ABM Campaigns: The Complete Guide to Building High-Converting Account-Based Marketing Campaigns

92% of companies say ABM delivers higher ROI than any other marketing approach. So why do many ABM campaigns struggle to move the needle?

The answer lies in a fundamental misunderstanding. Most B2B organizations think they’re running ABM campaigns when they’re really just doing lead generation with fancier targeting. They cast a slightly smaller net, add a company name to email subject lines, and call it “account-based marketing.”

Real ABM campaigns work differently. They treat each target account like a market of one, with custom research, tailored messaging, and orchestrated experiences across multiple touchpoints. They’re surgical, not spray-and-pray.

The difference shows up in the results. Companies running true ABM campaigns — like the ones we’ll explore in this guide — see 5x increases in pipeline velocity, 35% win rates from targeted accounts, and cost savings in the tens of thousands within months of launch (more on these real-life 6sense customer success stories later).

This guide will show you how to build campaigns that actually convert, not just generate activity.

We’ll walk through proven frameworks, tactical playbooks, and the technology integrations that turn good ideas into revenue-generating machines. By the end, you’ll have everything you need to plan, launch, and optimize ABM campaigns.

What is an ABM campaign?

An ABM campaign is a coordinated, time-bound marketing initiative that treats specific high-value accounts as individual markets. Unlike broader B2B marketing strategies that encompass sales territory planning and customer success programs, ABM campaigns are focused efforts designed to move target accounts from awareness to consideration to decision within a defined timeframe.

The defining characteristic of ABM campaigns is their account-centric approach to execution. Rather than targeting job titles or demographics, these campaigns target named companies and orchestrate multi-channel experiences for entire buying committees. Every touchpoint — from display ads to email sequences to sales outreach — delivers consistent messaging that builds toward a unified narrative, even when engaging different stakeholders within the same organization.

ABM campaigns differ fundamentally from lead nurturing and demand generation in their measurement and optimization approach. Success isn’t measured by individual prospect actions like email opens or form fills, but by account-level progression through buying stages. You’re not trying to generate maximum leads; you’re trying to advance specific accounts through your sales process with measurable engagement from multiple stakeholders.

Modern ABM campaigns leverage intent data and predictive analytics to time engagement when accounts are actively researching solutions. They transform campaign execution from interruption-based marketing to value-driven conversations that align with natural buying behavior.

Successful ABM campaign examples

The best way to understand what makes ABM campaigns successful is to examine what’s working right now. These three case studies show how different approaches to account-based marketing can drive dramatic results — and reveal the common patterns that separate winning campaigns from costly experiments.

Case study: BioCatch targets 553 global banks and achieves 5x pipeline growth

BioCatch, a leader in behavioral biometrics for financial crime prevention, faced a classic ABM challenge: how do you reach decision-makers at the world’s largest banks with messaging that resonates?

Their previous approach relied on traditional marketing tactics that generated unqualified leads. Without insights into real customer intent, Jonathan Daly’s team was essentially guessing which banks were ready to buy and when to reach out.

“We didn’t want to be on an ad platform where we were wasting even a penny showing ads to people who didn’t care or were not within our ICP,” Jonathan explains.

The strategic challenge

BioCatch needed to break through the noise in a highly regulated industry where decision-making involves multiple stakeholders and long evaluation cycles. Traditional marketing approaches weren’t working because they couldn’t identify which banks were actively researching fraud prevention solutions or which specific pain points were driving their search.

The campaign approach

Working with MarketBridge, BioCatch built a sophisticated account-based experience (ABX) strategy targeting 553 of the world’s largest banks. The goal was ambitious: move these accounts from “unengaged” to “engaged,” and get 60 accounts into active pipeline stages.

Here’s how they structured their systematic approach:

Precise segmentation and targeting: BioCatch created over 200 audience segments based on bank size, geography, current technology stack, and buying signals. This wasn’t basic firmographic targeting — they were identifying specific banks showing intent for fraud prevention solutions using 6sense’s AI-powered insights.

Intent-driven campaign timing: 6sense revealed which specific keywords those 553 banks were searching for related to behavioral biometrics, fraud detection, and financial crime prevention. When a bank’s research activity spiked around these topics, BioCatch knew it was time to intensify outreach and engagement.

Multi-channel orchestration: Rather than relying on a single touchpoint, they coordinated messaging across 6sense Display Ads, LinkedIn advertising, Google Ads, and used personalized landing pages. Each channel reinforced the same core message while adapting to the platform’s unique strengths and audience expectations.

Massive creative and content output: The team produced over 450 creative assets and built more than 10 landing pages, each tailored to specific audience segments and buyer journey stages. This wasn’t cookie-cutter content — each asset addressed the specific compliance, security, and operational challenges facing different types of financial institutions.

