Stop Chasing Leads and Start Winning the Clients That Actually Matter With Account-Based Marketing

For years, B2B marketing followed a simple logic: cast a wide net, push everyone into the same funnel, and hope the right people come out the other end. One message, many recipients. Top of funnel, middle of funnel, bottom of funnel. Rinse and repeat.

It worked well enough when buyers had fewer options and less information. But that world doesn’t exist anymore.

Buying committees are bigger (Gartner puts the average at 6-10 people per B2B decision). Buyers complete around 80% of their research before they ever speak to a salesperson. And they’re not just Googling - they’re asking ChatGPT, reading Reddit threads, checking G2, watching YouTube, and talking to peers. By the time someone fills in your contact form, they’ve already decided whether you’re a contender.

The linear funnel can’t account for this. People don’t move neatly from awareness to consideration to decision. They loop back, pause, re-enter from a different angle, and involve colleagues who start their own research cycles. One-to-many broadcasting doesn’t cut it when your buyers expect relevance at every touchpoint.

What matters now is knowing who you’re talking to, what they care about right now, and where they are in their buying process - not just which stage of your funnel they’ve been assigned to. Marketing needs to be tailored to the account, not blasted to a list.

The industry is catching up to this. Even HubSpot has moved on from the traditional funnel to what they call Loop Marketing, a continuous cycle where every interaction feeds back into the system and makes the next one smarter. The shift is clear: personalised, account-level engagement is replacing the old spray-and-pray approach.

Why ABM Fits This Shift

ABM has been around for years, but the shift away from one-to-many marketing makes it more relevant than ever. It's also become more accessible for smaller B2B teams, not just enterprise sales organisations with massive tech stacks. Intent data is easier to get. CRM tools are better at tracking multi-touch journeys. And the shift from MQLs (marketing-qualified leads) to MQAs (marketing-qualified accounts) reflects what most of us already know: in B2B, you're selling to companies, not individuals.

The numbers back it up. Companies using ABM report 67% better close rates when sales and marketing are properly aligned. 75% of B2B marketers say ABM helps them engage the right buyers earlier. And 58% report larger deal sizes.

To improve pipeline quality and revenue, a growing B2B firm should implement even a modest ABM approach now.

What Does ABM Actually Look Like? Three Examples Worth Studying

Before we get into the how-to, it’s worth looking at what good ABM campaigns have in common. The details vary, but the pattern is consistent: deep research on target accounts, personalised outreach across multiple channels, and tight coordination between marketing and sales.

Snowflake targeted 200 large accounts with custom data visualisations and reports, combining premium physical mailers with online tracking. They saw 85% open rates and over $50 million in the pipeline. The same principle applies whether you send a report to 200 accounts or a personalised email to 20.

DocuSign identified six key verticals (legal, finance, manufacturing and others) and built dedicated content pathways for each. When a visitor from a target industry arrived on their site, they saw tailored case studies, testimonials, and resources relevant to their sector. A legal prospect saw e-discovery content. A finance lead saw compliance materials. Engagement rose by 60%, page views tripled, and pipeline grew by 22% among targeted accounts. The lesson: treat each vertical like its own campaign, and the relevance pays off.

LiveRamp selected around 15 strategic Fortune 500 accounts and layered personalised display ads, custom email sequences, physical direct mail, and coordinated sales outreach. A prospect might receive a branded infographic in the mail, then see ads reinforcing their message, then get an email referencing the exact materials they’d viewed. The result was a 33% conversion rate from cold targets to meetings within 4 weeks.

Three very different scales, but the same ingredients: know who you’re targeting, understand what they care about, and coordinate your outreach so every touchpoint builds on the last.

The Playbook: How to Set Up ABM Step by Step

1. Define Your Target Accounts

Start with your existing customers. Who’s given you the biggest deals, stuck around the longest, and caused the least grief? Those are your templates.

Map their firmographics (industry, size, revenue) and technographics (their software stack). Then layer in intent signals, both first-party (who’s visiting your pricing page repeatedly?) and third-party (who’s researching competitors?). Services like Demandbase can help with that external picture. Read how intent data can strengthen your list.

