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ABM Strategy: A complete guide to account-based marketing

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In B2B, the Pareto principle usually applies to revenue distribution among clients: 20% of accounts generate 80% of the revenue.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is essentially the application of this insight to acquisition: instead of spreading marketing resources across as many leads as possible, efforts are focused on a smaller number of high-potential accounts. Here’s a breakdown…

What is Account-Based Marketing (ABM)?

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a B2B strategy that focuses marketing and sales resources on a predefined set of high-potential accounts.

Unlike traditional B2B marketing, which aims to generate as many leads as possible before qualifying them and launching sales outreach, ABM starts with the companies you want to win and builds a tailored approach around them.

ABM addresses a simple economic reality in B2B: 20% of accounts typically generate 80% of revenue (the Pareto principle). It therefore makes sense to concentrate resources (and investments) on these strategic accounts rather than spreading them too thinly across a broad target.

In practice, the ABM strategy treats each target account as a territory or market to be won. This “market of one” approach requires extensive upfront work to understand the target company in detail:

So, this is a more or less personalized strategy (as we’ll see later) that creates messages precisely tailored to the target, delivered through the communication channels they use most, and builds a sales approach aligned with their buying process.

What are the objectives of ABM?

ABM originated in the United States in the early 2000s within tech companies selling complex solutions (ERP, CRM, IT infrastructure). These vendors faced a major problem: despite significant marketing investments (especially in advertising), their sales cycles were lengthening, and conversion rates were declining.

In reality, target companies—especially large accounts—were bombarded with generic marketing messages that didn’t consider their specific business context. Buyers had to make a significant effort to understand the product and make an informed decision.

ITSMA, a US-based B2B marketing consultancy, formalized the ABM approach in 2004 to empower companies to “better speak” to these key accounts, notably through an unprecedented level of personalization.

💡 Key figures to know
According to Winbound’s Account-Based Marketing barometer, 62.5 % of French companies have already implemented a marketing strategy focused on priority accounts (compared to 70% on average in the EMEA and North America regions).

Objective 1: Improve conversion rates on strategic accounts

Rather than reaching out to as many companies as possible in the hope that a few convert, the focus is placed upfront on identifying high-potential accounts to concentrate efforts.

This marketing approach mobilises the entire company around a limited list of target accounts. For example, to win over an industrial group with 5,000 employees:

This coordinated mobilisation (synergy) around a few accounts naturally increases the chances of conversion, as opposed to a mass marketing approach that spreads resources thin and casts a wide, often very wide, net.

Objective 2: Tackle the ongoing challenge of aligning Sales and Marketing teams

ABM requires marketing and sales teams to work together on the same strategic accounts. It’s a rare opportunity to test and validate new ways of collaborating:

The lessons learned from this focused collaboration can then be scaled. The goal goes beyond the success of a single ABM campaign:

💡 Key stat
The average alignment between sales and marketing teams is just 16%, according to a 2024 study by the LinkedIn B2B Institute (see here). And yet, the stakes are high: companies with strong alignment between the two functions generate 208% more revenue, according to HubSpot.

Objective 3: Increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

ABM isn’t just for acquiring new accounts — it’s also highly effective with existing key clients. Once the relationship is established and the acquisition cost is absorbed, these accounts often represent the most profitable growth potential.

An ABM strategy focused on existing clients typically aims to:

What are the key steps in an ABM strategy?

1. Identifying target accounts

Success in ABM starts with clear prioritization and precise targeting. The first step is to analyze internal data: study the characteristics of your best existing clients to define an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), based on size, industry, digital maturity, budget, etc.

Once your ICP is established, move to external screening to find matching companies. Use sources like sector studies, economic monitoring, investment announcements, executive moves, financial reports, and so on. For instance, if targeting companies undergoing digital transformation, look out for Chief Digital Officer appointments or announcements of tech initiatives.

Not all “candidates” will cut. You also need to factor in feasibility. A strong ABM strategy must be realistic and viable. Assess the likelihood of winning each account — for example, a company might be a perfect fit but already tied to a long-standing competitor. In that case, it’s best to exclude.

This phase typically results in a shortlist of 10 to 50 accounts, depending on available resources.

2. Setting account-specific goals

It may sound obvious, but this step is critical: it defines what “success” looks like. Your objective for each account will dictate the resources allocated and the performance indicators used.

For a new prospect, a goal might be to secure a first “significant” contract (i.e., in the top 20% of your current portfolio), or to equip a pilot business unit.

If the strategy focuses on client retention, the goal could be to extend the existing contract to new departments, upsell higher-tier solutions, or cross-sell complementary services.

ABM goals should follow the SMART framework — specific, measurable, and time-bound. “Become the preferred supplier” is not a usable ABM goal. A better example would be: “Sign a €150K contract with the finance department within 9 months.”