The results that transformed their pipeline

In just six months, BioCatch’s systematic approach delivered breakthrough results:

• 5x increase in accounts in active pipeline stage
• 63% increase in accounts in active engagement stage
• 125 campaigns launched with coordinated messaging across all channels
• 6% of the full target list moved into pipeline

But the real breakthrough was qualitative: “What fascinates me as a communication geek and what excites me about 6sense is that it allows us to listen,” Jonathan says. “If we’re patient and take the time to listen to the signals, we can understand what is meaningful to our buyers and who is a good fit for our product.”

The campaign transformed BioCatch from a company pushing messages into the market to one that responds to demonstrated buyer interest with relevant, timely engagement.

Case study: Reachdesk achieves 35% win rate with intent-driven sales process

Reachdesk, a global gifting platform, had a problem familiar to most sales organizations: their outbound strategy was built on guesswork. SDRs were making calls and sending emails, but they had no way to identify which accounts were actually in-market for their solution.

“We just didn’t have an understanding of which accounts might be in-market, and couldn’t tie keyword searches or content consumption to website visitors,” says Ben Smith, Marketing Director at Reachdesk.

The result was inefficient targeting, lower conversion rates, and frustrated sales reps who felt like they were shooting in the dark.

The transformation challenge

Reachdesk needed to shift from reactive lead response to proactive account engagement. Their existing process waited for prospects to raise their hands through form fills or demo requests. But in competitive markets, waiting for inbound interest often means missing opportunities to competitor who engage earlier in the buyer journey.

The campaign approach

Reachdesk implemented 6sense as their intent data foundation and built their entire sales process around buyer signals. This created a fundamental shift in how they approach prospecting and account engagement.

Daily intent monitoring and action: BDRs start each day by pulling reports of accounts showing 6sense intent signals. They examine the type of intent — website visits, keyword searches, content consumption — directly within Salesforce through the 6sense widget. No need to switch between applications; the key information is integrated into their existing workflow.

Signal-based prioritization: “Out of all the signals we look at on a daily basis, 6sense intent signals always seem to be the strongest in terms of who’s most likely to enter the funnel and ultimately close,” says Brandon Ray, Head of Global Outbound Demand Generation.

Integrated technology stack: 6sense connects with Salesloft for orchestrated outreach sequences and their own gifting platform for re-engagement campaigns. This creates a seamless workflow from intent detection to qualified opportunity, ensuring no signals fall through the cracks.

AI-powered follow-up automation: Reachdesk recently added 6sense AI Email Agents to automate follow-ups for prospects who had previously engaged with their gifting campaigns. This allows them to maintain consistent touchpoints without overwhelming their sales team.

The results that proved intent data ROI

The shift from guesswork to intent-driven selling delivered measurable improvements across their entire revenue operation:

• 35% win rate from accounts showing buying signals (significantly above their baseline average)
• 65% conversion rate from key accounts to sales-accepted opportunities (compared to 50% for accounts without intent signals)
• 50% close rate on opportunities generated from AI Email Agent campaigns
• Global visibility into prospect engagement across EMEA, North America, and APAC regions

“It’s the difference between being reactive and proactive,” Ben explains. “We’re not waiting for someone to fill out a form — we’re reaching out to them at the right time, with the right message, because we can see the buying signals.”

Brandon adds: “I can’t imagine a world without it. It would just be a guessing game in terms of who we should be reaching out to and when.” The combination of 6sense intent data and Reachdesk’s gifting platform creates what he calls “the best one-two punch in terms of generating the type of pipeline that closes.”

Case study: JAGGAER scales ABX with limited resources and saves $77,459

JAGGAER, a global leader in procurement software, faced a resource challenge that many enterprise companies know well. Despite having a marketing team of around 50 people, their ABX team in North America consisted of just two professionals who were already at full capacity.

“We needed to maximize efficiency and effectiveness in managing our ABX tech stack, but lacked the internal bandwidth to audit and improve our processes,” explains Annika Helmrich, VP of Growth Marketing.

The company had implemented 6sense but was struggling with low adoption across sales and marketing teams. Without proper utilization, they weren’t seeing the ROI they needed to justify their ABX investment.

The scaling challenge

JAGGAER had set ambitious targets for 2024, but their small ABX team was struggling to support these goals effectively. They needed to either hire additional resources or find a way to dramatically improve efficiency with their existing team structure.

The partnership solution

JAGGAER partnered with 6sense and their Teal-Level Agency Services Partner, 2X, to completely overhaul their ABX approach. The solution focused on automation and expert support rather than adding internal headcount.

Optimized 6sense implementation: 2X brought certified marketing-as-a-service expertise to work as an extension of JAGGAER’s team, providing the bandwidth to orchestrate comprehensive campaigns from account segmentation to real-time intent-driven outreach.

AI-driven automation and scoring: They implemented 6sense’s Predictive Analytics for automatic scoring of hot accounts in-market and Intelligent Workflows to dynamically segment audiences based on account behavior and route qualified accounts to appropriate sales reps.

Comprehensive technology integration: 6sense was integrated with existing technologies including Folloze, Salesforce CRM, Pardot, Outreach, Qualified webchat, Google Analytics, and Looker Studio, creating seamless workflow automation across their entire tech stack.

