[GTM glossary](/glossary.md) Account-based marketing ABM # Account-based marketing (ABM) Also known as: ABM In short Account-based marketing (ABM) is a B2B strategy in which marketing and sales jointly pick a defined set of high-value accounts and run tailored campaigns aimed at the people who buy within them. The account, not the individual lead, is the unit of work. Traditional demand generation casts a wide net and qualifies leads that respond. ABM reverses the order: choose the accounts first, then engage them. It suits companies with high deal values, long sales cycles, and several decision makers. ## The three common ABM models * **One-to-one (strategic):** Fully customized programs for a handful of top accounts. * **One-to-few (lite):** Programs tailored to small clusters of accounts that share traits, such as an industry or use case. * **One-to-many (programmatic):** Scaled programs that personalize with data and automation across a larger list. --- ## How to run an ABM program ### 1. Align sales and marketing Agree on goals, definitions, and who owns which step. ### 2. Select accounts Use your ideal customer profile and signals to build the target list. ### 3. Identify the buying committee Find the roles that influence the purchase in each account. ### 4. Create relevant content and offers Tailor messaging to the account's industry, problem, or stage. ### 5. Coordinate channels Combine advertising, email, direct outreach, events, and sales calls toward the same accounts. ### 6. Measure by account Track engagement, pipeline, and revenue at the account level. --- ## Example Say a team picks 60 accounts. Marketing runs ads to the committees at those accounts and sends a relevant guide, while sales development reaches out to those who engage. The team reports weekly on how many accounts have two or more engaged contacts, and moves those to sales conversations. --- ## Common mistakes * **Weak sales and marketing alignment:** If sales does not agree with the list, they will not follow up. * **Lists that are too long:** A hundreds-long list with one-to-one effort cannot succeed. * **Measuring leads instead of accounts:** Lead counts hide whether the right accounts are moving. * **Expecting fast results:** Long sales cycles mean account-level progress takes months to show in revenue. --- ## Account-based marketing FAQs **What is account-based marketing (ABM)?** Account-based marketing is a B2B strategy where marketing and sales focus on a defined list of high-value target accounts and run personalized campaigns to the buying committee in each one, rather than generating broad lead volume and qualifying afterward. **How does account-based marketing work?** Teams select target accounts, identify the decision makers in each, create tailored content and offers, coordinate ads, email, and sales outreach to those accounts, and measure engagement and pipeline at the account level rather than counting individual leads. **What is the difference between ABM and demand generation?** Demand generation attracts a broad audience and qualifies the leads that respond. ABM starts by choosing specific accounts and then engages them directly. ABM tends to fit high-value deals with several buyers, while demand generation fits broader, higher-volume motions. **When should a company use account-based marketing?** ABM tends to fit companies with high deal values, long sales cycles, multiple decision makers, and a clearly defined set of ideal customers. It is less suited to low-priced, high-volume products with short buying cycles. **What are the types of ABM?** The three common types are one-to-one for a handful of strategic accounts, one-to-few for small clusters of similar accounts, and one-to-many for larger lists personalized with data and automation. Teams often combine all three by account tier. Share term --- ## More related phrases * [Programmatic ABM](/glossary/programmatic-abm.md) * [Buying committee](/glossary/buying-committee.md) * [ABM advertising](/glossary/abm-advertising.md) ## Similar phrases * [ABM strategy (ABM)](/glossary/abm-strategy.md) An ABM strategy is the plan for which accounts to pursue, who to reach inside them, what to say, and how sales and marketing will work together to win them. * [ABM campaign (ABM)](/glossary/abm-campaign.md) An ABM campaign is a time-boxed set of coordinated marketing and sales actions aimed at a specific group of target accounts to win meetings, pipeline, or expansion. * [Account-based sales](/glossary/account-based-sales.md) Account-based sales is a sales approach where reps focus on a defined list of high-value accounts and pursue them with researched, personalized, multi-contact outreach rather than broad prospecting. * [Target account list](/glossary/target-account-list.md) A target account list is a defined set of companies that a sales and marketing team has chosen to pursue because they match the ideal customer profile and show strong potential. * [Account-based experience (ABX)](/glossary/account-based-experience.md) Account-based experience (ABX) designs every interaction a target account has with your company, across marketing, sales, and customer success, as one personalized, consistent experience.