Drupal, ABM Platforms and You

As B2B marketing strategy shifts more and more towards Account-Based Marketing (ABM) as standard practice, Drupal-based organizations will need the right tools to adapt to the changing game. Fortunately, Drupal 8’s API-first architecture makes integration easy. But which ABM tools are best for Drupal?

ABM’s Big Three

New ABM platforms are popping up like wildflowers, but on every demand gen professional’s short list the big three ABM platforms typically appear: Demandbase, Engagio, and Terminus. These three platforms are more all-in-one when it comes to ABM. Other solutions, such as Uberflip and Sigster, focus on personalized content and email respectively, and are often considered more niche. So let’s look at a brief breakdown of the big three:

• Demandbase offers an account-based marketing, advertising and analytics platform whose focus and advantage lies largely in AI-driven account identification and anonymous IP detection of website visitors which allows for personalization.

• Engagio is a self-proclaimed “account-based everything” platform and touts its ability to tie together marketing, analytics and insights as well as automate ABM activities and touchpoints, similar to a traditional marketing automation platform.

• Terminus offers a similar all-in-one ABM platform that targeted digital marketing and analytics with an emphasis on ad delivery, enhanced by direct integrations with platforms such as LinkedIn.

Each of the big three are high-powered ABM tools, but there are some differences that are important when it comes to integrating with Drupal

Drupal ABM - Integration is Key

Probably the most important factor in choosing an ABM platform that works well with Drupal is choosing one that offers a well-maintained API.

Why is an API so critical? ABM is all about delivering personalized messages. ABM platforms can’t typically do this on their own, at least on your website, and in real-time. Demandbase can come close, but delivering “lightbox” content managed outside of Drupal defeats the purpose of having a content management system, so that’s no good.

That’s why an API is key. We recommend ABM platforms that open up their intelligence and decisions so that Drupal can take personalized messaging further and in real-time. In this ideal scenario, Drupal handles content and the ABM platform handles identification and recommendation.

Taking Personalization Further

While there are advantages and tradeoffs between Engagio, Terminus, and Demandbase from an operational ABM standpoint, what we’re concerned about here is leveraging account identification to power web personalization in Drupal.

This is where Demandbase stands out. Its platform enables anonymous profiling by identifying IP addresses of website visitors. The value of anonymous IP detection (AIPD) can’t be stressed enough. In a world where it takes 20+ touchpoints to close a deal, many of which might happen before you even grab an email from a form, being able to deliver your best-guess content based on IP is a critical advantage.

Through Demandbase’s API, offered via their Engagement product, a Drupal site can access insights Demandbase has such as which company a visitor is likely from, what industry that is, its annual revenue, size, etc. This is incredibly useful when trying to deliver personalized ABM content—whether they are on your top account list or not.

Smart Content to the Rescue

Demandbase’s API is only step one. Even with an integration with the Demandbase module, for example, you won’t be set up to deliver real-time personalized content without something like Smart Content, our module developed specifically to leverage insights from other platforms and deliver personalized chunks of content, right from in Drupal. No lightboxes or javascript “holes” where content magically appears from deep within your marketing automation system.

If your ABM effort is considered a spear, then think of Drupal and Smart Content as a kind of sixth sense that lets you throw that spear without aiming, without even thinking. In fact, it’s more like some kind of automatic spear-chucking machine with laser sights.

Takeaways

If you’re on Drupal and starting your ABM platform search, remember to investigate API integrations thoroughly. Even if you’re not planning on starting website personalization now, you might eventually, and you don’t want to be locked into a vendor that can’t make it happen. And of course, if you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out.