The Impact of ABM & Building an Enterprise Strategy in just 5 months

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is one of the most effective ways to drive revenue and build stronger customer relationships. But implementing it in an enterprise setting, from scratch, in just five months? That is a challenge that requires precision, alignment, and a strong operational foundation.

In a recent Game Changers CMO session, Stefanie Nastou, EVP & CMO at AMS, shared how she led the transformation of AMS’ marketing approach by launching a fully integrated ABM strategy in record time. She detailed the key pillars of success, how to balance short-term wins with long-term impact, and the role of sales, technology, and content in scaling ABM effectively.

Why ABM? The Business Case for a Targeted Approach

When Stefanie joined AMS, she saw the need for a highly targeted go-to-market motion. AMS’ solutions cater to a specific ideal customer profile (ICP), making ABM a natural choice. Unlike traditional demand generation, ABM requires alignment across sales, marketing, and operations, as well as the right technology to support data-driven decision-making.

Her advice for marketers considering ABM? Start with a clear objective. Are you trying to generate pipeline? Strengthen engagement with key accounts? Improve conversion rates? The ABM strategy should be shaped by what success looks like for the business.

There are different flavors of ABM. You have to understand what you’re trying to achieve before you decide on your approach—whether it’s one-to-one, one-to-few, or one-to-many.

The Three Pillars of a Successful ABM Strategy

To build a scalable ABM framework, Stefanie focused on three core pillars:

1. Technology and Data: Laying the Right Foundation

One of the first steps was assessing AMS’ tech stack. Without the right tools, tracking engagement, identifying intent, and measuring success would be nearly impossible.

• AMS implemented 6sense, integrating it with Salesforce to bring predictive insights and intent data into their ABM strategy.
• A structured SEO and content strategy supported inbound engagement.
• Account-based advertising and LinkedIn retargeting played a key role in reaching decision-makers.

The goal was to ensure AMS was in front of the right accounts at the right time with relevant messaging.

2. Sales Alignment and Executive Buy-in

The success of any ABM motion depends on sales alignment. While AMS had sales leaders familiar with ABM, alignment goes beyond buy-in.

• Alignment: Sales and marketing worked together to define the ICP and key personas.
• Buy-in: Leadership needed to understand how ABM would directly impact pipeline and revenue goals.

If you don’t have sales on board, you don’t have ABM. You need to co-create your ICP, targeting, and engagement model together.

For those struggling with sales buy-in, Stefanie recommends focusing on the business case and educating stakeholders on how ABM supports their goals.

3. Operationalizing ABM for Scale

Launching an ABM motion requires structured execution across content, campaign management, and measurement.

• AMS restructured its marketing team to ensure the right roles were in place.
• Targeted campaign execution and measurement became a core part of their process.
• A strong content framework supported different stages of the buyer journey.

Stefanie emphasized the importance of piloting before scaling, testing in a focused region before rolling out globally.

Test in a specific region before rolling out globally. ABM is an iterative process, and you should continuously optimize based on results.

Measuring Success: AMS’ ABM KPIs

ABM success is not just about pipeline. AMS focused on four core KPIs:

• Target Account Engagement – Achieving 75 percent engagement across all targeted accounts.
• C-Suite Engagement – Increasing senior-level interactions by 30 percent.
• Pipeline Influence – Measuring the impact of ABM-driven campaigns on new pipeline creation.
• Pipeline Velocity – Moving high-intent accounts through the funnel faster.

One key takeaway is that ABM does not deliver overnight results. While AMS achieved impact quickly, Stefanie recommends treating ABM as a 12-month program with iterative improvements.

It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. You should be testing, piloting, recalibrating, and continuously evolving your strategy.

Channels That Drove the Most Impact

AMS combined multiple channels to create a seamless buyer experience:

• Programmatic advertising and retargeting to drive awareness and engagement.
• SEO and organic search with a structured keyword strategy for inbound growth.
• LinkedIn Ads for hyper-targeted outreach and account retargeting.
• Field marketing and executive roundtables for personalized engagement with high-value accounts.
• Webinars and digital events for thought leadership and relationship-building.

One major lesson learned was that consistency across channels is key. Ensuring that messaging remains cohesive—from ads to sales conversations to in-person events—creates a seamless customer journey.

The Role of AI in ABM Experimentation

As AMS looks ahead, Stefanie is exploring AI-driven marketing innovation through an internal AI Tiger Team to:

• Improve content personalization at scale.
• Automate ABM workflows within 6sense.
• Optimize SEO and keyword strategies.

The goal is to enhance efficiency while maintaining high-touch engagement.

AI is powerful, but it should serve a purpose. It needs to enhance efficiency, not just be a checkbox item.

Final Takeaways for Marketing Leaders

For marketing leaders building an ABM strategy from the ground up, Stefanie offers this advice:

• Start small, then scale – Pilot in a focused region before expanding.
• Align with sales early – Co-create ICP targeting and engagement models.
• Set clear KPIs beyond pipeline – Engagement and velocity are just as important.
• Educate executives – Set realistic expectations about ABM’s long-term impact.

ABM is the most efficient way to drive pipeline, but it takes time. It’s not about flipping a switch—it’s about building a long-term, scalable growth engine.