“We want ABM”
We hear it all the time. But in most cases, what teams think they mean isn’t actually Account-Based Marketing.
So we always start by qualifying the ask.
Because when you say “ABM,” what you’re often really looking for is:
Better targeting
Smarter content
Marketing that’s more aligned with sales
That’s why we always listen before we label.
Most of the time, what you need is a well-built demand gen strategy, with a few ABM components layered in. Other times, you’re closer to being ABM-ready than you think. You just need a clearer roadmap and the right support to pull the pieces together.
This post breaks it all down—what your ABM campaign should really look like, and how you can get started with it right away.
So, what is account-based marketing?
Let’s start with the basics.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is not just a trendy acronym; it’s a strategic, focused approach to B2B marketing that aligns your sales and marketing efforts around a clearly defined set of high-priority accounts. The goal isn’t just more leads. It’s better-fit leads, stronger relationships, and more efficient paths to revenue.
ABM flips the funnel.
Instead of casting a wide net and hoping your ideal buyers are somewhere in the mix, you start by identifying the accounts that matter most for your business, with the highest potential to close, grow, and stick around. Then, you build campaigns that are personalized, relevant, and aligned to their unique needs, goals, and pain points.
The goal is to surround many people at a target account with ads, content, and experiences that get the whole company talking about your brand. You craft tailored messaging for your target buyer persona, but that’s not all. You also create pain-point-focused content for everyone in the buying cohort, including the detractors, to get mental and emotional buy-in from all.
This isn’t just lead gen with a fancier label. And it’s definitely not something you can automate your way through.
Because ABM isn’t just about smarter targeting—it’s about organizational alignment.
It’s your sales and marketing teams working together, sharing data, coordinating outreach, and building relationships with the right people inside the right companies. Without that alignment, it’s just another campaign.
And it’s not one-and-done.
True ABM is iterative. It requires ongoing optimization, real-time feedback between teams, and a long-term view. It’s not just about generating clicks or booking a meeting; it’s all about building momentum and trust inside your most valuable accounts.
The payoff? Better-fit deals, shorter sales cycles, and stronger customer relationships that drive lifetime value
When the right pieces are in place, ABM becomes one of the most effective ways for you to win high-value deals more efficiently.
Here are a few signs your business is well-positioned to benefit from an account-based marketing strategy:
Your average deal size is greater than $50K
Your sales cycles are longer than 3 months
You’re selling to multiple stakeholders, not just one person
You’ve clearly defined your ICP (ideal customer profile)
You’ve got a real target account list (TAL), not a wishlist on a whiteboard
Sales and marketing are tightly aligned and working toward the same revenue goals
You have a high customer lifetime value (>$100K)
You’re already using data tools like 6sense or Bombora to inform targeting and timing
Your total addressable market (TAM) is focused, fewer than 2,000 ideal-fit accounts
If this sounds like your business, you’re in a strong position to unlock the full value of an ABM strategy—and we can help you put the pieces into motion.
Plenty of teams are eager to jump into ABM because it sounds strategic, but not all of them are ready.
ABM can be powerful, but only when the right foundational pieces are in place. Without those foundations, it can create unnecessary complexity and distract from simpler, more efficient ways to drive growth.
Here are a few signs it might be too soon to invest in an ABM strategy:
Your average deal size is less than $15K
Your sales cycle is shorter than 1 month
You’re selling to only one stakeholder
You don’t have a clearly defined ideal customer profile (ICP)
You’re missing a real target account list (TAL)
Sales and marketing are misaligned or siloed
Your customer lifetime value (LTV) is under $25K
You don’t have an intent or data strategy in place
Your total addressable market (TAM) is very broad, over 10,000 accounts
If a few of these sound familiar, don’t worry, ABM isn’t off the table forever. It just means there’s foundational work to do before it can truly support your growth goals
You don’t need ABM in theory. You need it in practice. That’s where we shine.
Here’s how we help clients build the foundation of a real ABM strategy:
We help you define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) with precision, going beyond basic firmographics to identify the specific traits and pain points of companies most likely to buy, renew, and grow with you.
From there, we build a Target Account List (TAL) that reflects real-world revenue potential. A strong TAL keeps your sales and marketing efforts focused on the accounts that matter most, aligning your resources toward the prospects with the highest likelihood to convert.
This is where your ABM strategy starts to speak—literally. We help clients develop cornerstone content, lead magnets, and deep-dive offers designed to resonate across the full buying committee. That means not just one decision-maker, but every stakeholder involved in the deal.
Whether you're running a 1:many campaign to a broader segment or a 1:few approach to a select group of accounts, we tailor your messaging to reflect specific pain points, goals, and stages in the funnel.
From awareness to decision, we align your content to the real needs of your audience, so your campaigns aren’t just personalized, they’re persuasive.
A strong ABM strategy is only as effective as the infrastructure behind it. We bring your strategy to life inside HubSpot so that everything from segmentation to attribution just works.
We build smart workflows to automate handoffs between marketing and sales, implement lead scoring that reflects true buying intent, and ensure your database is segmented by ICP, buying stage, and persona.
Personalization is built into every touchpoint, from email nurture to ad audiences, so each contact sees the message that’s most relevant to them. And with clear, customized attribution dashboards, your team knows exactly what’s working, what’s not, and where to optimize.
When your ops are dialed in, your campaigns don’t just launch—they perform.
ABM isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. It’s a system that thrives on iteration. That’s why we use our Digital Uptopia Blueprint to educate your buyer through hyper-specific content "ladders," and refine every part of your ABM motion.
We don’t just launch campaigns. We analyze performance across channels, review engagement by persona and account, and adjust content, targeting, and timing based on what the data tells us.
From A/B testing subject lines to refining audience segments or reshaping the TAL, we’re always looking for ways to improve performance and increase pipeline velocity.
The result? A scalable, repeatable ABM system.
At Digitopia, we help you get clear on what ABM really means for your business, what gaps need to be addressed, and what will actually move the needle.
Considering ABM for your SMB? You may find that what you really need is advanced demand generation help.
Let’s talk. We’ll help you navigate the pros and cons of ABM vs. demand generation so you can build a strategy that matches your goals, your team, and your growth stage.
Start the strategy today!