How to Implement Account-Based Marketing in 2025

Today, there seems to be a marked slowdown of the B2B sales cycle across the board. Decision makers often opt for the quick-win of generic campaigns and tactics, which always seem to result in—big surprise—more confusion, indecision among stakeholders, and little to no return from their markets. This, in turn, contributes to an exponential slowdown of pipeline growth and an increasing stack of stalled deals. A vicious cycle.

Account-based marketing can offer a solution. 

Generic never wins. We know this, but where do you start? With targeted outreach, personalized content, and sales alignment, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) can turn complexity into pipeline growth.

Here’s how…

What ABM is and why it matters now

ABM is a B2B strategy that focuses on a select group of high-value accounts. Instead of broad campaigns, it delivers targeted messaging and personalized outreach to key decision-makers, cutting through the noise of traditional marketing.

But why does ABM matter right now? 

A recent DemandGen report shows that one in five buyers now spends noticeably more time researching than they did just a year ago. On top of that, over a quarter of companies have added extra voices to the decision-making process. More research to sift through. More stakeholders with differing opinions. The result? A sizable overall lag in the B2B sales cycle: delaying purchases, delaying return on investment.

So, many marketing teams are turning to ABM strategies. ABM aligns sales and marketing around the same high-value accounts, so teams can focus sales efforts toward the company’s specific needs and pain points. 

At the same time, ABM marketers map each decision-maker in the account, tailoring content to their individual priorities. By doing this, ABM unites all stakeholders, guiding them toward a shared outcome with personalized content that addresses each objection along the way.

And guess what? It actually works.

Right now, most B2B companies have some form of ABM program, and the majority agree it can deliver a stronger return on investment (ROI) than any other marketing effort in their toolbox: 

• 49% percent say it has grown business with existing accounts

• 44% percent say it has improved customer retention and loyalty

• 44% percent say it has enhanced their brand reputation

In short, if your salespeople and demand generation marketers want to drive pipeline growth and close deals with the accounts that matter most, ABM can offer the marketing alignment playbook to help you deliver in today’s crowded landscape.

But is your team ready for ABM?

Not every company is ready to launch a full account-based marketing strategy on day one. Before you build ABM campaigns, you need to check whether your marketing teams and sales reps have the right mix of people, tools, and budget to pull it off.

Internal capabilities and resources

Unfortunately (and too often), many ABM programs fail because teams underestimate the resources it takes to be successful.

Recent industry research shows that teams most often fail with ABM because they:

• Lack the necessary budget

• Have a limited grasp of ABM deployment models

• Are unclear on the definition and purpose of ABM

• Can’t align sales and marketing goals

• Have trouble defining target accounts

• Misconfigure tech stacks

Without alignment on target accounts and the right tech stack, ABM falls apart. Teams spread marketing efforts too thin, chase different priorities, and act out of sync. As a result, what should be a focused ABM strategy ends up looking like generic digital marketing. Back to zero.

To succeed, you’ll need clear personas, a strong CRM or marketing automation platform, and shared commitment from both salespeople and marketers. 

Starting small: Piloting with a tiered account list

The fastest way to build a successful ABM program is to start small. Instead of stretching your focus across thousands of target accounts, try to concentrate on a carefully tiered target account list.

Take your account list and segment them into high-, medium-, and low-tier accounts. Reserve one-to-one personalization for the highest-value opportunities, lighter customization for mid-tier accounts, and scalable tactics for the bottom range.

Amplitude recently tried this strategy and saw big gains.

The Amplitude team began with 3,500 specific accounts, which led to generic outreach, weak personalized content, and zero buy-in from sales reps. 

This year, they cut that list down to just 130 parent accounts to focus their efforts.

Using Mutiny’s web extension, Amplitude could then instantly see which target accounts were interacting with its tailored landing pages. That context has helped sales follow up with the right message at the right time. With a narrower set of accounts, Amplitude could focus more deeply, leading to a 20% uplift in meetings that actually moved into the pipeline.

The takeaway? A smaller, smarter ABM approach creates stronger customer relationships with impact that’s easier to measure.

Build your ABM strategy: Key steps

Building a strong, revenue-generating ABM strategy starts with focus. 

Your ABM program will depend on who you target, how you group people, and how you work with your sales and marketing teams.

1. Define your ideal customer profile (ICP) and account prioritization

Every ABM program begins with a clear ICP. Without it, you risk chasing the wrong target companies or diluting marketing efforts. Research shows that organizations with formal ICPs and account prioritization frameworks consistently outperform those without because they know exactly which high-value accounts deserve their attention.

A well-defined ICP considers firmographic data like company size, industry, and revenue potential, and combines this with the pain points and buying triggers of key decision-makers. 

Once you’ve defined your ICP, build a tiered account list so resources flow to the accounts with the highest priority.

2. Select the right type of ABM (1:1, 1:few, 1:many)

Not every account requires the same level of effort. 

That’s where ABM tiers come in:

• One-to-one ABM: deep, personalized campaigns for your most strategic, specific accounts

• One-to-few ABM: focused plays for clusters of key accounts that share similar needs

• One-to-many ABM: scalable ABM campaigns that reach hundreds of target accounts at once

Marketers often lean too heavily on one-to-many ABM because it looks efficient. But real results tend to come when you start with highly personalized 1:1 landing pages first. Think of it as refining your precision before scaling. 

Autodesk knows how to do 1:1. By embedding ABM managers within sales, and running targeted 1:1 tactics, Autodesk drove over 50% more opportunities and a big lift in closed revenue.