Custom reporting and analytics: 2X built a comprehensive, real-time campaign outcomes dashboard using Looker Studio, giving the marketing team clear visibility into performance metrics and campaign effectiveness.

The results that justified the investment

The combination of 6sense automation and expert support delivered immediate impact that exceeded expectations:

• $77,459 saved in the first two months compared to the cost of hiring local in-house resources
• 147 unique accounts engaged within two months of launching optimized campaigns
• 129 accounts reached 6QA status and moved to SDR sequences for direct follow-up
• 11 accounts opened opportunities from the initial campaign cohort

“The combination of 6sense and their service partner, 2X, has been a game-changer for our ABX strategy,” Annika says. “Despite having a small team, we can now execute campaigns with greater precision and achieve remarkable results.”

The partnership also improved overall performance across JAGGAER’s tech stack, reduced cost per qualified opportunity compared to their pre-6sense period, and provided real-time performance insights that empowered data-driven decision making.

What these wins have in common

While these three companies operate in different markets with different solutions, their successful ABM campaigns share several critical elements that any organization can apply:

Intent data as the strategic foundation: All three companies use buyer intent signals to time their outreach, eliminating the guesswork about when prospects are ready to engage. This transforms cold outreach into warm conversations.

Multi-channel orchestration: None relied on a single touchpoint. They coordinated consistent messaging across email, advertising, social media, and direct outreach to create comprehensive experiences that build awareness and credibility over time.

Technology integration for seamless workflows: Success came from connecting their ABM platform with existing sales and marketing tools, creating smooth handoffs and eliminating manual tasks that slow down response times.

Systematic, repeatable processes: Each company developed frameworks for identifying accounts, crafting messaging, and measuring results that could be executed consistently regardless of individual team member availability.

Cross-team alignment: Sales and marketing worked from the same playbook, with shared metrics, regular communication, and joint accountability for results.

These patterns aren’t coincidental — they represent the core requirements for ABM campaign success. The companies that consistently generate pipeline from their target accounts follow these same principles, regardless of their industry or deal size.

ABM campaign types: Choosing your strategic approach

Not all ABM campaigns require the same level of personalization and resource investment. The most successful campaigns start with choosing the right approach for your market reality, available resources, and business objectives.

Think of it like choosing the right tool for the job. You wouldn’t use a sledgehammer to hang a picture frame, and you wouldn’t use a small hammer to demolish a wall. ABM campaign types work the same way — the approach must match the opportunity.

Strategic (1:1) campaigns: Maximum precision and personalization

Strategic campaigns treat each target account like a market of one. Everything is custom — research, messaging, content, and outreach. This is ABM at its most precise and resource-intensive, designed for your highest-value opportunities.

When to use strategic campaigns:

• Enterprise accounts with deal sizes exceeding $500k
• Sales cycles longer than 12 months with multiple stakeholders
• Highly differentiated solutions requiring extensive education and relationship building
• Limited number of potential buyers in your total addressable market
• Situations where losing a single opportunity significantly impacts your revenue goals

Resource investment: High touch with dedicated team members focusing on each account. You’ll need custom content creation, executive involvement, and often face-to-face relationship building through events and meetings.

Timeline expectations: 6-18 months to see full results, though engagement should begin within the first quarter and provide leading indicators of progress.

Strategic campaign framework:

• Target size: 5-10 accounts maximum to ensure quality execution (this can scale as you get comfortable with the rhythms of these campaigns)
• Personalization depth: Company-specific content, executive briefings, custom demos, industry research reports, proof-of-concept development
• Channel mix: Direct executive outreach, VIP events, custom research, C-level relationship building, advisory board participation
• Team structure: Dedicated account manager, custom content creator, C-level sponsor, field marketing support, executive alignment

A strategic campaign might involve creating a custom market analysis report for a single prospect, hosting an executive roundtable at their industry conference, developing a proof-of-concept specific to their use case, and facilitating peer conversations with existing customers in similar situations.

6sense advantage in strategic campaigns: Deep account intelligence reveals which executives are engaging with your content, when they’re most active, what topics resonate most, and how decision-making processes typically unfold. This intelligence helps you optimize your high-touch interactions for maximum impact and avoid wasting time on unengaged stakeholders.

Cluster (1:few) campaigns: Targeted segmentation with scale

Cluster campaigns focus on groups of similar accounts that share common characteristics — industry, company size, technology stack, or business challenges. You’re still personalizing extensively, but you’re leveraging commonalities to scale your efforts efficiently.

When to use cluster campaigns:

• Mid-market deals typically ranging from $100k to $1M
• Sales cycles of 6-12 months with defined buying processes
• Clear industry or segment patterns in your customer base that allow for meaningful grouping
• Moderate resources with need for some scalability
• Situations where you can create industry-specific value propositions

Resource investment: Moderate personalization with templated frameworks that can be adapted. You’ll create segment-specific content that addresses common pain points while allowing for account-level customization.

