ABM Marketing Strategy: A Step-By-Step Guide for 202511 min read

Userpilot’s ABM marketing strategy absolutely crushed it.

They generated over $900,000 in pipeline at an ROI of $8 in pipeline per $1 spent, and ZenABM was born in the process 🙂

I’ll walk you through every tactical detail of their full-funnel ABM marketing strategy, the lessons learnt from their mistakes, plus some insider tips from ABM experts.

One more thing: This isn’t a surface-level overview. You’ll get a deep-dive playbook. I have tried my best to not leave “figure it out yourself” moments in the guide, unlike here:

A Step-by-Step ABM Marketing Strategy Guide for 2025: Snapshot

Userpilot’s ABM campaign pulled in $900K in pipeline, delivering $8 pipeline per $1 spent.

Their playbook:

1. Build a Surgical Target Account List (TAL):
   • Pin down your ICP (industry, size, tech stack).
   • Size your list and budget by reverse-engineering revenue targets.
2. Segment & Tier Your Accounts:
   • Create dynamic tiers (one-to-many, persona-based clusters).
   • Customize ads to each segment for higher engagement.
3. Scale Personalization:
   • Run multiple messaging experiments at once.
   • Leverage ZenABM intent data for pinpoint outreach.
4. Run a Full-Funnel Campaign:
   • Align marketing + sales from awareness through close.
   • Use clear stages: Identified → Aware → Interested → Considering → Selecting.
5. Monitor & Optimize in Real Time:
   • Track engagement via ZenABM dashboards.
   • Pivot quickly based on account behavior.
6. Measure & Attribute Rigorously:
   • Connect pipeline directly to ad touches with ZenABM.
   • Iterate continuously using data-driven insights.

Tech Stack: HubSpot, SalesLoft/Apollo, Clay, BuiltWith, Notion, and ZenABM (~$2.5K/mo).

In essence, Userpilot combined laser-focused targeting, dynamic segmentation, hyper-personalized messaging, and robust analytics via ZenABM to achieve stellar ROI.

Try ZenABM for Free →

Step #1: Define Your ICP & TAL + Budget Estimation

Any winning ABM marketing strategy starts with pinpointing exactly who to target.

First, craft your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) based on firmographic and technographic signals:

• Industry
• Company size
• Geography
• Tech stack
• Must-have criteria (e.g., complementary tools)

“Data over gut” is the mantra—analyze top customers for common traits. Advanced teams even deploy AI to spot lookalikes automatically.

Pro Tip: Build your TAL in lockstep with Sales because ABM only works when both teams agree from day one. Remember: “Your list is your strategy.”

How Big Should Your TAL Be?

For a pilot, aim for a few hundred accounts, not thousands. Or reverse-engineer from revenue goals:

Define Your Goal

“We need $2M in ABM-sourced closed-won this fiscal year.”

Know Your Numbers

• Average Deal Size: $50K
• Close Rate: 25%

Calculate Opportunities

Opportunities = Revenue Goal ÷ (ADS × Close Rate)
              = $2,000,000 ÷ ($50,000 × 0.25)
              = 160

Funnel Mapping

Stage*	Conversion*	Formula	Accounts Needed
Target → Engaged	10%	160 ÷ 0.10	1,600
Engaged → Opportunity	20%	160 ÷ 0.20	800
Opportunity → Closed-Won	25%	—	160

*Adjust stages, names, and rates to match your data. Even rough internal figures beat guesswork.

Budget Back into Accounts

Assume $70 CPEA on LinkedIn:

Budget = 1,600 × $70 ≈ $112K

Reality-Check & Iterate

• If 1,600 feels unwieldy, refine your ICP or lift conversions with sharper personalization.
• If budget overshoots, optimize mid-funnel conversion instead of broadening reach.
• Re-run quarterly as you collect fresh data.

Quick-Fill Template

• Revenue goal = $______
• Average deal size = $______
• Close rate = ____%
• Opportunities needed = …
• Target→Eng conversion = ____%
• Eng→Opp conversion = ____%
• TAL size = …
• Cost per engaged = $______
• Budget = …

Free Tool: Use the ABM Budget Calculator for deeper modeling.

