer, intent) help to create ICP?

The IAB Playbook points out that there are a number of ways to identify an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), but that there are two of particular importance: Closed-Won and Closed-Loss Analyses.

• A Closed-Won Analysis should be conducted using firmographic and technographic data to better understand the types of customers who close. Often, companies market to broad audiences, but after completing the analysis it is common for them to understand that the majority of their business comes from a relatively narrow segment. An example of this analysis could show that software companies with greater than $100M in annual revenue using a particular marketing automation solution are far more likely to close than other segments.
• A Closed-Loss Analysis reviews the same data points as a Closed-Won Analysis, but instead assesses prospects that do not convert to customers.

The Playbook explains that having both of these perspectives helps to get a full picture to create the ICP. This invaluable information can be used to validate propensity models, which predict behavior and can identify potential customers (accounts to target).

How do you differentiate between various data points -Audience, Customer, Intent, Sentiment- and other useful analytics?

Central to understanding various data points is the importance of putting content first. This means having a diverse and ample range of quality content designed with specific targets in mind. This may seem obvious, but it’s often overlooked.  As the Playbook notes, “content should engage with relevance, provide solutions, be compelling, align to the role of the individual plays and map to the specific place in the buyer’s journey. “ Net-net, the content should inspire individuals to either form an impression or to make a decision, depending on where in the funnel that individual resides.  Simply put, all the best data and analytics technology and data-point analytics cannot make up for content that does not move the intended audience.

Customization is key, with sales and marking working in conjunction to understand the objective each specific account is trying to achieve and which messages will be most compelling to various decision makers or buying influencers.

How much have Account-based analytics evolved with the rise of Social Media intelligence and Programmatic advertising?

B2B marketers, on the whole, significantly lag vs. B2C when it comes to digital/mobile ad spend, but we are seeing the tides starting to change as the money follows the eyeballs, and social media and programmatic spend rise.  It’s hard to ignore social media which now represents 31% of all digital ad revenue (FY 2018, IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report) and also programmatic where 86% of native digital display dollars are spent, with the vast majority, 91%,  of that on mobile (eMarketer) .

For B2B ABM on social media, measurement remains a challenge, as is the case for B2C brands, but metrics such as engagement and sentiment can be a benefit for tracking target accounts.  Programmatic can be a great tool to use in that, although it typically casts a wide net to a broad audience, it collects data that can be used to enhance other channels.  Key programmatic ABM tactics to consider include retargeting, programmatic native and even OTT (over-the-top/connected TV- CTV.)  Programmatic considerations include data accuracy, cost for performance, brand safety/viewability and frequency of exposure.

What is the future of Data Analytics for Branded Content Measurement? How could ABM firms disrupt the audience acquisition scenario?

The answer to this really depends on where and how the content is distributed (e.g., paid/owned/earned/syndicated.)  I think the key to an ABM firm’s disruption in the audience acquisition scenario will be a a focus on digital, and specifically on mobile, because that’s where the audience is.  Here, the use of Machine Learning/AI and predictive analytics can make a real difference for targeting and messaging. I’m talking about A/B testing of headlines/images/calls-to-action with asset based, dynamic creative and monitoring of key social media engagement metrics such time spent and comments.

How can marketers leverage your Playbook to understand Intent data and digital signals to obtain true identity resolution?

While ABM is not new, we know that B2B marketers both large and small still have many questions. The IAB Playbook provides general guidance to marketers seeking to employ an ABM strategy and encourages both digital and non-digital touch-points to grow business.  For success with ABM, marketers must embrace true marketing sales alignment and orchestration, consider ABM as a complimentary marketing approach, and use patience and discipline to understand what works with a pre-defined ABM strategy and optimal audience identification.

What are your predictions about Personalized ABM transforming businesses in the next 3 years? 

• We will continue to see growth and adoption of ABM to the point where all B2B marketing will employ this strategy in some way.
• Machine learning and AI technology will be at the forefront of ABM effectiveness, enabling more efficient outcomes when it comes to targeting, content creation and distribution, plus new ways to think about scaling ABM efforts.

B2B will step up digital spend to be more in line with B2C spend where consumers, including key ABM targets, spend 71% of their time per Comscore.