Navigating uncharted waters is easier with flexible ABM than with long-term licensing contracts
Uncertainty has become the new status quo, with companies having to take each day as it comes and adjust as necessary.
Challenge
Because our glimpse into the future is coming in short waves, the ad tech industry is finding that relying solely on a SaaS (software-as-a-service) model is risky during these uncertain times. Employing any type of licensing model locks advertisers into long-term contracts that could tie up their budget or prevent the ability to pivot. If you don’t know what the environment will look like in a year, it may not be the best strategy to invest all of your media budget into one approach for a long period of time, especially at a time when efficiency is key.
Solution
Instead of crossing your fingers and hoping that your locked-in strategy with a SaaS or licensing tool will still fit in a year, it would behoove advertisers to find a more versatile approach during this uncertain time.
The solution is flexible, cost-effective, CPM-based media solutions.
Media budgets are more precarious now than ever before; advertisers should spend their money on media only to maximize efficiencies. Whereas licensing agreements typically include monthly fees and other upfront costs just to use the tool, this budget could be better spent on media itself through a CPM-based approach. Luckily, there are successful B2B advertising companies that offer a cost-effective, flexible ABM solution that bypasses long-term licensing and associated subscription fees so that the customer has the ability to pivot as necessary and can achieve a higher ROI. Because these technology providers tend to have shorter-term contracts to help you build on your strategy as it comes to fruition, they have to win over their customers month after month, going above and beyond to prove their ongoing value as well as ensuring alignment to the customer’s strategy and business needs.
Fortunately, such solutions are proven to yield long-term benefits. More versatile managed services help agencies and brands learn about their audience and tweak their strategy constantly, yielding higher effectiveness than the all-too-common “set it and forget it” approach.
Bonus: Something else to seek out during this time is firmographic reporting. Technology providers that offer transparent, firmographic reporting during and after campaigns will have an edge in this environment, as they will be able to prove campaign success and business impact while also using validated data to inform customers’ future strategies.
Implementation
Find a partner that can change with you.
Agencies and brands need to use their budget wisely during this time; navigating uncharted waters is much easier with cost-effective, CPM-based, flexible ABM solutions, as they yield better strategies, campaign results, and business impacts than a locked-in SaaS model that is licensed for months or even a year at a time.
Companies such as AdDaptive that offer more versatile solutions will help companies not just survive but thrive in any economic environment – especially when the future is uncertain. Managed services make better use of teams’ efforts than spending time learning and using a SaaS or licensing platform and will also give companies the chance to use learnings about their audience to inform the next quarter’s campaign strategies. Additionally, following a CPM-based approach without service costs and other fees maximizes efficiency and ROI, ensuring media budgets are being used as effectively and efficiently as possible. These flexible B2B solutions prove their value month after month, ensure alignment to business goals, and yield better results in the long run.
Focusing existing media plans with a more flexible solution will allow strategies to be implemented effectively while giving some wiggle room to pivot as the landscape changes.
Even if you already deploy a SaaS approach for some campaigns, it would be risky to only explore one avenue of deployment in a time of economic uncertainty. To protect your budget and your brand, diversifying your media plan will allow you to allocate resources where it makes the most sense. Adding a more flexible solution to your media plan may prove to be as close to a silver bullet as there is during this time, as you would be able to change directions and optimize toward new strategies as the landscape inevitably changes – a feat not always possible with long-term, licensing contracts.
To help businesses work smarter during times of uncertainty, AdDaptive’s smarter B2B advertising approach ticks all the boxes with none of the extra fees or wasted budget. Reach out to sales@addaptive.com to discuss how this flexible ABM solution could benefit your team today.