3. Align sales and marketing: Governance, planning, shared metrics

One in three ABM marketers admits that alignment is a top obstacle. And that’s a problem because, well, alignment is the linchpin of ABM. 

When sales reps and marketing teams agree on which key stakeholders to pursue and which ABM tactics to use, deals just move faster. 

In fact, Mutiny’s recent Sales and Marketing Alignment report found that 97% of sales and marketing leaders agree that they’d see a revenue uptick with sales-marketing collaboration. On top of that, the same report shows that teams with complete alignment are 230% more likely to outperform their revenue goals.

The fix comes down to governance. You need shared metrics in your CRM, joint planning sessions, and regular check-ins. When both sides drive conversions with aligned tactics and measure success with the same KPIs, ABM feels like a unified play instead of two disconnected initiatives.

4. Create hyper-personalized campaigns across channels

Personalization is where ABM moves from theory to impact. 

And it’s essential to success. Two-thirds of B2B buyers expect business outreach to feel as tailored as B2C experiences.  Luckily, AI is helping businesses achieve the expected level of personalization across accounts. In fact, 84% of B2B marketers agree that AI is the key to personalization at scale.

But effective personalization goes beyond swapping logos. You need to tailor messaging to each decision-maker’s role, using multi-channel campaigns to meet them where they are. 

Done correctly, hyper-personalization builds stronger customer relationships, increases account engagement, and accelerates movement through the sales funnel.

Measure, optimize, and scale

ABM is an ongoing cycle. To demonstrate impact and keep improving, you need to measure what matters, refine your tactics based on data, and use technology to scale. 

These three practices turn ABM from theory into sustainable pipeline growth.

KPIs to track: Engagement, pipeline lift, deal velocity

Tracking the right ABM metrics helps you show the value your strategies bring.

Here are the four most common KPIs ABM marketers measure:

• Revenue from target accounts

• Overall account engagement

• MQLs generated

• Win rate

Each one ties directly to revenue impact. These KPIs ask whether your ABM campaigns are heading to the right people, speeding up the sales cycle, and converting into pipeline. If not, that’s your cue ‌to refine.

Iterate based on feedback and performance data

A successful ABM program is never “set it and forget it.” 

The best ABM teams treat performance data like a feedback loop. ABM leaders leverage everything they know about an account’s needs and barriers and combine it with real-time engagement data to spot gaps. Then they double down on what’s working and quickly pivot away from what isn’t.

Scale using AI technology

Previously, if you wanted to scale ABM, you’d need to hire more people.

Today, AI-powered tools make it possible to deliver personalized campaigns across hundreds of specific accounts without upping headcount. That’s why 88% of B2B marketers intend to leverage AI for personalization.

But this isn’t the only way AI can help you scale your ABM efforts.

ABM marketers are increasingly using AI to scale and streamline processes: 

• 50% percent are using AI to generate insights into their accounts

• 48% percent turn to it for client engagement

• 44% percent rely on it for marketing ideation

• 40% percent leverage it to automate routine tasks

• 25% percent apply it to writing marketing copy

The impact? Faster campaign execution, more consistent customer experiences, and the ability to extend ABM from one-to-one plays to true multi-channel reach.

Mutiny makes ABM high-touch and scalable

Mutiny closes the execution gap in ABM with three pillars: one-to-one landing pages, AI-powered account research and intelligence, and tight sales alignment. The result: personalized campaigns your sales reps can act on in real time across your multi-channel motion.

But how?

1. 1:1 landing pages that convert 

Create on-brand pages for target accounts in minutes—no web team needed. Simply import your account list from your CRM, generate research “on demand,” build a base page, then ask AI to tailor messaging and resources by industry, company size, or pain points. It’s built for speed and relevance, so your marketing teams can meet key decision-makers with the right proof at the right moment.

2. Account intelligence and real-time signals 

Mutiny shows you which specific accounts (and contacts) are engaging, what they view, and when to follow up. The Web Extension delivers contact-level alerts when target companies hit your site, offering precise account engagement signals your team can use immediately.

3. Sales alignment, baked in 

Mutiny works where your teams already live. Pull target accounts from Salesforce or HubSpot, orchestrate ABM campaigns, and route insights straight to Mutiny's web extension for sales. This keeps marketing and sales teams in lockstep on the same key accounts, KPIs, and next actions.

With these tactics, Mutiny makes it easy to scale from one-to-one landing pages that prove impact, to one-to-few and one-to-many campaigns that reach entire segments. 

Teams can layer LinkedIn ads, retargeting, webinars, and on-site experiences into cohesive, multi-channel journeys that guide stakeholders through the sales funnel faster, without losing the relevance that makes ABM work.

Let’s consider how LaunchDarkly put this playbook into action. 

LaunchDarkly had the goal of breaking into more than 100 enterprise accounts on a lean team. They used Mutiny to auto-generate 1:1 landing pages and amplify them through LinkedIn and sales outreach. With real-time alerts, the team at LaunchDarkly could act on engagement instantly.

In just two months, the enterprise ABM program beat its meeting goal by 50%, created 18 opportunities, and closed four deals. Amazing! What better proof do you need that focusing on personalization first makes it possible to scale ABM without sacrificing impact?

The future of ABM is here

ABM is the operating system for modern B2B growth. 

By defining your ICP, aligning sales and marketing, and personalizing every touchpoint, you can win the accounts that matter most. 

But it’s not easy to do this manually. Thankfully, there’s Mutiny. 

Mutiny makes it possible to scale one-to-one impact across channels, so your top accounts become your best customers. Ready to create better ABM campaigns faster? Try Mutiny.