Create a non-ICP list too. If the tech stack doesn’t fit, the budget’s wrong, or there are regulatory blockers, flag them early and move on.

Score what’s left into tiers. Tier 1 accounts get direct sales attention. Tier 2 gets nurtured with content. Tier 3 stays warm with brand awareness. Ask your sales team which Tier 1 accounts have budget cycles coming up - that’s where you start.

Then hold a weekly sync. Marketing and sales are reviewing the same top 10 accounts, agreeing on next steps. No more “marketing sent us a dud lead” conversations.

Before you go all in, run a pilot: pick three accounts, run two touchpoints, measure one outcome. Iterate until you see results worth scaling.

2. Build an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

An ICP isn’t a poster on the wall. It’s a working document that outlines who to target, what to say, and where to show up.

Build it around three pillars: firmographics (the business itself), technographics (their tools and integrations), and intent signals (when they’re actively looking). Then, map buyer personas within each segment. A procurement lead cares about different things than a tech lead, and they consume content differently, too.

Create one-page ICP briefs for each ideal company, including their attributes, decision-makers, pain points, buying triggers, preferred content formats, and channels. Keep it practical enough for team use.

Validate with sales. Are you targeting the right sectors? Do the price points match? If something’s off, adjust and test again. We usually pilot with 3-5 accounts before committing to a broader rollout.

Hook the ICP into your CRM, automation tools, and content calendar. It should inform everything, from email sequences to product roadmaps.

3. Identify Decision-Makers

You can have the perfect account list, but if your messages land on the wrong desk, nothing happens.

Map the buying committee: CEO, CFO, CTO, Head of Procurement, Marketing Director. Use LinkedIn and your CRM to identify names. Then look at intent signals - if a CFO is visiting your pricing page twice a month, they’re probably in the decision cycle.

Keep a simple tracker: Company, Role, Name, Contact Method, Last Interaction, Next Step.

Use multi-threading. Reach two or three stakeholders per Tier 1 account. Most buying decisions are collaborative, so building relationships across the committee reduces your risk of being pushed to the next cycle. But don’t overdo it. Too many touches from too many angles feels spammy.

Personalise each approach. Open with something that shows you’ve done your homework. “I noticed your recent expansion into the Midlands - we helped a similar firm double their regional leads in 90 days” lands better than a generic value proposition.

Create a plan for each account: who to contact first, which pain point to lead with, which channel to use, and a suggested next step. Hand it to your sales reps and review weekly.

For a practical framework on mapping decision-makers, this User-led ABM guide is worth a look.

4. Craft Personalised Content

If your content feels generic, accounts tune out. Personalisation isn’t a nice-to-have here. It’s what makes the whole thing work.

Take your ICP briefs and translate them into content briefs per account: pain points, triggers, preferred formats, who you’re trying to reach, and the questions they’re likely asking. One page per account keeps it manageable.

Map content to the buyer’s journey. The awareness stage might need a provocative insight. The consideration stage requires proof: case studies and peer references. The decision stage needs a clear ROI case or a live demo.

Pair email with LinkedIn outreach and personalised landing pages, and make sure they all tell the same story. Start with three account-specific emails, one LinkedIn message, and a dynamic landing page per ICP segment.

Write concrete hooks, not vague promises. “We helped a similar firm reduce onboarding time by 40% and close deals twice as fast in 90 days”, beats “we help with growth” every time.

Build a modular content library: reusable problem statements, value propositions, ROI calculators, and customer references that can be swapped per account. Scalable but still feels bespoke.

Two practical reads if you want to go deeper: ABM campaign examples across stages and Mutiny’s guide on ABM personalisation.

5. Execute Outreach and Optimise

This is where everything comes together. The accounts are mapped, the content’s ready - now you need to get meetings booked.

Map a 4-step sequence: introductory touch, value-driven follow-up, case study, polite nudge. Choose channels based on where each target actually engages, not where it’s easiest for you. Use data to time things. If web traffic spikes in week two, push the case study then.

Personalise at scale using your ICP briefs. Pull in the company’s industry, tech stack, and recent interactions, then inject that into templates that still feel personal.