You’ll also need to consider your starting position: Are you already a supplier? Do you have contacts in place? The answers will directly shape your ambition level and timeline.

💡 Good to know
ABM goals must reflect realistic ambition. If the target account has just signed a framework agreement with a competitor, aiming to fully replace them in the short term is futile. It’s smarter to position yourself on complementary needs or one-off opportunities.

3. Creating personalized ABM content

You won’t capture the attention of a decision-maker at a major account with a generic blog post on “10 industry trends” or a standard sales email. These targets are flooded with hundreds of messages every month (if not more).

Your few seconds of attention will only come if you offer ABM content tailored to each account, speaking directly and almost personally to the target: a specific problem you’ve identified in their organization, a major pain point you can solve, a new industry study, or a detailed report on how a new regulation will impact their market share.

To protect your ABM strategy’s ROI, start by auditing your existing content. If your content marketing is high quality, you’ll likely find material to reuse or adapt.

💡 Example
A white paper on digital transformation in the banking sector can be tailored for a target account such as a mutual bank by adding an analysis of its “banking-as-a-service” initiatives, its time-to-market for instant payments compared to direct competitors, and the impact of PSD2 on its Open Banking strategy.

Personalizing ABM content typically works along three dimensions:

💡 Should you personalise ALL ABM content?
Ultra-personalising every single document isn’t always necessary (and let’s not forget—it’s rarely viable from an economic standpoint). The general recommendation is to work based on client segments (more on that below). However, there’s one exception: if you’re targeting a “Dream Account”—for example, a company that represents 15% of your addressable market or one that could trigger a domino effect in its sector—then ultra-personalisation is more than justified.

4. Implementing a multichannel approach

Without being “all over the place,” your ABM strategy should rely on at least two communication channels. Decision-makers in target accounts need to be exposed to your messages through multiple touchpoints, both online and potentially offline. Typically, a multichannel approach will include:

5. Execution and monitoring of ABM Campaigns

If you are implementing your very first ABM strategy, avoid touching your Dream Accounts (those that could significantly impact your company’s scale). Never approach a high-potential account during your initial trial phase.

Instead, start with 2-3 moderately important accounts, preferably with different profiles: for example, one existing client account to develop and one new account to win over. This diversity will allow you to test various messages and approaches. Plan for a 4-6 month testing period before considering a broader rollout

Monitoring relies on shared dashboards between marketing and sales teams to track the opportunity pipeline:

Teams meet weekly to analyze these signals and adjust the strategy accordingly. If a message doesn’t resonate after several attempts, change it. If a channel performs particularly well, reallocate budgets among the ABM channels accordingly.

💡 Note
An account that shows no sign of interest after 6 weeks of targeted efforts is tying up resources that would be better invested in more receptive targets… except for Dream Accounts, where patience can be justified by the strategic importance.

The Different Types of ABM: their advantages and disadvantages

1. One-to-One ABM (1:1)

This is the most personalised, resource-intensive, and arguably the most “premium” form of Account-Based Marketing. In this approach, significant marketing and sales resources are dedicated to a very limited number of high-potential accounts, typically between 1 and 5 per year. We’re talking true bespoke engagement here.

This strategy is justified for accounts with very high potential: either large enterprise accounts with an average annual deal size exceeding €100K, or “Dream Accounts” whose signature could be transformational for your company (major reference effect, entry into a new market, etc.). The downside is obvious: cost.

There are generally three common use cases for one-to-one ABM:

2. One-to-Few ABM (1:few)

This ABM strategy targets clusters of 5 to 20 accounts that share similar characteristics, such as operating in the same industry, facing the same challenges, or using comparable technologies.

It represents the middle ground in ABM: mindful of budget limitations but still aiming to deliver a certain level of personalisation. The goal is to deliver tailored messages and content at the cluster level rather than fully customising for each account.

One-to-few ABM is recommended for companies looking to break into a specific market segment or launch a new offering. Budgets are more manageable than with the one-to-one approach, typically under €20K per account, since costs are spread across the cluster.

The key challenge here is finding the right balance between personalisation and scalability.

3. One-to-Many ABM (1:many)

This is the “mass ABM” version, relatively speaking. The goal here is to target dozens, even hundreds, of accounts with a limited level of personalisation. Accounts are grouped into broader segments and receive semi-personalised content.

One-to-many ABM is typically recommended for companies that are new to Account-Based Marketing and aren’t yet ready to commit a large budget. The main advantage is the low cost (generally under €5K per account), but the conversion rate tends to be lower.

On peut toutefois dégager un excellent ROI si la segmentation des prospects est bien réalisée et si la personnalisation est intelligente (même si elle reste relativement superficielle).

That said, the return on investment can be excellent if the segmentation is well executed and the personalisation—though relatively light—is done intelligently.

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