The Beginner’s Guide to Account-Based Marketing ABM

Because ABM targets high-value accounts, marketing budgets are spent on prospects most likely to convert. Many B2B companies adopt account-based marketing because it delivers stronger results than traditional demand generation. Leverages marketing automation and other account-based marketing tools to streamline steps in the process, such as lead generation automation or email follow-ups. Requires marketing teams (ABM team) and sales teams to work in sync. Account-based marketing focuses on engaging the companies most likely to convert.

As ABM focuses on the accounts that will give you the most returns, you need to start by identifying exactly which accounts they are. If ABM hasn’t been on your radar until now, you may wonder where to start. We’ve only just begun, and as technology continues to unlock new opportunities for personalized engagement with top accounts, B2B marketers will continue to achieve new levels of ABM success well into the future. Although the idea of ABM is a bit older than you might expect, B2B marketers have only scratched the surface of ABM’s potential. Early versions of ABM were attempted by companies using the first CRM technology in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but it wasn’t until the 2010s that ABM really took off. B2B companies with ABM programs report a 38% higher sales win rate and 91% larger deal sizes, leading to 24% faster revenue growth.

This strategic shift has driven stronger alignment between marketing and sales teams, creating unified revenue goals, shared data insights, and executable pipeline strategies. Join 140,000+ marketers and get a weekly expert-led newsletter focused on helping marketing teams overcome growth challenges, punch above their weight, and crush their competition. Let’s say the platform’s marketing and sales teams decided to take an ABM approach. When combining account-based marketing with an inbound method, use dynamic content to deliver an industry-relevant experience that is specific to the account you’re targeting.

Measuring what matters (and refining fast)

This is an incredibly effective way to build trust with potential customers and create a lasting relationship that goes beyond a one-time sale. Brands often create "revenue teams" that combine sales and demand generation efforts, and the teams are unified through a single KPI or shared revenue metric. Finally, account-based marketing programs effectively give sales and marketing teams shared goals and alignment. It helps build trust and credibility, as prospects perceive the effort invested in understanding their business. Brands waste fewer marketing and sales resources attracting unqualified clients, and they put more of their time and effort towards attracting attention from the best-fit accounts. Account-based marketing isn't a tactic; it's functionally a completely different approach and mindset to attracting and closing clients.

Week 1: Foundation Setting

This way, you'll be able to create retargeting account-based marketing campaigns at a low marketing cost and with high returns. You should create a ladder where you'll be grading each action's importance. That is because no two companies have the exact same problems, needing the same solution at the same price. Every piece of content you create should contain a clear value proposition and viewpoint. One of the best demand generation practices is to create content for all stages of the sales funnel. The next account-based marketing tactic is to start creating content and campaigns that align with each account's needs, challenges, and preferences.

If your marketing and sales teams need alignment, you’re struggling to deliver personalized engagement at scale, or you need to make the most of a limited marketing budget, adopting an ABM strategy can help you. Instead of casting a wide net, you create personalized campaigns tailored to specific companies and decision-makers within those accounts. Account-based marketing (ABM) is a B2B strategy where marketing and sales teams focus on a defined set of high-value target accounts, treating each as its own market. If you’re just starting with ABM, Wingrove and Davidson both told me the best way to do it is to create a small task force with one marketer and one salesperson. 🧡 The easiest way to support internal account-based marketing alignment is with the help of software, like HubSpot, which makes connecting your marketing and sales teams exceptionally easy.

• For instance, a Facebook advertisement campaign could be customized based on company data such as industry, niche, size, needs, or location.
• Personify, a Constituent Management & Engagement platform, focused its ABM efforts on reaching the right people at the right time.
• Leading teams are using AI and real-time intent data to create content and outreach that feels handcrafted, even when it’s automated.
• Although it’s tough to start from scratch, if you target the right keywords with a steady stream of valuable content, you’ll see your rankings improve over time.
• Well, it means that in account-based marketing, you select a few companies, say a 100 companies, who are the “ideal” or most profitable customers you could ever have.

It is important to set goals and establish your ABM program at a pace that works well for your teams and your target accounts. The best ABM programs are built slowly and carefully, with a growing investment of time and effort. A strong understanding of your top accounts' data allows you to create the personalized experiences that define ABM. To get started with ABM, you need enough high-value customer accounts to make the strategy worthwhile; the data in your CRM can help you see whether this is the case. As more than 79% of marketers report higher ROI from ABM than any other marketing effort, it's clear that ABM can be an effective strategy for almost any B2B company or business with long sales cycles. This means sales and marketing have to work together, not in silos.

Key components of the ABM framework:

Now that you know what companies to target (and who to target in those companies) and your messaging is ready, it’s time to roll out your ABM campaign. For example, if we were to do ABM at Convert and we had a generic report titled “How to prepare for GDPR,” we’d customize it for the industry of the target accounts. BUT in account-based marketing, all this content is custom-created or customized (or at least highly adapted) for the target accounts. Many companies also perform a SWOT analysis for each target account as part of this step to know exactly how to approach them. In the second step of account-based marketing, you need to identify the right contacts from each account you’ll be targeting.

It describes the actions you’ll take to persuade potential customers to buy your products or services. Make a marketing plan to persuade consumers to buy your products or services, then decide how you’ll accept payment when it’s time to make a sale. This creates an experience that leads site visitors into more pages, looking at more content, and ultimately raising their hand to talk. For example, ourFormComplete feature can help turn prospects into customers by shortening your website forms to a minimal number of fields, helping to increase visitor response rates.

ABM breaks down those barriers through alignment around a shared set of target accounts. Tailored marketing messages and content for Account-based marketing campaigns each target account's specific needs, challenges, and preferences create campaigns that resonate. A focus on a carefully selected set of high-value accounts maximizes the impact of every marketing dollar. Account-based marketing offers a wealth of benefits that can transform your business's approach to sales and marketing.