Marketers now have more options than ever before when it comes to selecting the best Account based marketing agency for their businesses. Although having more options is great, it also means that investing in ABM technology has become much more difficult.

Here are five questions to bear in mind whether you're looking into ABM technologies or just beginning the discussion.

1. Can the Agency Centralize Your Company’s Data?

The challenge of centralizing their multiple existing data sources is one of B2B marketers' biggest problems. Without a standard data model, using all of the data we have at our disposal becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible. A good ABM platform should allow you to access all of your data in one place, including information from your CRM (customer relationship management) system, Marketing Automation System (MAS), advertisement data, and website analytics.

2. Does The Agency Offer Personalized Ads And Websites?

Delivering messages related to a prospect's position in the purchasing process and the company's stage in the sales funnel is one of the main components of a successful account-based marketing strategy. An experienced account-based marketing agency should serve targeted advertising and, if possible, guide your prospects to a personalized website in an ideal ABM campaign.

The value of creating custom content for your target personas is invaluable, but none of that matters if an ABM agency provider doesn't let you customize your ads. Although you can do ABM without personalizing your advertisements and website, the click-through rates associated with generic ads are much lower and can end up costing you more in the long run.

3. What are the Limitations of the ABM agency?

Every ABM vendor is aware of the shortcomings in their product, so it's often easier to inquire about what's missing rather than what's included. Here are a few features that you should consider:

● Contact Level Reporting

● User Targeting through multiple devices

● Persona-based marketing (Customized Advertisement)

● Ads that are tailored to your business needs (Ads with value)

● Integrations with Salesforce, Marketo, Hubspot, and other CRM systems

● Retargeting users with an appropriate strategy

It shouldn't be a deal-breaker if your ABM provider addresses one or two of the above. However, if they've mentioned two or three, you can probably ask them more questions and look at other choices.

4. What's the ROI and Business Impact of ABM Agency?

ABM is all about being hyper-targeted, hyper-personalized, and hyper-effective B2B marketing strategy. While it is true that ABM takes a few months to produce results, the benefits should be substantial.

In the end, your ABM campaign should be closing you bigger deals at a faster pace than conventional lead generation. Your ABM provider should show you how the accounts were affected, who were influenced at those target accounts, and how it influenced the overall closing of the contract.

Since ABM is a comprehensive marketing strategy, it can yield a high return on investment.

5. What Is The Cost Associated With The Plan?

Decision-makers involved in the selection process of an ABM tool must be aware of the potential returns. You may find that an ABM tool's intro-level package makes sense depending on your strategy's maturity level.

Final Thoughts

While it's true that no ABM vendor will have a perfect score, it's critical to ask the questions above before investing a significant amount of money in an ABM program. Of course, if an ABM program is properly implemented, it can yield excellent results. But researching before investing should always be a preliminary approach to eliminate naive mistakes when entering a new industry.