Email marketing has become a powerful tool for businesses to reach out to customers. The challenge lies in creating relevant messages that resonate with each individual customer, which requires a lot of manual labour and time. ABM software helps marketers automate these processes and save valuable resources.
ABM allows companies to identify groups of individuals who share similar characteristics. By targeting these segments, marketers can send customised messages that appeal to them directly.
There are many different types of account-based marketing platforms, each with its own purpose. Some ABM platforms are better suited for certain tasks than others. In this blog post, we will compare 5 of the best.
The rise of account-based marketing
In the early days of digital marketing, many companies focused on acquiring leads and converting prospects into paying customers. But over the past few years, we’ve seen the rise of account-based marketing. This shift is due to several factors, including:
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More people buying online
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Customer expectations rising
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Companies realise that there is no one size fits all approach to generating revenue
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Marketers understand that marketing isn’t just about getting traffic anymore -it’s about helping customers achieve their goals
As a result, today’s marketers are focusing less on lead generation and conversion, and more on nurturing accounts and building long-term value.
And while some organisations still use traditional methods such as advertising and email blasts, most companies are embracing account-based marketing as a B2B marketing strategy because it helps them reach their goals faster.
Comparing 5 ABM software solutions
One key component of ABM is the use of specialised software to manage and automate the process. This software helps marketers identify and prioritise target accounts, create personalised content and messaging, and track the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Let’s look at 5 ABM software solutions and compare their strong points, where they are less effective, and their price.
HubSpot ABM Software
Source: HubSpot
HubSpot’s ABM software allows marketers to build a custom audience management system. You can use it to create an ideal customer profile, called an ICP, which will help HubSpot automatically tie together data about customers into one place.
This ICP will help HubSpot automatically tier prospects based on whether they are likely to buy from you. For example, you could set up a rule that says, "If someone hasn't bought from us within the last six months, we'll send them a reminder email."
You can also import a spreadsheet of your targets into HubSpot. This way, you can see what products they've purchased in the past and what campaigns you've run against them.
The software helps you identify challenges in your prospecting efforts. So you can personalise specific messaging to appeal to each account.
Advantages:
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Fully integrates with HubSpot CRM
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Wide breadth of functionalities
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Intuitive to use - A crucial aspect in any software application
What could be better:
- It doesn’t come as an ABM-only solution, but as part of an entire CRM Hub
Price: HubSpot’s marketing Hub offers 3 price plans, starting at £38 monthly.
6sense
6sense is an Account Engagements Platform based on AI where you can grow your pipeline and revenue with an end-to-end account-based platform designed for your entire go-to-market team.
The platform brings marketing, sales, and operations teams together to identify high-value accounts and contacts to work with and the areas they care most about.
In addition to that, the insights, intent and AI-driven capabilities power your target market.
Therefore, you can create consistent, relevant, and personalised experiences for the customer journey, from first touch to renewal and cross-selling.
Moreover, you can strengthen sales with account insights and measure results with detailed reports and analytics.
Advantages:
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Offers impressive intent insights on prospects due to elaborate AI technology
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Notifies you when a prospect is active on your website
What could be better:
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Likely an expensive solution
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Onboarding can take some time, and usability could still be improved
Price: 6sense are not transparent about their prices and require you to speak to a sales rep first, but this is likely to be a very expensive solution.
Pipedrive
Pipedrive's CRM is built specifically for ABM. This means it focuses on the most important thing - getting you closer to your customers. You don't waste time chasing down leads that aren't worth pursuing. Instead, you focus your energy on leads that make sense for your business and are more likely to buy.
With Pipedrive, you see ten steps ahead and know what to do next. You won't miss anything because every lead gets automatically assigned to one of your team members, and you're free to use the tool as it works best for you. Whether you prefer email, phone calls, or social media, Pipedrive makes sure you never lose track of your conversations.
You can even automate common tasks like follow-up emails and scheduling meetings.
Advantages:
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It’s one of the cheaper ABM software solutions
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Simple onboarding and organisation
What could be better:
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It has a smaller range of functionalities than other ABM software
Price: They offer 3 price plans, starting from £14.90 a month
Marketo
Marketo's account-based marketing solution includes a range of features and tools designed to help businesses identify and target their ideal accounts, create personalised and engaging marketing campaigns, and measure the success of their efforts.
One of the key features of Marketo's ABM marketing solution is its ability to identify and target specific accounts. The platform uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to analyse customer data and identify potential accounts that are most likely to engage with the business.
Another feature of Marketo's account-based marketing solution is its ability to create personalised marketing campaigns. The platform offers a range of customizable templates and tools that allow businesses to create tailored marketing messages that are relevant to each individual account.
In addition, Marketo's ABM solution includes tools for tracking and measuring the success of marketing campaigns. The platform provides detailed analytics and reporting features that allow businesses to see how their campaigns are performing, and make adjustments to improve their results.
Advantages:
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Highly customisable
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Fully integrates with the Marketo CRM
What could be better:
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When it comes to analytics and reporting features, Marketo struggles to keep up with its competitors
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Likely an expensive solution
Price: Marketo are not transparent about their prices and require you to speak to a sales rep first. However, according to their website, they offer 4 different price tiers.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that provides businesses with insights into the performance of their website. While it’s not specifically designed as an account-based marketing solution, it can be used to support and enhance an account-based marketing strategy.
One way that Google Analytics can be used in an ABM context is by providing insights into the behaviour of specific accounts on a business's website, the performance of personalised marketing campaigns, and the overall effectiveness of your ABM strategy.
The platform allows you to create custom segments based on different account-level criteria, such as company size or industry. This way you can see how different accounts are interacting with their website, and identify any areas where they may be losing engagement or conversions.
By measuring key metrics such as website traffic and conversion rates, you can see which campaigns are most effective at engaging their target accounts, and make adjustments to improve their performance.
Tracking other key metrics such as customer lifetime value and customer acquisition costs can help you see the return on investment of their marketing efforts.
Overall, while Google Analytics is not specifically designed as an ABM solution, it can provide valuable insights and support for businesses that are implementing an account-based marketing strategy.
Advantages:
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You’re probably already using it, so it will take less time to set up
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Allows you to gain detailed insights into prospect behaviour due to its elaborate analytical functionalities
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It has a free version
What could be better:
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Not a specific ABM tool, so it has a smaller variety of key ABM features
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Not GDPR compliant, so you will have to gain explicit consent from website users to allow tracking
Price: The standard version is free, the premium version costs $150,000 per year
Which ABM software is right for me?
Overall, ABM software helps B2B marketers implement a more effective and personalised approach to marketing. By making it easier to target and engage with specific accounts, ABM software can help drive higher conversions and better ROI.
All of the software we compare in this blog post are powerful ABM solutions with the ability to drive marketing success and ROI.
As an Elite HubSpot Partner, we can offer you guidance and account-based marketing consulting, specifically using HubSpot ABM software. Contact our team to learn more.
