How to Create a SaaS ABM (Account-Based Marketing) Strategy

To implement account based marketing effectively within a SaaS business, a strategic framework focusing on specific, high-potential accounts is established. This approach differs from traditional broad marketing by concentrating resources on a defined set of target organizations, aiming to create a more personalized and impactful engagement. Developing a robust SaaS ABM strategy facilitates closer alignment between sales and marketing teams, optimizes resource allocation, and works to accelerate the sales cycle for complex B2B software.

Following this guide outlines the process to build and execute an account-based marketing plan, providing steps to focus efforts and evaluate outcomes.

Establishing a precise Ideal Customer Profile is the foundational step for any SaaS ABM strategy. To build a comprehensive picture of your best customers, it is helpful to first define your SaaS ideal customer profile (ICP) before diving into specific data points. This means finding out the characteristics of companies that derive the most value from your software solution and, in turn, provide significant value to your business. Analyze your existing customer data. Analyze trends among your most successful, longest-retained, and highest-revenue customers. Collect and examine firmographic data (industry, company size, annual recurring revenue (ARR), geography, organizational maturity) and technographic data (current technology stack, software usage, ease of integration with your system). Incorporate behavioral data, such as engagement levels and product adoption patterns among current clients.

With your ICP defined, the next step is to build a list of specific companies that match this profile. This becomes your target account list. Compile a list of companies that fit your ICP criteria. Rank these accounts based on their potential value, critical significance, and likelihood of needing your solution. Leverage data sources like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, industry databases (e.g., Peer Signal for fast-growing SaaS companies), market research reports, and your own CRM. Collect detailed information for each potential target account, including key initiatives, recent news (funding rounds, expansions), and reported challenges that align with your software’s capabilities.

Methodology for Choosing Your ABM Approach: Not all target accounts require the same level of effort. To decide on the right approach (one-to-one, one-to-few, or one-to-many), figure out the potential value and complexity of engaging each account or group of accounts.

• One-to-One ABM: Focuses on a small number of high-value, strategic accounts (e.g., 10-20). Needs careful research and highly personalized, bespoke campaigns. Suitable for enterprise-level deals with long sales cycles and multiple stakeholders.
• One-to-Few ABM: Targets slightly larger groups of accounts (e.g., 20-100) that share common characteristics (e.g., industry, use case). Allows for personalization at a group level with tailored messaging and content themes.
• One-to-Many ABM: Targets a larger volume of accounts (e.g., 100+) using technology to automate personalized outreach based on account attributes. Leverages digital channels and scalable content. Suitable for reaching a broader segment of your ICP efficiently.

As you evaluate different ABM approaches, consider how they align with your broader goals, such as whether you plan to sell SaaS to enterprise-level clients, which often requires a one-to-one strategy.

Self-Assessment Questions:

What is the potential revenue and lifetime value of this account?

How complex is the typical buying process within this type of organization?

How many key stakeholders are likely to be involved?

What internal resources (sales capacity, marketing expertise) are available to dedicate to this account or group?

Based on these factors, which ABM approach corresponds best with the potential return and required investment?

Understanding who to engage within your target accounts is as crucial as knowing which accounts to target.Research the organizational structure of each target account and identify the individuals who influence or make purchasing decisions related to your software. Go beyond job titles. Map the reporting lines and understand each individual’s role, responsibilities, goals, performance metrics, and potential pain points. Develop detailed buyer personas for these key stakeholders. Include demographic information (typical seniority, department), their daily tasks and broader organizational objectives, and psychographic elements (what keeps them up at night, what outcomes would significantly improve their work life). LinkedIn Sales Navigator is valuable for identifying relevant contacts and understanding their backgrounds. Company websites, news articles, and earnings reports can also provide context.

Generic marketing messages are ineffective in account-based marketing. Communication must be highly relevant and tailored to the specific needs and interests of each target account and its stakeholders. Develop messaging that directly addresses the identified pain points and goals of your target accounts and their key stakeholders. Create or adapt content for each persona and stage of the buyer’s journey. For the awareness stage, content might focus on industry challenges or trends relevant to the account (e.g., a whitepaper on data security in their specific industry). For the consideration stage, provide content that showcases how your software solves their problems (e.g., a case study featuring a similar company, a personalized demo highlighting relevant features). At the conversion stage, focus on building urgency and demonstrating value (e.g., a tailored proposal, a discussion on ROI). When discussing return on investment, being able to project specific outcomes is powerful. You can calculate your SaaS return on investment (ROI) to provide concrete figures in your proposals.

Structure and Organization: Map specific content assets to personas and stages. Use a content matrix to track what content is available and identify gaps that need to be created.