Timeline expectations: 3-9 months to see significant results, with initial engagement appearing in the first 6-8 weeks as your content and outreach reach market.

Cluster campaign framework:

• Target size: 20-100 accounts with similar characteristics that allow for grouped messaging (depending on the size of your company and available resources)
• Personalization depth: Industry-specific messaging, segment pain points, relevant case studies, role-based content, competitive comparisons
• Channel mix: Industry events, trade publication advertising, LinkedIn campaigns, display ad campaigns, search ads, webinar series, industry-specific content hubs
• Team structure: Segment marketing specialist, industry-focused sales reps, content marketing support, event coordination

A cluster campaign might target all mid-size healthcare organizations implementing new patient management systems. You’d develop content around healthcare-specific compliance challenges, host webinars on industry trends, sponsor relevant healthcare conferences, and create case studies featuring similar healthcare organizations.

6sense advantage in cluster campaigns: Predictive segmentation helps identify accounts that look like your best customers within each cluster. Intent data reveals industry-wide trends and buying patterns, helping you time campaign launches and optimize messaging. Competitive intelligence shows which alternative solutions accounts are evaluating.

Scaled (1:many) campaigns: Systematic automation with broad reach

Scaled campaigns apply ABM principles to larger groups of accounts using automation and AI-powered personalization. You’re maintaining account focus while leveraging technology to reach hundreds or thousands of prospects efficiently.

When to use scaled campaigns:

• Shorter sales cycles (under 6 months) with standardized buying processes
• Deal sizes under $100k with faster decision-making and fewer stakeholders
• Large total addressable market with clear ideal customer profile patterns
• Limited resources requiring maximum efficiency and broad market coverage
• Proven product-market fit that doesn’t require extensive education

Resource investment: Lower per-account investment with heavy automation. You’ll rely on dynamic content, programmatic advertising, and marketing automation to scale personalization without manual customization.

Timeline expectations: 1-6 months to initial results, with optimization happening in real-time based on engagement data and performance metrics.

Scaled campaign framework:

• Target size: 500+ accounts matching broad ICP criteria with potential for automated segmentation
• Personalization depth: Dynamic content based on company size, role, industry, and technology stack, automated email sequences, programmatic ad personalization
• Channel mix: Programmatic advertising, email sequences, social media campaigns, content syndication, webinar series, inside sales outreach
• Team structure: Marketing automation specialists, inside sales reps, content operations, digital marketing specialists

A scaled campaign might target all companies in the 100-500 employee range that recently received Series B funding. Dynamic content would adjust messaging based on their industry and funding stage, while programmatic ads would follow them across the web with relevant offers and success stories.

6sense advantage in scaled campaigns: AI-powered audience building identifies accounts showing buying signals across your entire addressable market, and ties keyword and topic research to specific accounts. Automated personalization delivers relevant content at scale, while intent-based triggering ensures you’re reaching accounts when they’re actively researching solutions like yours.

Decision framework: Choosing the right approach

Choosing the right campaign type isn’t just about available resources — it’s about matching your approach to market reality, customer expectations, and business objectives.

Strategic questions to guide your decision:

1. What’s your average deal size and typical sales cycle length?
2. How many target accounts can your team realistically handle with quality interactions?
3. How large is your total addressable market, and how well-defined is your ICP?
4. How differentiated is your solution compared to alternatives in the market?
5. What resources do you have available for content creation and campaign management?
6. How complex is your typical buying process, and how many stakeholders are involved?

Decision matrix for campaign type selection:

• Deal size $1M+, sales cycle 12+ months: Strategic (1:1) approach with maximum personalization
• Deal size $100k-$1M, sales cycle 6-12 months: Cluster (1:few) approach with segment focus
• Deal size under $100k, sales cycle under 6 months: Scaled (1:many) approach with automation
• Mixed portfolio with multiple deal sizes: Hybrid approach with different treatments by account tier and opportunity size

The hybrid model advantage: Many successful companies don’t choose just one approach. They might run strategic campaigns for their top 10 enterprise prospects, cluster campaigns for mid-market segments, and scaled campaigns for smaller opportunities. The key is having clear criteria for which accounts get which treatment and ensuring smooth transitions as accounts progress or demonstrate higher engagement.

Remember: you can always start with a scaled approach and promote high-potential accounts to cluster or strategic treatment as they show engagement and buying signals. It’s much harder to go the other direction without disappointing prospects who expect high-touch experiences.

The comprehensive ABM campaign planning framework

Building successful ABM campaigns requires systematic execution of a proven process.

This framework has been tested across hundreds of campaigns and refined based on what drives results, not what sounds good in theory. Follow it methodically, and you’ll avoid the common mistakes that derail most ABM initiatives.

Step 1: Define campaign objectives and success metrics

Most ABM campaigns fail because they start with tactics instead of objectives. Before you think about target accounts or messaging, get crystal clear on what success looks like and how you’ll measure progress toward your goals.

