Whether you’re new to ABM or need a bit of a refresher course, there are a few terms to know when discussing ABM and its surrounding tactics. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common (with our own New Breed spin on them):
Account based marketing: The umbrella term for a strategy that aims to identify high-value accounts and then engage their buying team (stakeholders) with tailored marketing content and personal, relevant communications that speak uniquely to their needs.
At New Breed, we see ABM as a type of demand generation strategy that focuses solely on accounts that are specifically in the market for your solution, paired with valuable, relevant content that enables buyers to partner with you. It’s for the companies that you believe your solution can help most, which can only be determined by understanding (and having tight alignment on) your core buyer. 
Strategic ABM (1-to-1):
Focuses on building a personalized and highly targeted strategy for individual accounts. This is appropriate for high-value accounts with significant revenue potential or strategic importance. Each account is treated as a separate market to penetrate with unique marketing campaigns tailored to needs, goals, and pain points of that specific account. For example, a list size of 10 target accounts have different buyer groups, and would need personalized content.
Our take: We would call this 1-to-1 only, as any ABM done well should be considered a strategic initiative, so the difference in terminology here is a bit misleading.
ABM Lite (1-to-few):
Targets a small group of accounts with similar characteristics such as industry, size, or location. For these groupings, organizations will create semi-personalized marketing campaigns that address the shared needs and challenges of this group, rather than on an individualized level.
This allows for greater efficiency than 1-to-1 ABM while still maintaining a targeted and tailored approach. For example, this might be a vertical target looking specifically at the challenges of industries (manufacturing, Saas, etc.) or the company stage (companies that are looking to expand globally, companies that have been through layoffs, etc.).
Programmatic ABM (1-to-many):
Targets a larger number of accounts with broadly similar characteristics. 1-to-many ABM leverages technology and automation to create personalized marketing experiences at scale. This differs from demand generation as demand generation seeks to create broader awareness and interest through the traditional funnel of Awareness, Interest, Consideration and Purchase, whereas ABM starts with identifying the targets and then engaging those directly to purchase.
Target account list (TAL):
Target accounts should have the highest probability of closing based on shared ICP attributes.
Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):
Your ICP represents the firmographic & technographic attributes of your highest-quality customer accounts.
Account Tiering:
Process of segmenting your TAL based on priority and revenue opportunities.
- Tier 1: perfect ICP fit, similar to highest value customers.
- Tier 2: strong ICP fits but lower lifetime value.
- Tier 3: fit most but not all ICP criteria. Worth pursuing but not worth investing significant resources to win.
Buying Committees:
Key decision-makers, influencers, and end-users in each of your target accounts.
Account Intelligence:
Overall knowledge you have of a target account, meaning you understand who they are and what they really want and need. Gathering account intelligence typically requires FIRE data (see below) and a mechanism for centralizing data.
F.I.R.E:
An acronym that refers to a well-known, four-pronged model of ABM success:
- Fit: knowing your target accounts.
- Intent: knowing which of your target accounts are actively researching or buying products/solutions.
- Relationship: knowing which accounts have the deepest relationship with your company.
Engagement: creating engagement with the right people in the right accounts.
Need more from your ABM strategy?
Struggling to make sense of your current ABM program, or need extra resources to get moving? New Breed's ABM Blueprint help companies go from ABM readiness to ROI with our strategic assessment and recommendations for the tools and tech you need for ABM success.
