Account-based marketing

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a B2B approach in which sales and marketing agree on a named list of target accounts and spend their time and budget winning and growing those accounts, instead of collecting as many individual leads as possible. Programs are built around each account and its buying committee rather than around a single contact.

How it is used

The IAB describes ABM as a strategic approach where sales and marketing are aligned and focus their effort on an agreed set of target accounts. In its 2019 playbook, the IAB reported that the share of B2B marketers who use ABM as a strategy reached 61% as of December 2018.

Demandbase describes three tiers. In one-to-one, a senior marketer partners with the account team to create highly customised marketing programmes. One-to-few applies the same research-based principles to clusters of 5 to 15 accounts that share business issues or an industry. One-to-many delivers personalization at scale for hundreds of named accounts. Our one-to-few playbook covers the middle tier.

How it is measured

Target account pipeline share = pipeline created from target accounts divided by total pipeline created

Target account win rate = closed-won target account opportunities divided by all closed target account opportunities

Compare that win rate with your non-target win rate, using the same stage definitions for both. Check stage conversion against our funnel conversion benchmarks.

A concrete case

Take a one-to-few program built around a single industry cluster. Sales signs off on the list. Marketing writes one point of view on the cluster's shared problem. Both teams then review engagement and open opportunities by account each week. Success is counted in accounts with active pipeline, not in form fills.

Usual mistakes

• Marketing builds the list without sales sign-off.
• Reporting lead volume for a program designed around accounts.
• Loading more accounts into a tier than its staffing can personalize for.
• Running ABM as a single ad channel instead of a joint sales and marketing plan.

When it matters

ABM fits deals with long cycles and many buyers. The IAB points to the combination of a longer sales cycles, the need to engage with specific companies and many decision-makers. Size target-list pipeline with the pipeline coverage calculator.