Strategic questions to answer:

• What specific business outcome are you trying to drive? (Pipeline generation, revenue growth, market penetration, competitive displacement)
• How does this campaign support broader revenue goals and company strategy?
• What timeline are you working within, and what intermediate milestones will indicate progress?
• What resources and budget can you realistically commit to sustained campaign execution?
• How will you define and measure campaign success beyond basic activity metrics?

Key activities for objective setting:

• Set SMART goals with specific numerical targets (e.g., “Generate $2M in qualified pipeline from 50 target accounts within 6 months”)
• Define leading indicators that predict success (engagement rates, intent score increases, meeting bookings, stakeholder coverage)
• Establish baseline metrics for comparison (current pipeline velocity, win rates, deal sizes from target segments)
• Get stakeholder alignment on success criteria, timeline expectations, and resource allocation
• Create campaign success criteria that balance activity metrics with business impact

6sense integration opportunity: Use historical performance data from similar account segments to set realistic benchmarks and timeline expectations. Analyze patterns from successful past campaigns to inform goal setting.

Deliverable: Create a campaign charter document with clear objectives, success metrics, timeline, resource allocation, and stakeholder approval.

Step 2: Build your ideal customer profile and target account list

Your ICP isn’t just a marketing exercise — it’s the foundation for every campaign decision. Spend time getting this right, because everything else depends on targeting the right accounts with the right approach.

ICP development process:

• Analyze your best customers: What firmographic, technographic, and behavioral patterns made them successful long-term customers?
• Interview sales reps and customer success managers: What do they see in accounts that close quickly, expand over time, and become advocates?
• Examine churned customers: What warning signs could have predicted poor fit or implementation challenges?
• Create detailed personas for key buying committee members: What are their goals, challenges, decision-making criteria, and preferred communication styles?

Account selection methodology:

• Start with fit: Which accounts match your proven ICP criteria for size, industry, technology stack, and business model?
• Add intent signals: Which accounts are showing active buying behavior through research, content consumption, or competitive evaluation?
• Consider timing factors: Budget cycles, contract renewals, leadership changes, business events that create urgency
• Prioritize by revenue potential and win probability: Focus campaign resources on accounts where you can win and the deal size justifies the investment

6sense integration opportunities:

• Use predictive analytics to score account fit based on successful customer patterns. Customers often discover new ICPs.
• Leverage intent data to identify accounts actively researching your solution category
• Apply AI-powered lookalike modeling to find accounts similar to your best customers
• Monitor competitive research signals to identify displacement opportunities

Deliverable: Generate a prioritized target account list with fit scores, intent indicators, competitive analysis, and initial account intelligence.

Step 3: Deep account research and intelligence gathering

This step separates successful ABM campaigns from expensive lead generation exercises. You’re not just collecting basic company information — you’re developing insights that inform every aspect of your campaign strategy and messaging.

Business context research:

• Strategic priorities and initiatives: What are their top business goals this year, and how might your solution support these objectives?
• Recent developments: Funding rounds, acquisitions, leadership changes, product launches, market expansions that create new opportunities
• Competitive landscape: Who are they currently using for solutions like yours, and what are the limitations of their current approach?
• Technology environment: What systems do they use, and how might that impact buying decisions, implementation requirements, or integration needs?

Comprehensive stakeholder analysis:

• Decision makers: Who has budget authority and final approval for purchases in your category?
• Influencers: Who evaluates solutions, makes recommendations, and guides the selection process?
• Champions: Who would benefit most from your solution and might advocate internally for change?
• Blockers: Who might resist change, prefer alternative approaches, or have relationships with competitive vendors?

6sense integration opportunities:

• Account intelligence dashboard provides real-time insights on engagement patterns and research activity
• Stakeholder mapping shows which individuals are most active in research and what topics interest them
• Intent keyword analysis reveals specific topics and solutions they’re evaluating
• Competitive intelligence shows which alternative vendors they’re researching
• Sales intelligence summarizes company news such as funding, revenue growth, and employe hiring

Deliverable: Build and/or review detailed account profiles with organizational charts, key initiatives, technology stack analysis, stakeholder influence maps, and competitive situation assessment.

Step 4: Develop messaging and content strategy

Generic messaging kills ABM campaigns. Your research should inform specific, relevant messaging that speaks to each account’s unique situation, priorities, and challenges. Tailor messaging to individual buyer personas and buying stages so you can build influence by delivering value throughout the buying journey.

Messaging framework development:

• Core value proposition: How does your solution specifically address their documented business priorities and strategic initiatives?
• Stakeholder-specific messages: How does each key person benefit from your solution, and what concerns or objections might they have?
• Competitive differentiation: Why should they choose you over current solutions and alternatives they’re evaluating?
• Proof points and social proof: What evidence (case studies, references, data) supports your claims and resonates with their situation?

