Complete Guide

The Complete Guide to Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Focus your marketing on the accounts that matter most to your business

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) flips the traditional marketing funnel on its head. Instead of casting a wide net and hoping to catch the right fish, ABM starts with a defined list of target accounts and focuses all marketing and sales efforts on engaging them. This guide covers everything you need to know about building and scaling an ABM program.

In This Guide

What is Account-Based Marketing?

Account-Based Marketing is a strategic approach where marketing and sales teams focus their efforts on a specific set of high-value target accounts. Rather than generating as many leads as possible, ABM aims to deeply engage the accounts most likely to become valuable customers.

Start with a defined list of target accounts (not lead volume)
Align sales and marketing around shared account goals
Personalize content and campaigns for specific accounts
Measure success at the account level, not just leads
Focus resources on highest-value opportunities

Types of ABM Programs

ABM programs typically fall into three tiers based on the level of personalization and number of accounts targeted.

One-to-One (Strategic): Highly personalized campaigns for 10-50 top accounts
One-to-Few (Scaled): Personalized campaigns for segments of 50-500 accounts
One-to-Many (Programmatic): Automated personalization at scale (500+ accounts)
Most organizations use a combination of all three tiers
Start with one-to-many and add personalization as you learn

Building Your Target Account List

Successful ABM starts with defining your Ideal Customer Profile and using it to build a focused target account list.

Analyze your best customers for common characteristics
Define firmographic criteria (size, industry, location)
Add technographic criteria (tools they use)
Include intent signals (accounts actively researching)
Align with sales on prioritization and account ownership
Start focused (100-500 accounts) and expand from there

ABM Tactics and Channels

ABM campaigns leverage multiple channels to surround target accounts with relevant messaging.

Targeted Advertising: LinkedIn, display ads served to specific accounts
Personalized Content: Account-specific landing pages and content
Direct Mail: Physical sends to key stakeholders
Email Campaigns: Personalized sequences to buying committees
Events: Invitations to exclusive events for target accounts
Sales Outreach: Coordinated SDR and AE engagement

Measuring ABM Success

ABM requires different metrics than traditional demand generation. Focus on account-level engagement and pipeline impact.

Account Engagement: Website visits, content consumption, ad engagement
Account Coverage: Percentage of target accounts engaged
Pipeline Velocity: Speed of deals from target accounts
Win Rate: Close rate for ABM-targeted accounts vs others
Deal Size: Average contract value from ABM accounts
Pipeline Influence: Revenue touched by ABM campaigns

Website Visitor Identification for ABM

Knowing when target accounts visit your website is critical for ABM success. Visitor identification reveals which accounts are engaging and who within those accounts is researching.

Alert sales when target accounts visit your website
See all stakeholders from an account, not just one contact
Identify anonymous visitors from target account domains
Trigger personalized follow-up based on pages viewed
Track account engagement across multiple visits

Related Use Cases:

Account-Based Marketing (ABM)Sales Intelligence

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Account-Based Marketing (ABM)?

Account-Based Marketing is a strategic approach where marketing and sales focus efforts on a specific set of target accounts rather than generating high volumes of leads. It involves personalized campaigns, aligned teams, and measurement at the account level.

What's the difference between ABM and demand generation?

Demand generation casts a wide net to generate as many leads as possible. ABM focuses resources on specific high-value accounts. Most organizations do both: demand gen for broad awareness and ABM for strategic accounts.

How many accounts should I target with ABM?

Start with 100-500 accounts for one-to-many programs. Strategic one-to-one ABM typically targets 10-50 top accounts with highly personalized campaigns. The right number depends on your team's capacity and deal sizes.

What tools do I need for ABM?

Core ABM tools include: target account list management, account-based advertising (LinkedIn, Terminus), website visitor identification (Bullseye, Demandbase), intent data, and CRM/marketing automation for orchestration.

How do I measure ABM success?

Focus on account-level metrics: engagement across target accounts, coverage (% of accounts engaged), pipeline generated from ABM accounts, win rates for ABM vs non-ABM deals, and average deal size.