Reach your target accounts and stakeholders through the channels they actively use, coordinating your outreach efforts for maximum impact. Implement a coordinated outreach plan across multiple relevant channels, ensuring personalized messaging on each platform.

• Email: Craft concise, personalized emails that reference your research on the account. Avoid generic templates.
• LinkedIn: Connect with key stakeholders. Share relevant content, engage with their posts, and send personalized InMail messages that demonstrate your understanding of their role and company. LinkedIn Sales Navigator provides tools for tracking engagement.
• Phone: For high-priority accounts, targeted phone calls can facilitate direct, personal interaction; be prepared to provide value immediately.
• Targeted Ads: Utilize platforms like LinkedIn, Google Ads, and other ad networks to serve highly targeted ads specifically to individuals within your target accounts. Ads can reinforce messaging and showcase relevant case studies or product capabilities.
• Direct Mail: For select, high-value accounts in one-to-one ABM, personalized direct mail or gifts can create a memorable touchpoint. SalesLoft, for example, saw a 9% increase in meeting attendance and 20% of gifts creating new opportunities with personalized gifting as part of their ABM strategy.

Cadence: Develop a strategic cadence for your outreach, balancing persistence with respecting their time. A sequence might involve a LinkedIn connection request, followed by a personalized email, then engagement with their content, and potentially a targeted ad exposure.

Building relationships with target accounts often requires a sustained effort over time, especially for complex B2B SaaS solutions. Continue to provide value to target accounts even if they are slow to respond or engage.Position yourself as a helpful resource. Share relevant industry reports, invite them to exclusive webinars on topics of interest, or offer insights based on your expertise. Use automated email nurturing sequences to deliver a steady stream of valuable content tailored to their personas and potential needs. Leverage retargeting ads to keep your software top of mind with relevant messaging based on their previous interactions.

Effective ABM SaaS execution requires seamless collaboration and shared goals between the sales and marketing teams. Establish clear communication and shared objectives between sales and marketing teams involved in ABM.Define roles and responsibilities for account engagement and handoff. Develop a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that outlines marketing’s commitment to delivering qualified accounts, often referred to as Marketing Qualified Accounts (MQAs), based on specific engagement and fit criteria, and sales’ commitment to timely follow-up and engagement with those accounts.

Implement a clear process for handing off engaged accounts from marketing/SDRs to Account Executives (AEs). This might involve a joint call or a detailed email introduction outlining the account’s context and engagement history. A critical part of this process is managing the end-to-end payment and subscription lifecycle. To ensure a smooth transition from sales to a paying customer, it is important to have robust solutions for selling B2B SaaS in place. A shared CRM platform (like HubSpot, which offers ABM features) or a dedicated ABM software tool helps ensure both teams have access to the same account intelligence and can track interactions comprehensively.

Measuring the impact of your SaaS ABM strategy requires focusing on account-level metrics rather than just individual leads. Establish clear metrics and a system for tracking the performance of your ABM campaigns against your objectives.

Key metrics to measure include:

• Account Engagement Rate: The percentage of target accounts actively engaging with your content and outreach (e.g., website visits, email opens/clicks, content downloads, ad interactions, social media engagement).
• The number of key stakeholders engaged within a target account.
• Pipeline Velocity for Target Accounts: The speed at which target accounts move through the sales pipeline stages.
• Win Rate for Target Accounts: The percentage of targeted opportunities that result in closed deals, compared to non-ABM deals.
• Average Contract Value (ACV) for ABM Deals: The average revenue generated per closed deal from target accounts.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) for ABM-Sourced Customers: The projected total revenue from customers acquired through Account-Based Marketing (ABM). Accurately forecasting this value is crucial for assessing long-term success. For a more detailed financial projection, you can use the SaaS CLV:CAC ratio calculator to see how the lifetime value of these accounts compares to their acquisition cost.
• Return on Investment (ROI): The revenue generated from ABM campaigns relative to the cost of executing those campaigns. Calculate: ($ Revenue from ABM Deals – $ ABM Program Cost) / $ ABM Program Cost * 100.

How to Measure: Utilize features within your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, marketing automation platform, and dedicated ABM software (like Demandbase, 6sense, or Terminus) to track account-level activity and pipeline progression.Implement consistent tracking codes for campaigns and touchpoints.

Your most valuable advocates for attracting new, similar accounts are your existing, successful customers. Develop a strategy to encourage and leverage referrals and testimonials from happy ABM-sourced customers. Identify key milestones in the customer journey when customers have realized significant value from your software (e.g., successful onboarding, achieving specific ROI metrics, completing a major project with your tool). At these points, proactively request testimonials, case studies, or referrals. Make it easy for customers to refer others, perhaps through a simple online form or a direct introduction process with their consent. Consider implementing a referral program with incentives for both the referrer and the new customer.