Content planning and creation strategy:

• Awareness stage: Educational content about industry trends, business challenges, and solution approaches that don’t mention your product
• Consideration stage: Solution comparisons, ROI analysis, implementation case studies that help them evaluate options
• Decision stage: Custom proposals, proof-of-concept plans, reference conversations that support their final selection
• Account-specific assets: Custom ROI models, industry benchmarks, competitive analyses tailored to their situation

6sense integration opportunities:

• Intent data informs content topic prioritization and timing based on their active research
• Dynamic audience segmentation allows you to shift accounts to personalized campaigns based on engagement patterns and interests

Deliverable: Build a comprehensive messaging guide with stakeholder-specific value propositions, content calendar with asset creation timeline, and content performance measurement plan.

Step 5: Design multi-channel campaign architecture

Channel selection and sequencing can make or break your campaign effectiveness. You’re not just choosing where to advertise — you’re designing a customer experience that guides accounts through their research while building credibility and trust.

Strategic channel selection criteria:

• Stakeholder preferences: Where do your target personas consume business information and make research decisions?
• Message requirements: Which channels support the depth and format you need for effective communication?
• Budget efficiency: What combination delivers maximum reach and engagement within your available resources?
• Attribution capability: Can you track and measure performance across channels to optimize investment?

Campaign flow design:

• Awareness phase: Broad reach through content marketing, social media, industry publications, thought leadership to establish credibility
• Consideration phase: Targeted engagement through direct outreach, webinars, targeted advertising, educational content that builds trust
• Decision phase: Personal interactions through demos, meetings, executive briefings, custom proposals that address specific needs

6sense integration opportunities:

• Intelligent Workflows automate campaign execution based on engagement signals and account progression
• Cross-channel audience segment synchronization ensures consistent messaging and avoids duplicate outreach
• Real-time optimization adjusts channel mix based on account engagement patterns and performance data

Deliverable: Detailed campaign architecture diagram with channel strategy, technology requirements, measurement framework, and implementation timeline.

Valuable resource: The 2024 Buyer Experience Report has a wealth of data about how B2B buyers make decisions.

Step 6: Campaign launch and execution

Campaign launch is where planning meets reality. Even the best strategy fails without disciplined execution, monitoring, and adjustment.

Comprehensive pre-launch checklist:

• Content assets: All materials created, reviewed, approved, and uploaded to appropriate platforms
• Technology setup: Platforms configured, integrations tested, tracking implemented, dashboards configured
• Team alignment: Sales and marketing trained on messaging, process, handoff procedures, and success metrics
• Measurement systems: Dashboards configured, baseline metrics recorded, reporting scheduled, alert systems activated

Phased launch approach:

• Pilot phase: Launch with 20% of target accounts to test messaging, process, and technology performance
• Feedback collection: Gather sales team input, early engagement metrics, and solicit ideas for optimization
• Optimization: Refine messaging, adjust channel mix, improve handoff processes, and fix any technical issues
• Full launch: Once you have a proven approach and optimized processes, scale it to your entire account list

6sense integration opportunities:

• Campaign monitoring dashboard provides real-time performance visibility across all channels and accounts
• Automated alerts identify high-intent accounts requiring immediate sales follow-up or strategy adjustment
• Dynamic audience updates maintain campaign relevance as account behavior changes and new signals emerge

Deliverable: Document processes, set a performance baseline, plan optimization procedures, complete team training, then launch your new campaign.

Step 7: Monitor, measure, and optimize

Successful ABM campaigns evolve continuously. What works in month one may not work in month three as market conditions change, accounts progress through buying cycles, and competitive dynamics shift.

Daily monitoring and action items:

• Campaign performance: Engagement rates, conversion metrics, cost efficiency, channel effectiveness
• Account progression: Movement through buying stages, intent score changes, stakeholder engagement levels
• Sales feedback: Response quality, meeting conversion rates, deal progression, competitive intelligence
• Technology performance: System uptime, integration issues, data quality, automation effectiveness

Weekly analysis and optimization:

• Trend identification: What patterns are emerging in account behavior and campaign performance?
• Channel performance: Which touchpoints drive highest engagement and progression to next stages?
• Content effectiveness: What assets generate most engagement, downloads, and sales handoffs?
• Account segmentation: Are different account types responding to different approaches and messages?

Monthly strategic adjustments:

• Budget reallocation: Shift resources to highest-performing channels, tactics, and account segments
• Messaging refinement: Update value propositions based on market feedback, competitive intelligence, and engagement data
• Target list evolution: Add new accounts showing intent signals, pause unresponsive accounts, adjust scoring criteria
• Process improvement: Streamline handoffs, reduce friction, improve measurement accuracy, enhance team collaboration

6sense integration opportunities:

• Automated performance reporting eliminates manual data compilation and provides real-time insights
• AI-powered optimization recommendations suggest tactical adjustments based on performance patterns
• Predictive analytics forecast campaign performance and account progression likelihood

Deliverable: Weekly performance reports with optimization recommendations, monthly strategic reviews, and quarterly campaign evolution planning.

