If you’re running account based marketing (ABM) campaigns and your execs are asking for real results, this is for you. Maybe you’re already using Oracle (the CRM and marketing suite), or maybe you were just told to—either way, you want straight answers about how to actually track and improve your ABM efforts using their tools. Here’s how to cut through the noise and get useful data, without drowning in dashboards.
Step 1: Get Clear About Your ABM Goals (and Avoid the Vanity Trap)
Before you touch Oracle, figure out exactly what you’re trying to measure and why. ABM isn’t about getting the most clicks; it’s about moving specific, high-value accounts closer to revenue. If you don’t know which accounts matter, or what actions signal real progress, you’ll waste time measuring fluff.
Skip: - Obsessing over raw impressions or “engagement” that doesn’t tie to actual sales activity - Tracking every possible metric—focus on the few that matter
Focus on: - Which target accounts are actually engaging? - Are those accounts moving through your sales funnel? - Which campaigns or tactics are driving that movement?
Pro Tip: If you can’t explain your main metric to a sales rep in 20 seconds, it’s probably too complicated.
Step 2: Set Up Your Accounts and Data in Oracle
Oracle isn’t magic—it’s only as good as the data you feed it. If your account lists are messy, or your CRM is a dumping ground, you’ll just get garbage insights.
Here’s what to actually do: - Clean up your account list. Make sure the companies you care about are flagged as “target” accounts in Oracle. - Map contacts to accounts. This is boring but critical. If your contacts aren’t linked to accounts, you won’t see the full picture. - Sync sales and marketing data. Don’t let silos creep in. Make sure sales activities (calls, meetings) show up alongside marketing touches (email opens, ad clicks).
What to ignore: Fancy segmentation features you don’t understand yet. Start simple—get your core accounts and contacts right first.
Step 3: Build ABM Campaigns That Are Actually Trackable
It’s easy to launch a bunch of campaigns and hope for the best. It’s smarter to set up campaigns in Oracle in a way that lets you see which accounts respond, and how.
How to set this up: - Use Oracle’s campaign object (or whatever your version calls it) to group all touches to a target account. - Tag every asset and touchpoint. Make sure emails, ads, and events are all tagged to the right campaign and account. - Align campaign stages to the sales funnel. For example: Awareness, Nurture, Opportunity, Closed Won/Lost.
Avoid: Running “one-off” blasts that aren’t tied to a campaign. You’ll never be able to connect those dots later.
Pro Tip: Less is more. Start with one or two campaigns per segment or tier. Don’t try to track everything from day one.
Step 4: Set Up Tracking and Attribution (Without Overcomplicating It)
Oracle will give you a firehose of tracking options. Most people get overwhelmed and end up with reports nobody trusts. Here’s how to keep it real:
Focus on: - Account engagement score: Oracle can roll up all touches for an account—use this to see who’s actually interacting. - Opportunity influence: Can you see that a campaign led to a meeting, or an opportunity stage change? - Multi-touch attribution: Don’t obsess over “first touch” vs. “last touch.” Instead, look for patterns—what tends to happen before deals progress?
Skip:
- Building a custom attribution model unless you have a data team and a real reason.
- Tracking every possible interaction—prioritize ones that sales cares about.
If you’re overwhelmed: Start by pulling a simple report of “which target accounts engaged with which campaign” and build from there.
Step 5: Analyze Results and Find the Signals (Not Just the Noise)
With tracking in place, you’ll be tempted to stare at dashboards and hope for breakthroughs. Don’t. Instead, focus on a few key questions:
- Which accounts moved forward? Did any go from cold to warm, or warm to opportunity?
- What did they engage with before moving? Look for patterns in campaign touches.
- Where are things getting stuck? Are lots of accounts engaging but never becoming opportunities? Time to tweak your nurture content or handoff process.
Useful Oracle reports to run: - Account engagement by campaign - Pipeline velocity for target accounts vs. non-target accounts - Campaign influence on closed-won deals
What to ignore:
- Super-detailed “activity” reports that don’t tie back to pipeline or revenue
- Time-wasting “vanity metrics” like social shares or pageviews (unless you know they matter for your audience)
Step 6: Optimize—But Don’t Chase Shiny Objects
Now you’ve got data. The temptation is to try everything at once. Resist it.
What works: - Double down on campaigns and channels that actually move accounts forward. - Kill or pause campaigns that generate lots of “activity” but no pipeline. - Work closely with sales—ask which accounts feel warmer, and match that to your data.
What usually doesn’t: - Jumping to new tools or features just because they’re new. - Over-automating—sometimes a manual check-in with sales yields more insight than any dashboard.
Pro Tip: Schedule a monthly “what’s working” review with sales and marketing. Don’t let this become a finger-pointing session—stick to the numbers.
Step 7: Keep Your Process Simple and Iterate
The best ABM teams using Oracle aren’t the ones with the fanciest dashboards—they’re the ones who pick a few key metrics, meet regularly, and adapt. Don’t try to “set and forget” your process. ABM is messy, and that’s okay.
A few reminders: - Review your target account list every quarter—drop the duds, add new priorities. - Keep your tracking and reporting focused on business outcomes, not just activity. - Don’t be afraid to rebuild a campaign from scratch if it’s not working. Sunk cost is real, but don’t let it drag you down.
Bottom line:
Oracle has a ton of features, but you don’t need to use them all to get real value from your ABM campaigns. Focus on clean data, clear goals, and honest reporting. Start simple, talk to sales, and tweak as you go. If you keep it grounded, you’ll actually see which accounts are moving—and why.