Automate the sequencing: when a prospect downloads a whitepaper, their lead score increases, and the next email is automatically sent. But automate the process, not the thinking. Every click and reply should feed back into a live dashboard so the team can see what’s working.

Track what matters: open rates (aim for 25%+), click-through rates (5%+ is solid), meetings booked per batch, pipeline velocity, and revenue lift per account tier. According to Salesforce’s ABM guide, firms tracking these KPIs see win-rate improvements of up to 38%.

A/B test subject lines, copy length, and CTAs over two-week sprints. When something works, adopt it. When it doesn’t, ditch it. Keep sales in the loop with a one-page playbook for each account, and log every outcome back into the CRM.

Once the cadence proves itself on Tier 1 accounts, extend the framework to Tier 2, adjusting depth to match the buying cycle but keeping the personal touches that make it work.

6. Compare ABM Platforms

Your platform should match your team’s maturity, your buyers’ complexity, and your budget.

All-in-one platforms combine intent data, advertising, content management, and analytics. Best for mature teams with an existing marketing stack who want to scale fast.

Intent-first providers focus on identifying who’s actively researching solutions like yours. Ideal if you’re still refining your ICP and want to filter noise early.

Demo and personalisation tools let you give target accounts a virtual product tour without scheduling a call. Paired with content-experience tools, they keep the conversation flowing between meetings.

Data enrichment and lead-routing tools fill in firmographic gaps and make sure the right rep touches the right contact at the right time. Usually, plug into your existing CRM.

FeatureAll-in-One PlatformsIntent-First ProvidersDemo & Personalisation ToolsAccount identificationBuilt-in scoring enginesReal-time intent feeds-Advertising orchestrationMulti-channel campaign builder--Content personalisationDynamic asset delivery-Interactive demos, content tracksCRM integrationNative connectorsAPI-first enrichmentPlug-ins to popular CRMs

Start small: pick an intent provider, add a demo platform, integrate with your CRM, and run a two-week pilot. If you want a platform that turns accounts into interactive experiences, Guideflow is worth exploring.

What Can You Do Today?

• Start with a handful of Tier 1 accounts rather than trying to cover everything at once

• Run a two-week pilot so you can see what lands before committing more resource

• Focus on meetings booked and qualified conversations as your measures of success, not opens or clicks

• Test and adjust as you go, whether that's a subject line, a data point, or adding a peer reference.

ABM doesn't need to start big. It needs to start focused. The companies, the message, and the follow-through matter more than the size of your tech stack or the length of your account list.

If you want help building the system; ICP briefs, content library, CRM setup get in touch or see how we’ve done it before: Our Work | Electric Alley.

FAQ

What is ABM, and why invest in it?
ABM is a practical approach to focusing marketing and sales on high-value accounts. Instead of broad campaigns, you create personalised outreach for the businesses most likely to buy. It shortens sales cycles, improves win rates, and works particularly well for B2B SaaS and professional services teams.

How do you build an ICP for ABM?
Combine firmographics, technographics, and intent signals into a one-page brief per segment. Include ideal company attributes, decision-makers, pain points, triggers, and preferred channels. Validate with sales, pilot with 3-5 accounts, and refine as you learn.

How do you identify the right decision-makers?
Map the buying committee, then confirm names through engagement data and your CRM. Use multi-threading: reach two or three stakeholders per Tier 1 account. Keep a shared tracker and review weekly with sales.

What content works best?
Content that mirrors your ICP briefs and matches where the buyer is in their journey. ROI memos for procurement, live demos for tech leads, peer references for finance. Deliver across email, LinkedIn, and personalised landing pages, and keep the messaging consistent.

How do you measure ABM success?
Track engagement (open and reply rates), meetings booked, qualified conversations, deal velocity, and revenue from target accounts. Use a shared dashboard so marketing and sales see the same numbers. Run short pilots, compare results, iterate.

Can Electric Alley help?
Yes. We provide fractional CMO-level strategy and hands-on execution for lifecycle marketing, CRM setup, and funnel optimisation, all aligned to your target accounts. We’ll build the ICP briefs, content library, and playbooks tailored to your market. Book a call.