Try it now →

Userpilot’s TAL-Building Process

They kicked off by repurposing their H1 cold-outbound list, filtering for growth & enterprise “loss” accounts, then enriching via Clay + BuiltWith APIs, and stripping out any already-converted logos.

They even mined HubSpot lost-deal data for competitor “loss” accounts, then layered in persona enrichment via Apollo/Clay.

Bottom line: your TAL is the backbone of your ABM marketing strategy.

Step #2: Segment & Tier for Maximum Impact

Not all accounts are created equal.

So, break your TAL into tiers to laser-focus your tactics:

• Tier 1 – VIP: Dream logos (Fortune 500, 10x ACV). One-to-one, white-glove campaigns. Ultra-personalized outreach.
• Tier 2 – Clusters: Groups of high-potential accounts. One-to-few approach. Industry or use-case–specific messaging.
• Tier 3 – Scaled: Broader, one-to-many campaigns to cast a wide net and identify which accounts show intent.

Userpilot ran one-to-many LinkedIn ads segmented by persona (8 segments), then used engagement data to trigger mid-funnel creative for “Interested” accounts.

Key takeaway: segment early, segment often (even at scale).

Step #3: Craft Messaging That Hits Home

Generic value props won’t cut it in an ABM marketing strategy. You need urgency-driving, pain-point–specific messages for each segment.

• Industry angle: “Struggling with [X] in Finance? Here’s how [solution] fixes it…”
• Role angle: “CMOs at {Industry} firms are cutting churn by 20%—here’s their blueprint.”
• Competitive angle: “How {Account} can outpace {Competitor}—a step-by-step guide.”

Userpilot tested multiple angles in parallel, then funneled the winning message into sales outreach, triggering BDR emails that referenced the exact ad topic the account clicked.

Pro Tip: Use dynamic tokens (e.g., industry names) in LinkedIn ad copy and automated email templates. Leverage ZenABM’s intent tags: campaign-level engagement and buyer intent pushed straight into your CRM:

Step #4: Design Your Full-Funnel Campaign (Align Marketing + Sales)

Map every touch from awareness through pipeline close because ABM is about orchestrating ads + sales outreach, not just one or the other.

Define Objectives & KPIs

Examples: 5 demos from Fortune 100, $1M pipeline in a quarter. Track engagement, opportunities created, pipeline, and revenue, not just MQL counts.

Co-Plan with Sales

Involve BDRs/AEs from day one. Co-create cadences for when accounts hit engagement thresholds.

Pick Channels & Tactics

Userpilot leaned on LinkedIn Ads for precise targeting, spending ~$47K in Q1. Complement with targeted display and direct outreach (emails, calls, InMails) triggered by ad engagement.

Don’t trust other channels like DANs, especially for an ABM debut:

ABM Stages Framework

Here’s the framework they used at Userpilot:

• Identified: All targeted accounts
• Aware: ≥50 ad impressions
• Interested: ≥5 clicks or 10 engagements
• Considering: Demo/trial booked
• Selecting: Open deal
• Customer: Closed-won

Each stage triggers specific content (ads), and accounts hitting “Interested” get assigned to BDRs automatically.

*See the tool-stack section for details on execution ops.

ABM Content Project Management

Userpilot managed 100+ creatives, landing pages, and email templates in Notion (and you must also have one or the other way to manage ad assets):

They also mapped a timeline.

For example: Week 1: launch ads; Week 3: start outbound to engaged; Week 6: invite hot accounts to webinars or direct mail.

Free Template: Grab the ABM campaign template to organize your assets and deadlines.

Step #5: Launch, Monitor & Adapt in Real Time

ABM isn’t a “set it and forget it” tactic. Watch the performance closely.

Ad Engagement & Reach

Pull account-level impressions & clicks via ZenABM or LinkedIn API. If impressions are low, boost bids or broaden your audience.

