Trends Report

Marketing Automation And ABM Technologies Are Converging — Will You Need To Pick A Side?

December 16th, 2020
Steven Casey, VP, Research Director
Steven Casey VP, Research Director
Lori Wizdo, null
Lori Wizdo
With contributors:
Caroline Robertson , Jennifer Zhang , Miriam ElKorchi

Summary

B2B marketers who make technology investment decisions need to account for the accelerating convergence of their demand-generation and account-based marketing (ABM) practices and tools. Read this research to understand why this technology convergence is now possible, where marketers are placing their bets today, and what they want to see from their existing suppliers to make it happen. This nascent convergence will break down the uneasy détente between marketing automation platforms (MAPs) and ABM platforms (ABMPs), with both sides now openly battling for supremacy in the B2B martech stack. According to Forrester's Q3 2020 Global B2B Marketing Tech Tide™ Survey, more than a quarter of MAP users say they see no need to add an ABM platform, but nearly half of all ABM platform users are open to consolidating on that solution (and ditching their MAP) within three years. Both camps will demand a range of new functionality from their vendors to provide a single, robust platform that enables marketers to engage teams of business buyers throughout intricate decision-making processes. Future-forward marketers already evaluating their options can schedule inquiries with us. Lori Wizdo is the best resource for a marketing-automation perspective, and Steve Casey is your guy on the ABM side.

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