Step 8: Results analysis and campaign evolution

Campaign success isn’t just about hitting your initial metrics — it’s about building a sustainable, scalable approach that improves over time and provides insights for future campaigns.

Comprehensive results review:

• Financial performance: Campaign ROI, revenue attribution, cost per qualified opportunity, customer acquisition cost
• Account impact: Progression rates, engagement depth, sales cycle impact, deal size improvements
• Channel effectiveness: Cost efficiency, conversion rates, scalability potential, audience reach
• Process efficiency: Team productivity, technology utilization, resource optimization, workflow improvements

Learning documentation and knowledge transfer:

• Success patterns: What tactics, messaging, timing, and approaches drove best results?
• Failure analysis: What didn’t work, why did it fail, and what would you do differently?
• Best practices: What processes and approaches should be replicated in future campaigns?
• Market insights: What did you learn about target accounts, buying behavior, and competitive dynamics?

6sense integration opportunities:

• Historical performance analysis informs future campaign planning and target selection
• Success pattern identification helps replicate winning approaches across different segments
• Predictive modeling improves targeting and timing for next campaigns

Deliverable: Provide a comprehensive campaign results report with detailed analysis, lessons learned, recommendations for future campaigns, and a strategic evolution roadmap.

This framework works because it balances careful planning with agile execution, measurement with optimization, and strategy with tactics. Follow it systematically, and you’ll build campaigns that don’t just generate activity — they generate predictable revenue growth.

Building your ABM campaign team and measuring success

ABM campaigns succeed or fail based on the people executing them and the metrics they optimize for.

Core team structure and responsibilities

Campaign owner/ABM manager

This person owns overall campaign success. They’re accountable for results and responsible for keeping everyone aligned and moving toward shared objectives.

Key responsibilities:

• Overall campaign strategy development and execution oversight
• Cross-team coordination and communication management
• Performance monitoring and optimization recommendations
• Stakeholder reporting and campaign success measurement
• Budget management and resource allocation decisions
• Timeline management and milestone tracking

Skills needed: Project management, strategic thinking, cross-functional collaboration, data analysis, communication

Account research specialist

This person ensures your team understands target accounts deeply enough to create relevant, compelling experiences that resonate with specific business challenges.

Key responsibilities:

• Deep account intelligence gathering and documentation
• Stakeholder mapping and persona development
• Competitive analysis and positioning research
• Intent data analysis and insight generation
• Account scoring and prioritization recommendations
• Research-based messaging input and validation

Skills needed: Business research, data analysis, attention to detail, strategic thinking, industry knowledge

Content marketing lead

This role ensures your campaign has the right content to engage stakeholders at every stage of the buying journey. They translate account research into compelling, relevant content experiences that drive progression.

Key responsibilities:

• Account-specific content strategy development
• Messaging framework creation and testing
• Content asset creation and adaptation
• Content performance analysis and optimization
• Creative asset coordination with design and video teams
• Content distribution strategy across channels

Skills needed: Content strategy, copywriting, project management, performance analysis, creative direction

Marketing operations

ABM campaigns require sophisticated data management. This person ensures your systems work together seamlessly and data flows correctly to enable optimization.

Key responsibilities:

• Campaign technology setup and integration management
• Data integration, hygiene, and quality assurance
• Performance tracking and attribution measurement
• Marketing automation workflow development and optimization
• Campaign reporting and dashboard creation
• Technology troubleshooting and optimization

Skills needed: Marketing technology, data analysis, process optimization, technical troubleshooting

Sales development representative (SDR)

SDRs bridge the gap between marketing campaigns and sales conversations. In ABM, they need to be more strategic and research-focused than traditional lead generation SDRs.

Key responsibilities:

• Develop account-specific outreach sequences and execution
• Manage lead qualification and sales handoff
• Gather sales feedback and campaign intelligence
• Track and report on account engagement
• Relationship building with key stakeholders
• Campaign response analysis and optimization

Skills needed: Research, communication, relationship building, strategic thinking, persistence

Success metrics and optimization framework

The key to effective ABM team management and measurement is treating campaign execution like a cross-functional project with clear owners, defined processes, shared accountability, and continuous optimization based on real performance data rather than assumptions.

