Weekly ABM/ABX Insights - The AI-driven Sales Landscape

11st Edition, Published in Sept 23, 2024

The future of go-to-market is undeniably AI-powered. But what does this mean for your ABM and ABX strategies?

This week, our newsletter focuses on the latest trends and developments in the AI-driven sales landscape, examining how these innovations are revolutionizing ABX. Join us as we unpack the implications of AI for the future of account-based marketing and sales. 

Industry News & Research 

HubSpot's Breeze AI Revolutionizes ABX and Smart CRM

At the recently concluded INBOUND 2024 event, HubSpot introduces Breeze.ai, which could optimize your ABX strategies by automating manual tasks like prospecting, content creation, and customer interactions. New features like the Social Agent, Content Agent, Prospecting Agent, and Customer Agent empower teams to engage key accounts with personalized, data-driven insights. Read more

HubSpot Unveils Breeze Intelligence: A Game Changer for ABM

Breeze Intelligence is a powerful AI tool that enhances ABM by enriching data and identifying buyer intent across 20 million company profiles. It simplifies lead qualification, helping teams target high-intent accounts and drive conversion with detailed demographic and technographic insights. This new tool is designed to streamline account targeting and boost ABM results. Read more

Salesforce Expands Data Cloud Capabilities - A Powerful Enabler for Future ABX

Salesforce enhances Data Cloud to support more unstructured data and integration with tools like Stripe and Splunk. This can enhance ABM strategies by processing unstructured data (e.g., calls, emails) for deeper personalization, enabling real-time insights through AI (Agentforce), and integrating third-party systems for unified account data. This boosts account engagement and optimizes next-best actions for ABM teams. Read more

B2B Marketing Industry Trends in 2024 [by MarTech]

B2B marketing is evolving rapidly with five key trends shaping the landscape. Gen X and Y buyers prefer a digital-first experience, pushing marketers to automate complex sales processes and reduce reliance on sales reps. Ecommerce is expanding across the buying process, enabling seamless transactions through mobile and AI tools. Marketers are playing a larger role in customer retention, using data to drive upsells and cross-sells. Read more

ABX Insights

The Next Era of Sales AI and Its Implication to ABX (2025)

The future of Sales AI is here, with GTM teams gaining access to smarter AI tools that automate workflows and improve account engagement. This report highlights the top 75 Sales AI tools, offering practical insights for ABX teams on leveraging AI for more effective account targeting and personalized messaging. Explore the full report  

Key Insights: 

• Trends in Sales AI

  • Market Overlap: Many Sales AI tools offer similar capabilities, leading to a crowded marketplace. Common applications include lead scoring, data enrichment, and conversational AI.

  • Incumbents vs. Startups: Established players like Salesforce and HubSpot are integrating AI into their products, while numerous startups are emerging to tackle similar challenges. The competitive landscape is dynamic.

  • Cost Considerations: The pricing for AI solutions is evolving, with discussions around usage-based models versus traditional subscriptions. Experimentation with pricing strategies will be crucial as the market matures.

  • Buyer Skepticism: There is notable resistance from buyers regarding GenAI solutions, driven by concerns over data security, ownership, and the actual value of these tools. Vendors need to address these issues transparently to build trust.

• Adoption Patterns

  • Low Overall Adoption: Only 1.4% of companies in the HG database are deploying GenAI products, indicating significant room for growth in AI adoption.

  • Larger Enterprises Lead Adoption: Adoption rates of Sales and GenAI products are higher among larger companies (14.5% for those with 10K+ employees) compared to smaller businesses (0.3% for those with fewer than 50 employees).

  • Revenue Correlation: Companies with higher revenues are more likely to deploy both Sales and GenAI products, with 18.6% of companies earning over $5 billion utilizing both types.

• Sales Tech Leaders

  • Notable leaders in the Sales tech industry leveraging AI include Outreach, Clari, Gong, Salesloft, and Apollo.io, indicating a strong presence of established players in the space.

• Future Trends

  • Workflow Automation: There is a growing demand for AI agents to automate various functions, including data analytics and conversational tasks.

  • Custom Implementations: Companies are increasingly looking for tailored AI solutions to address specific workflow needs.

  • Agent Workforce: The future will likely see a shift toward a workforce of AI agents for task automation.

• Market Landscape

  • A majority of the top Sales AI vendors (64%) have fewer than 10 employees, showcasing a market rich with startups. Over three-quarters of these companies earn less than $10 million annually, but this is expected to change with increased GenAI adoption.

  • Despite the innovative nature of these companies, investment in advanced technologies like big data and machine learning remains low, primarily due to many startups relying on open-source large language models (LLMs).

First-Party Data: Strategy & Implementation

For ABX success, teams must harness first-party data to create highly personalized campaigns. This guide offers strategies for aligning marketing, tech, and data teams to implement seamless first-party data approaches, empowering ABM campaigns with actionable insights and behavioral intelligence. Learn more

Resources

Revamp Your ABM Strategy with HubSpot INBOUND 2024

Key insights from HubSpot’s INBOUND 2024 showcase the importance of engagement-driven ABM strategies. Learn how updating existing content and focusing on account-specific engagement can enhance your ABM efforts without needing to constantly produce new materials. Read more

Demandbase Buying Group AI: Transforming ABM Execution

Demandbase’s Buying Group AI unlocks new efficiencies in ABM by automatically identifying key decision-makers within target accounts. This guide reveals how ABM teams can streamline their outreach by engaging all the right personas in each account, driving stronger results with less manual effort. Learn more

Upcoming Events

• Blueprint for a Seamless ABX Customer Journey: Webinar hosted by Demandbase and Uber for Business on crafting personalized ABX experiences that align with today’s complex customer journeys. Learn how data and AI can be leveraged to anticipate account needs and personalize engagement at scale.Register here

• LEVEL 2: ABM’s Value to Sales Alignment: Webinar on the critical role of sales and marketing alignment in ABM success. Learn how top companies like Service Express and QAD are driving revenue by integrating ABM strategies with their sales teams.Register here

• MarTech Conference: B2B Marketing Technology Trends: A free, virtual two-day conference highlighting the latest trends in marketing technology, including tools and platforms that enhance ABM performance. Register here

• B2B Marketing Exchange East: A premier in-person event from Oct. 1-3 in Atlanta, featuring over 50 sessions focused on ABM strategies, account engagement, and revenue-driven marketing approaches. Don’t miss this opportunity for hands-on learning and networking with industry leaders. Register here (Code: MXe24DGR50P)

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Thank you for reading the Weekly ABM/ABX Insights Newsletter! I’d love your feedback, ideas and tips: oceane@nextgenabm.io. If you think someone else might enjoy this newsletter, please pass it forward or they can sign up here. Subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn to get the latest insights on industry trends, tips, and useful resources on ABX.

About Us

NextGenABM is a consulting and solution firm aiming transforms B2B marketing and sales strategies with ROI driven pipeline results through account-centric pipeline marketing. Looking to start your ABM journey or need help with your current program? Let's talk.