Interest in enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions is rising as companies increasingly see its value in streamlining workflows, lowering costs, and boosting productivity. At a time when data has become the driving force behind every modern company, ERP systems make it easier to collect, organize, analyze, and distribute this information to every individual and system that needs it in one spot.
While organizations often struggle to balance the need for ERP solutions against their complex implementation, software improvements through the addition of AI technology and increased cloud-based options are driving buyer interest. According to HG Insights data, the global ERP market has grown 8% since 2022, with 1.4 million companies expected to spend $183 billion on ERP software in 2024.
Marketers looking to reach the buying centers responsible for making these purchasing decisions and move them through the buying journey faster need intent data to deliver more relevant and personalized experiences through a unified, multi-channel account-based approach. Here’s what our data tells us about the accounts demonstrating the highest propensity to purchase ERP solutions, the buying personas making those purchase decisions within these organizations, and the content that’s likely to resonate with them the most.
Target Accounts in the Manufacturing and Healthcare Verticals
ERP solutions significantly benefit manufacturers given the numerous daily processes necessary just to keep a facility running. As these companies continue to face significant challenges due to economic uncertainty, labor shortages, and lingering supply chain disruptions, ML Insights shows sustained interest in solutions to automate business processes and drive productivity.
Accounts in the healthcare vertical are also demonstrating sustained research and engagement with ERP-related content. Today’s hospitals and health systems face increasing pressures related to a longer-living population, tighter budgets, staffing shortages, and heightened cybersecurity threats. Providers are increasingly realizing the benefits of ERP solutions in helping them move data away from their disparate legacy systems and onto a single, comprehensive platform to increase data security, improve patient care, and ensure more efficient and reliable processes across their entire network.
Our data also reveals a 21% YoY increase in medium-large companies (those with 500-999 employees) researching ERP software despite relatively low targeting for it. While ERP solutions were traditionally developed for large-scale enterprises, these mid-sized businesses are increasingly adopting the technology to simplify and streamline their operations. This increase in research signals a likely spike in purchase and implementation this year as data management and analysis become increasingly central to business operations for organizations of all sizes.
Prioritize Managers and Directors in IT and Operations Department Roles
ML Insights data shows that Directors and Managers display the highest research behavior and engagement with ERP-related content, indicating their increased involvement in buying committee decisions. Due to the cost-heavy investment and time-consuming deployment of ERP software, these roles must ensure the technology meets complex business needs to increase employee adoption and use. We see the highest research behavior for ERP solutions among those in the IT and Operations departments. These teams carry the most responsibility to create seamless bridges across technology, and ERPs are the center of the company’s entire operating and data systems. Marketers must reach directors and managers within these departments with the information they need to make the ERP implementation and transition processes smoother.
One intriguing trend is a spike in executive-level interest in ERP solutions. We’ve seen a 105% increase in C-Suite research for ERP-related content over the last year, indicating a shift in how these business leaders participate in the selection process. With implementations taking several months to even years to complete, executive stakeholders need to support the enterprise-wide solution deployment and understand the value that a centralized system brings. Marketers should leverage this increased interest and target these individuals with content and messaging that speaks to the value the software provides to the ERP buyers that utilize it.
Deliver Content that Speaks to Deployment Challenges and Security Concerns
To increase buyer engagement, marketers of ERP software systems need to convey a unique value proposition that sets them apart from competitors and speaks to specific pain points and concerns. This content and messaging must be mapped to each stage of the buyer’s journey to surround all buying committee members with the information they need throughout the decision-making process. It’s important to understand that the purchase process for ERP solutions involves extensive research and time depending on the deployment scale. Using data to understand where buyers are in the decision-making process and to map content and messaging to their concerns at each stage is paramount for success.
In the awareness stage, capitalize on the growing interest in ERP solutions by integrating enterprise infrastructure, digital enterprise, and enterprise collaboration content into your promotion strategy. This will attract buyers interested in ERP software and increase urgency among those who might not yet realize they have a problem to solve.
Once in the consideration stage, address concerns around solution deployment and security with content and messaging focused on enterprise application security, enterprise performance management/balanced scorecard, and enterprise mobility management (EMM) topics.
The decision stage is your opportunity to highlight your unique features and functionalities with comparison guides, product sheets, and white papers that underscore your solution’s differentiators from competitors. Showcase customer case studies, success stories, and testimonials to provide tangible evidence of your value.
Unlock More Logic with Your ERP Solution Campaigns
Intent data is key to converting accounts faster. Use it to amplify your marketing strategy by prioritizing the companies most ready to invest in ERP software solutions, identifying which buying committee personas to engage, and understanding the content and messaging most likely to convert.
Madison Logic is the only ABM activation solution that combines three sources of intent signals, four leading media channels, and real-time measurement to accelerate the buyer’s journey and drive pipeline. With the MLI Score, a holistic signal that unifies three key data sources, we help you target in-market accounts with more precision. And when combined with first-party customer data from your customer relationship management (CRM) software and marketing automation platform (MAP), you gain deeper insights that allow you to engage your target audience, increase conversion rates, and maximize your marketing spend.
Stop wasting time chasing the wrong accounts. Download the ERP ABM Buyer Intent Guide to dig into deeper insights around ERP buyers, and request a demo to learn how Madison Logic can help you activate a more effective data-driven ABM strategy today.
