Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is an ambitious strategy that views each of a company’s most important customers as a market of one. Though the concept is simple, the follow-through is not. As Unisys discovered, ABM implementation brings significant challenges, including organizational change, shifting marketing competencies, close coordination with sales, and a need to raise marketing to new heights, both inside the organization and with customers. Do all that, and the payoff can be well worth the effort. Though Unisys has not yet completed its ABM journey, it has used the principles learned in a customized ITSMA ABM training program to start along the path. Unisys has already learned some valuable lessons that we discuss in this ITSMA Case Study.

Key Takeaways

• ABM requires deep knowledge of the customer’s business and industry.
• Pick ABM targets based on future possibilities, not current revenues.
• ABM cannot merely be an overlay on top of marketing’s existing programs and responsibilities.
• The sales account team must be supportive of ABM if it is to succeed—they control the customer relationship.
• Consider a tiered approach to ABM. A single ABM process can be used to service different customers with different levels of intensity and investment.