PGIM Is Just Scratching the Surface with Their ABM Success

It’s always instructive and rewarding to talk to our customers and learn why they made the move to ABM, what that journey was like, and why they chose Demandbase. Our engaging conversation with Dennis Peters was no exception. He’s the VP of Marketing Analytics at Prudential Financial’s global investment arm, PGIM, which has $1.5 trillion under management.

In this post, we’ll cover some key points and highlights from our discussion with Dennis. For deeper detail and more insights about PGIM’s journey, we encourage you to watch the video.

A twenty-five percent lift in the first month: Not a bad way to get started

What compelled PGIM to give ABM a try? Dennis explained, “Our current major campaign is the Pursuit of Outperformance.  Around the world, more and more investors are seeking consistent long term returns and are turning to PGIM for deep expertise across asset classes.  In order to move the business, we have to be customer obsessed. It’s so important to understand our customers and our prospective customers and deliver our message.” ABM is helping PGIM use their wealth of sales and marketing data to make informed, data-driven decisions on how to provide better customer experiences, while boosting profitability and efficiency.

To test the validity of ABM and Demandbase, Dennis’ team conducted a proof-of-concept pilot. The results were stunning. According to Dennis, “Twenty-five percent of our accounts actually saw a lifted engagement within the first 30 days.” That kind of lift usually took about three months to reach. More good news: Thirty-one of those accounts were net new.

To learn more about their customers and prospects, one of PGIM’s first uses of Demandbase was account identification—to recognize who was coming to their website. Dennis was impressed by the quality of the matches Demandbase provides. “It really supercharged our reporting and our business intelligence. And we also took advantage of the integration with Adobe Analytics. It’s one of our favorite features because we provide reporting for each of our eight affiliates and they love being able to drill into the firmographics that Demandbase supplies, such as industry, size, and the location of the companies.”

Advice on getting the ABM ball rolling: Start small

When it comes to starting a new ABM or ABX program, it’s not uncommon for companies to be intimidated because they think it’s going to be complex (that’s why we recommend a phased approach to adoption). So, we wondered what the experience was like for Dennis and his team. He said, “It was not complex at all. In terms of the data gathering my team did, it was really getting the key account and prospect lists loaded up, and also the keywords we’re looking at.” He also explained the support they received from the Demandbase team really helped. His recommendation for other companies getting started with ABM? Run a pilot and start small. As he put it, “Don’t be worried and just try it.” The reality is, if you take things slow, learn as you go, and gain buy-in along the way, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Current status: Arming the broader organization with actionable intelligence

With ABM and Demandbase, Dennis’ team can uncover where their top 200 tier-one and tier-two clients and prospects are spending their time and what they’re viewing. They can then arm PGIM’s institutional relationship group with this intelligence regarding what’s top of mind for these targeted accounts. These insights directly inform follow-up tactics and next interactions with those companies.

Since the successful pilot, Dennis’ team has been actively sharing what they’ve learned with other groups and ABM has received substantial interest across the broader Prudential organization.

What’s next for PGIM and ABM?

Moving forward, Dennis wants to focus on measuring engagement across more channels. Currently, PGIM leans heavily on website data and a few other data pieces. Dennis would like to expand that and integrate as many data entities as possible with Demandbase. As he pointed out, “We’re just scratching the surface. We can do much more in terms of engagement scoring for clients and prospects.” Regarding what’s in store for the future, he later added, “We really enjoy working with Demandbase. It’s definitely made our marketing program better and as the product grows and as our usage of it grows, we should become more customer aware and see some great marketing gains.”

When it comes to vendor selection, do your homework

In addition to starting small with a pilot, we wondered if Dennis had additional advice for companies looking to get started with ABM. He suggested, “Do your homework. When evaluating vendors to increase your marketing analytics capabilities, look for a vendor who’s got great service and also has a very complete offering. One of the things we like about Demandbase is there are so many features.” He recommends having a clear understanding of what capabilities you need. Then, don’t be satisfied until you find a complete product, with great service and support.

More to the story: Watch the full conversation with PGIM’s Dennis Peters

A potent combination of data, ABM, and Demandbase is helping PGIM, a top-10 global asset management firm, realize their customer obsession vision. Our full conversation with Dennis Peters has more insights about how PGIM is making it work. 

Watch the full conversation with PGIM’s Dennis Peters.