Leading indicators to track weekly:

Account engagement metrics:

• Intent score changes across target accounts
• Website engagement depth and return visit frequency from target accounts
• Content consumption patterns and progression through educational materials
• Email and social media engagement rates and response quality
• Multi-channel engagement coverage across target account list

Campaign reach and penetration metrics:

• Percentage of target accounts reached through any campaign touchpoint (target: 80% coverage within first month)
• Number of stakeholders engaged per target account
• Response rates to email, LinkedIn, and phone outreach
• Meeting booking rates and sales conversation quality

Lagging indicators to track monthly:

Pipeline development metrics:

• Marketing qualified accounts (MQAs) generated from campaign activities
• Sales accepted opportunities from target accounts
• Pipeline velocity improvements compared to non-ABM accounts
• Average deal size from campaign-targeted accounts vs. baseline (target: 20% increase)

Revenue and efficiency metrics:

• Campaign-attributed revenue through proper attribution modeling
• Account expansion revenue from existing customers targeted through ABM
• Customer lifetime value impact from ABM-acquired accounts
• Return on investment calculation

Real-time optimization process

Weekly optimization actions:

• Adjust targeting based on engagement patterns and account behavior
• Optimize email subject lines and content based on response rates and feedback
• Reallocate ad spend to best-performing channels and creative assets
• Update sales outreach messaging based on response quality and conversion rates

Monthly strategic adjustments:

• Expand successful tactics to additional account segments and markets
• Test new channels and messaging approaches with small account cohorts
• Refine ideal customer profile based on actual conversion data and success patterns
• Update account prioritization and scoring models based on performance analytics

Quarterly campaign evolution:

• Comprehensive performance analysis with detailed recommendations for next quarter
• Technology platform optimization and integration improvements
• Team training and process refinement based on learnings and market feedback
• Strategy refinement for improved performance and efficiency in future campaigns

Common ABM campaign pitfalls and how to avoid them

Every failed ABM campaign follows a predictable pattern. Teams start with enthusiasm, implement tactics they’ve read about, and then wonder why their “account-based marketing” generates more activity than revenue. Here are the most critical mistakes and how to avoid them.

Treating ABM like lead generation at scale

The problem: Teams run broad campaigns with light personalization and call it “account-based marketing.” They add company names to email subject lines, create industry-specific landing pages, and target by firmographics — but they’re still optimizing for volume over depth.

The solution: Start with fewer accounts and deeper personalization. Use the “dinner party test” — if you wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing their specific business challenges over dinner, you don’t know the account well enough for effective ABM.

Lack of sales-marketing alignment

The problem: Marketing develops target lists and campaigns without meaningful sales input. Sales reps get leads from accounts they’ve never heard of with messaging they don’t understand.

The solution: Joint planning sessions where sales and marketing collaborate on account selection, messaging development, and success metrics. Both teams should co-own the target account list and campaign results.

Insufficient account research

The problem: Teams create “personalized” campaigns based on basic firmographic data. The messaging feels generic because it doesn’t reflect deep understanding of specific business challenges.

The solution: Create detailed account intelligence profiles that include business context, stakeholder maps, and strategic insights — not just contact information.

Impatience with results

The problem: Teams expect immediate pipeline from ABM campaigns and abandon strategies before they have time to work. ABM requires relationship building, which takes time in B2B environments.

The solution: Set realistic timelines — expect 3-6 months for initial meaningful results. Track engagement depth, account progression, and sales team feedback as early indicators before revenue materializes.

Technology over-reliance

The problem: Teams assume sophisticated ABM technology will solve strategy and execution challenges. They focus on platform features instead of fundamental marketing principles.

The solution: Focus on process and people first, then add technology to amplify what’s working. Prove your ABM approach with smaller, manually-executed campaigns before investing in automation.

Your next steps to ABM campaign success

Building high-converting ABM campaigns isn’t about perfect technology, unlimited budgets, or secret tactics. The companies achieving 5x pipeline increases, 35% win rates, and significant cost savings follow systematic approaches that combine strategic thinking with disciplined execution.

Your immediate action plan:

1. Audit your current approach against the frameworks in this guide. Are you running true account-based campaigns or just lead generation with better targeting?
2. Choose your campaign type based on your resources and market opportunity. Strategic (1:1) for enterprise deals above $500k, cluster (1:few) for mid-market opportunities, or scaled (1:many) for broader markets.
3. Start small and focused with 10-20 target accounts to perfect your process before scaling to larger lists. It’s better to fully engage a smaller group than to lightly touch hundreds of accounts.
4. Invest in intent data to transform your timing from guesswork to signal-based outreach. The companies in our case studies consistently mention intent data as their foundation for knowing when accounts are ready to engage.
5. Measure rigorously using the leading and lagging indicators outlined in this guide. Track account engagement and progression to optimize campaigns in real-time while monitoring pipeline and revenue impact to prove business value.
6. Build systematic processes that ensure consistent execution over time. ABM campaigns succeed through sustained effort and coordination, not brilliant tactics that fade after initial enthusiasm.

Remember: ABM campaigns are marathons, not sprints. The accounts that convert in month six often started engaging in month one. Your job is to stay top-of-mind with valuable, relevant interactions until they’re ready to buy.

The future belongs to organizations that combine account-based precision with modern marketing technology to create experiences that feel personal at scale. By following the strategies, tactics, and frameworks in this guide, you’ll build campaigns that don’t just generate leads — they create customers.

Ready to see how 6sense can accelerate your ABM campaign results? Book a demo to explore our AI-powered ABM platform and discover how companies like BioCatch, Reachdesk, and JAGGAER are achieving breakthrough results with intent-driven campaigns.