4 - The ABM Funnel vs. The Person Funnel

Different Strategy. Different Funnel.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) shares some similarities with more traditional Person-Based Marketing, but at the end of the day, it's a very different approach. In this article, we'll compare Full Circle's ABM funnel with the best-practices Person-Based Funnel we use in our Funnel Metrics/Response Management platform.

The Account-Based Marketing Funnel

Full Circle ABM facilitates the tracking and reporting of an Account Funnel for the accounts you're targeting with your ABM strategy. Rather than focusing on prospect as an individual, the ABM funnel focuses on the progress of the entire account, taking into consideration the behavior and likely intent of many key contacts to provide a more holistic picture of the engagement of the business as a whole.

The FCI ABM funnel is driven by the Account Status field. As Opportunities are created, the Account Status field updates to reflect the most advanced funnel stage attained by any engagement taking place under the Account. By using the four ABM Dashboards, your Sales and Marketing teams can track funnel data on all of your targeted accounts, enabling them to precisely tailor their interactions with those accounts to maximize the probability of landing a successful deal.

ABM Funnel Stages

Full Circle divides the ABM funnel into seven stages.

1. Targeted: An account is selected for targeting and flagged accordingly.
2. Detected: A targeted account meets predetermined criteria demonstrating possible intent.
3. Engaged: A targeted account has responded to marketing/sales campaigns.
4. Prioritized: A targeted account has met or exceeded the threshold to be qualified by marketing.
5. Qualified: An Opportunity has been created on a target account.
6. Pipeline: The Opportunity created on the target account has reached the Pipeline stage.
7. Won: The Opportunity has been closed/won. Woohoo!

ABM Funnel Data Model & Architecture

The Person-Based Funnel

Person-based funnels track movement through the funnel at the individual level, rather than the account level. This type of funnel can offer highly detailed insights into how people interact with marketing campaigns on a person-by-person basis.

Like most person-based funnel tracking platforms, Full Circle Funnel Metrics/Response Management is driven by Salesforce Campaign Members. When a Lead or Contact submits a form on a webpage, the marketing automation platform processes that submission and syncs it to Salesforce in the form of a Campaign Member record. Once a prospect meets the platform's predetermined threshold to become a Marketing Qualified Lead, the platform then begins tracking the engagement in a person-based funnel.

Person-Based Funnel Stages

Five stages commonly appear in person-based funnels:

1. Inquiry: A "raised hand" from a lead or contact when a response is inserted into Salesforce.
2. Marketing Qualified Lead: The response has met a predetermined threshold to qualify as a viable marketing lead.
3. Sales Accepted Lead: The response has progressed to a working status, with a member of the sales team engaging the prospect.
4. Sales Qualified Lead: The lead/contact is associated to a new Opportunity.
5. Won: The Opportunity is closed/won. Yahoo!

Which Funnel Should We Use?

Great question! First of all, you don't necessarily have to choose. You can use both at once — and the FCI ABM and Funnel Metrics/Response Management platforms work in tandem seamlessly. Here are some general guidelines:

Track Person-Based Funnels When You:

• Want to track campaign performance in specific detail
• Are looking for greater detail on campaign attribution, i.e. which campaigns are driving revenue, and how much.
• Would like to track multiple campaign touches from prospects across the entire buyer's journey
• Need to see the influence your campaigns had on each Opportunity
• Are prioritizing granularity in your lead/contact reporting

Track ABM Funnels When You:

• Are implementing an ABM strategy (but we bet you knew that one)
• Want to track how whole organizations respond to your campaigns, rather than just individuals
• Would like to initiate funnel progression based on intent provider data from a platform like 6Sense, Bombora, or DemandBase
• Need to track the status and funnel stage for target accounts
• Are prioritizing simplicity in the way you aggregate your data
• Can't track a person-based funnel for any reason (e.g. the way you create Opportunities is not compatible with this kind of funnel)

Remember, ABM and person-based funnels are not mutually exclusive! It's just a matter of deciding when each type of funnel is most helpful.