Track CTR & CPC by creative.

Userpilot saw 0.35% CTR at $19 CPC for images vs. 0.28% CTR at $24 CPC for video.

In fact, they were monitoring the reach of each creative and listed out their top performers:

Engagement Scoring

Track each account’s ABM stage via engagement thresholds. ZenABM auto-segments accounts and notifies BDRs instantly when an account turns “Interested.”

Spped matters in ABM 🙂

Sales Feedback Loop

• Which accounts are most responsive?
• Are your messages resonating on discovery calls?

Hold weekly stand-ups to retrofit ad copy or landing pages based on sales intel.

Always-On vs. Campaign Cadence

Decide between a perpetual “always-on” ABM marketing strategy or fixed-duration campaigns. Here’s a side-by-side:

Aspect	Always-On	Campaign Cadence
Key	Runs year-round Evergreen content Multi-channel	Fixed duration Goal-specific Event-driven
Pros	Brand trust build Pipeline growth Scalable personalization	Immediate impact Cost-efficient Agile testing
Cons	Content-intensive Ad fatigue risk Hard to measure quick wins	Limited brand build Miss inactive accounts Alignment risk
Best For	Long sales cycles, mature ABM programs	Product launches, seasonal pushes

Step #6: Measure, Attribute & Iterate

ABM lives and dies by revenue impact, not MQLs. Focus on engagement quality and pipeline.

Key Metrics

• % of target accounts engaged
• Meeting rate per account
• Pipeline generated
• Revenue won

Funnel Leak Analysis

Track stage progression: e.g., 50% Identified → Aware, 15% → Interested, 5% → Consideration.

Optimize where drop-offs occur by refreshing creative or refining messaging.

Userpilot built these types of dashboards on their own in HubSpot for account stage progression tracking:

Now, ZenABM offers the same out-of-the-box:

and shows how many are progressing week by week:

ROI & Attribution

Before I discuss the ‘how to’, let me show you Userpilot’s first campaign results:

• Accounts Touched: 1,417
• Total Spend: ≈$52.2K (LinkedIn + tools)
• Pipeline: $440K in 3 months
• Pipeline per $: $8.43 ($12 avg across both campaigns)
• Assets: ~100 ads across 8 personas
• Image Ads: 1,172 clicks (0.35% CTR, $19 CPC)
• Video Ads: 313 clicks (0.28% CTR, $24 CPC)
• Team: 4.5 FTEs (ABM manager, performance manager, MoP ops, head of marketing, etc.)

They also found ABM produced pipeline 2× faster and 51% cheaper than pure outbound.

Now Their Attribution Method

Userpilot integrated HubSpot with company-level campaign data via ZenABM.

ZenABM, first, pulled company-level engagement data per campaign from LinkedIn’s official ads API:

Then It pushed the same data as company properties into the HubSpot account lists periodically:

Plus, the tool also matched companies engaging with ads with the deals in CRM to map the impact of LinkedIn ads on pipeline and revenue:

Note: Even better attribution views are on the way at ZenABM.

Continuous Improvement

Double down on top performers, collect qualitative sales feedback, and repeat the loop. I meam, ABM is never “done.”

ABM Marketing Strategy Tool-Stack

Requirement	Tool(s)	Purpose
CRM & Automation	HubSpot CRM + Marketing Hub	Centralize touches and align teams.
Sales Outreach	SalesLoft · Apollo	Automated cadences for engaged accounts.
List Building & Signals	Clay · BuiltWith APIs	Domain enrichment & tech-stack triggers.
Project Management	Notion	Track assets, deadlines, and launch plans.
ABM Analytics & Intent	ZenABM	Account-level LinkedIn impressions & clicks to CRM. Intent tags, scores & funnel stages. ROAS & pipeline dashboards.

Final Thoughts

That’s your tactical blueprint for a high-impact ABM marketing strategy. For more details, reach out to me (the content guy at ZenABM) or Emilia Korczynska (VP of Marketing at Userpilot).

Plus, try ZenABM free today!