Account-Based Marketing (ABM) was designed to shift B2B teams away from chasing lead quantity toward nurturing high-quality leads through hyper-targeted, personalized experiences. But somewhere along the way, many teams lost sight of what made ABM effective. Misaligned teams, shallow personalization, and unclear ROI tracking have left marketers frustrated and unable to build momentum. Instead of generating impact, many are stuck using outdated tactics or overcomplicating their tech stack.
The truth is, ABM isn’t dead. (In fact, according to a survey by ITSMA, 87% of marketers said that ABM outperforms other marketing investments.) It simply needs a refresh. Here’s what’s going wrong, what modern ABM success looks like, and a practical playbook to revive your B2B ABM strategy for measurable results.
B2B ABM: Common Mistakes Companies Make
Many teams struggle with ABM not because the strategy itself is flawed, but because of how it’s executed. Here are the most common mistakes companies make with B2B ABM and how to fix them.
Misalignment Between Sales and Marketing
One of the biggest reasons ABM falls short is when there are issues with B2B sales and marketing alignment. These teams often operate in silos, leading to inconsistent messaging and poor lead handoff. Without shared KPIs, sales might focus on closed-won deals while marketing measures success through MQLs, creating tension instead of momentum. The solution is to build joint KPIs, shared dashboards, and co-owned account lists to align both teams under unified goals.
Targeting the Wrong Accounts
Another challenge is targeting the wrong accounts. Many teams chase logos based on name recognition or gut feelings, without clear Ideal Customer Profiles (ICP) grounded in data. Without leveraging intent signals or firmographic insights, it’s easy to waste time on accounts that will never convert. To address this, teams should build a data-backed ICP and tier accounts based on fit and intent signals, ensuring they prioritize accounts with the highest likelihood to close.
Poor Personalization at Scale
Personalization also tends to fall flat. Sending the same message to dozens of target accounts isn’t true ABM, but it is a batch-and-blast approach dressed up in an ABM label. Effective ABM requires role-specific, vertical-focused messaging that adapts to where an account is in the buyer’s journey. The solution here is to tailor messaging by role, vertical, and funnel stage using content and creative that align with each account’s specific needs.
Lack of Measurement and ROI Clarity
Measurement challenges further complicate ABM efforts. Without clear attribution, teams lose sight of what’s working, what’s driving pipeline, and what’s actually closing deals. To overcome this, it’s critical to set clear attribution rules and measure account engagement, opportunity creation, and deal velocity to understand what’s moving the needle.
Overcomplicated Tech Stacks
Add to this an overcomplicated B2B martech and ABM stack filled with disconnected tools that don’t communicate effectively, and teams often feel like they’re working harder without seeing results. Rather than stacking more tools, teams should streamline and integrate their ABM tech stack, focusing on systems that connect seamlessly and drive actionable insights.
The good news? Each of these challenges has a clear solution, and by addressing them, your ABM efforts can transform from a source of frustration into a consistent driver of opportunities and revenue.
What ABM B2B Marketing Looks Like in 2025
The future of ABM is about orchestrating marketing and sales teams around shared goals. In 2025, successful ABM means marketing and sales co-own KPIs, participating in joint account planning meetings, and sharing accountability for revenue outcomes.
Rather than focusing solely on MQLs, teams align around opportunities and revenue, creating a unified approach to growth. They leverage HubSpot ABM dashboards, Databox, and shared OKRs, not as a crutch, but as tools to inform decisions and track progress meaningfully. In this model, ABM becomes a true revenue driver rather than a disconnected marketing campaign.
How to Refresh Your B2B ABM Strategy
Refreshing your ABM strategy isn’t about a single change; it’s about building a clear, step-by-step plan that aligns your teams and tools around what drives results. Here’s how to modernize your B2B ABM strategy to deliver measurable results.
1. Redefine Your ICP & Target List
To bring your ABM efforts up to speed, start by redefining your ICP using closed-won data and intent signals. This ensures your target list is aligned with accounts that are ready and able to buy. From there, segment your target accounts into tiers, allowing you to adjust your outreach level of personalization and investment appropriately.
2. Reunite Sales & Marketing Around Shared Goals
Reuniting your sales and marketing teams around shared goals is also essential. Building a single ABM playbook with input from both sides helps align messaging and ensures both teams are working toward the same metrics, such as engagement scores, pipeline velocity, and close rates.
3. Audit Your Content & Personalization Strategy
Next, evaluate your content and personalization strategy. Audit your existing assets to ensure they align with your target accounts’ specific roles and buying stages, identifying and filling any content gaps in the process. This will allow you to provide value at every stage of the buyer’s journey.
4. Orchestrate Cross-Channel Campaigns
Orchestrating cross-channel campaigns is another step in a modern ABM approach. For high-value Tier 1 accounts, consider custom microsites, direct mail, and personalized LinkedIn messaging. For Tier 2, targeted ads paired with nurture email sequences can drive engagement, while scalable programmatic outreach can effectively reach broader Tier 3 accounts without sacrificing efficiency.
5. Build the Right ABM Tech Stack
Review your ABM tech stack to ensure you have the right tools in place—CRM, marketing automation, intent data, and account targeting software—that work together seamlessly. Focus on building an integrated system that allows for clear data flow and provides actionable insights, rather than relying on disconnected tools that create silos.
6. Measure, Optimize, Repeat
Use dashboards to monitor account engagement consistently and schedule regular review meetings to analyze results. This will help you refine your strategy, identify what’s working, and adjust your tactics to scale your success over time.
How a B2B ABM Agency Can Accelerate Your Strategy
When it comes to ABM, many companies face a critical decision: in-house vs agency. Many in-house teams find themselves stuck when trying to evolve their ABM approach. Bandwidth limitations, siloed structures, and a lack of specialized tech expertise can make launching and maintaining a strategy that truly drives revenue difficult. Instead of fueling growth, internal teams often end up managing inconsistent campaigns that fail to deliver clear results.
This is where partnering with a B2B agency can transform your ABM program. An experienced agency can provide strategic consulting on ICP development and messaging while ensuring your creative and content align seamlessly with the journeys of your target accounts. With support across channels—email, paid media, social, and direct mail—paired with real-time reporting and optimization, a B2B agency helps you confidently execute your ABM strategy, ensuring each step you take is data-driven and aligned with your growth goals.
ABM Isn’t Dead…But Your Old Playbook Might Be
The problem isn’t ABM itself; it’s outdated execution. Outdated tactics, misaligned teams, and unclear measurement can make ABM feel like a burden rather than a revenue driver. With a refreshed B2B ABM strategy, you can transform your approach into a powerful, measurable growth engine for your business. Start small, fix what’s broken, and scale your successes. ABM’s promise of quality over quantity is still alive, and now is the time to unlock its potential.
Whether you’re building your ABM strategy for the first time or looking to optimize your current approach, partnering with an experienced B2B marketing agency can make all the difference. Sagefrog helps B2B brands develop and execute ABM strategies that align marketing and sales, generate qualified opportunities, and deliver measurable results. Let’s work together to transform your ABM program and fuel your growth. Contact Sagefrog today to get started.
