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The Executive Guide to ABM Orchestration: How to Align, Automate, and Accelerate B2B Growth

Learn how to implement effective ABM orchestration to align sales and marketing, personalize multi-channel engagement, and accelerate B2B revenue growth. Includes platforms, metrics & frameworks.

May 27, 2025


Jonathan Costello Headshot
Jonathan Costello
Senior Content Strategist, Demandbase
Understanding ABM Orchestration for B2B Marketing intro image

What is Account-Based Marketing Orchestration?

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Orchestration is the coordinated effort to engage high-value accounts across multiple channels to create a personalized and consistent experience.
It focuses on a shortlist of companies that are an ideal fit for your product or service. This way, each touchpoint (email, ad, LinkedIn message, or sales call) is strategically planned and tailored based on insights into the account’s needs, industry, decision-makers, and buying stage.

Note → ABM orchestration requires close collaboration between marketing, sales, and customer success teams.

Together, they develop a unified strategy that includes messaging, content, timing, and outreach methods.

The goal is to create a seamless experience that builds trust and moves the account forward step by step, ultimately leading to a closed deal and a long-term relationship.

How Does ABM Orchestration Work?

ABM orchestration operates through a continuous cycle of Trigger → Action → Feedback → Optimization.

Here’s how the full flow unfolds in an orchestrated campaign:

Data Collection and Signal Detection

Everything starts with listening. Intent data, behavioral data, CRM activity, and third-party insights are continuously monitored to identify when an account starts showing signs of interest or need.

Sources of signals:

  • 3rd-party intent platforms (e.g., Demandbase)
  • Website engagement (e.g., product pages, solution comparisons)
  • Ad interactions (e.g., video completions, high CTRs)
  • Email opens and click-throughs
  • Event registrations or webinar attendance

Pro Tip → With Demandbase, you can see accounts showing strong intent. For each account, you can see the keywords on the web pages they are reading and if the keywords are trending or competitive.

Demandbase One™ Intent

Trigger Activation

When a predefined set of engagement signals is met (i.e., based on a scoring model or behavior pattern) it triggers a play. This could be an individual action or a sequence depending on the buyer’s stage or persona.

Examples of triggers:

  • Account hits 3+ buying signals in one week
  • CMO engages with a competitor comparison guide
  • SDR call is marked as “interested, but not ready”

Cross-Channel Play Execution

Once triggered, a coordinated, multi-touch sequence launches across channels. Each step is tailored to the persona, journey stage, and prior engagement. Coordination ensures no overlap or conflicting messaging.

Channel examples:

  • Email outreach with tailored content
  • LinkedIn ads retargeted to decision-makers
  • SDR sends a personalized video or call invite
  • C-level sends a custom note or direct mail
  • Event or webinar invites tailored by industry

Each touchpoint is designed to lead the account closer to the next stage in the journey.

Real-Time Feedback Loop

As accounts engage (or don’t), the system captures responses and behaviors in real-time, feeding it back into the orchestration logic.

Key activities tracked:

  • Ad click-throughs
  • Email reply rates
  • Content downloads
  • Time on site by page type
  • SDR call outcomes

This intelligence helps determine whether to advance, pause, pivot, or restart the play, ensuring no time is wasted and engagement remains relevant.

Optimization and Iteration

Orchestration is not static. Every campaign run offers data that should inform the next iteration. High-performing plays are replicated and scaled, while underperforming ones are refined or retired.

Optimization examples:

  • Adjust play timing if prospects engage more on weekends
  • Replace email CTAs if reply rate dips
  • Swap a whitepaper for a case study if engagement is weak

This is where marketing ops and sales enablement teams often come in to refine scoring models, optimize workflows, and improve personalization logic.

PhaseWhat HappensExample
TriggerA key account behavior or data point activates a predefined playA CIO downloads a solution brief and visits pricing page
ActionAutomated and human steps are initiated across selected channelsLaunch retargeting ad → SDR sends a custom video → AE shares ROI calculator
FeedbackEngagement signals are tracked and scoredEmail opened, ad clicked, video viewed, no response to call
OptimizationData is analyzed to determine what to changeSDR switches messaging, AE sends customer story, replace CTA

Practical Example → Orchestrated Multi-Channel Play

  • Scenario: A Tier 1 fintech account shows signs of high intent.
  • Trigger:
    • Head of IT visits pricing page
    • Product manager downloads a case study
    • Director of Ops registers for a webinar
  • Orchestrated Play:
    • Day 1: Launch LinkedIn retargeting ad to known personas
    • Day 2: SDR sends personalized intro email with relevant case study
    • Day 3: AE follows up with an ROI breakdown tailored to fintech
    • Day 4: CMO sends a strategic invite to an exclusive roundtable
    • Day 7: Follow-up call offer with value-driven discussion topics
  • Feedback & Optimization:
    • Email gets 42% open rate; AE sees strong interest during call
    • AE flags objections around integration → marketing updates content
    • New whitepaper added to nurture stream, focused on integrations
  • Outcome: Account books a meeting with 3 decision-makers, enters the pipeline within two weeks.

Related → The 40 Best Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Solutions for 2025 (Based on Real User Reviews)

ABM Orchestration vs. Traditional Marketing

Let’s clear up a common misconception. ABM orchestration isn’t just another way of saying “ABM campaign.” It’s ABM at scale, with precision.

Here’s the difference:

Traditional Marketing: Broad, Volume-Based, and General

In traditional marketing, the goal is to generate as many leads as possible and then qualify them over time.
Campaigns are designed to appeal to as many people as possible, generate traffic, and hand off Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) to sales.

Key Characteristics:

  • Spray-and-pray Approach. Campaigns are launched to large, often undefined audiences.
  • One-size-fits-all Messaging. The same content or offer goes out to thousands of prospects with limited personalization.
  • Siloed Execution. Marketing and sales often operate independently, with weak or delayed feedback loops.
  • Channel Limitation. Heavy reliance on email and website form-fills.
  • Narrow Data Use. Basic firmographic filters (industry, size) with limited behavioral insight.

ABM Orchestration: Targeted, Personalized, and Synchronized

ABM orchestration flips the script. It focuses more on quality over quantity.
Instead of casting a wide net, it aligns sales, marketing, and customer success teams around a shared strategy to engage high-value accounts.

Key Characteristics:

  • High-value Focus. You start with a list of pre-qualified accounts based on ICP fit, intent, and revenue potential.
  • Deep Personalization. Messaging, content, and timing are all tailored by account, persona, and journey stage.
  • Cross-functional Collaboration. Sales, marketing, and customer success operate from a shared playbook with synchronized actions.
  • Multi-channel Strategy. Email, social media ads, outbound calls, webinars, direct mail, and in-person experiences are all part of the orchestration motion.
  • Signal-driven Execution. Actions are triggered by real-time engagement, intent data, and behavioral scoring.
CategoryTraditional MarketingABM Orchestration
Target AudienceBroad, undefined, high-volumeNarrow, targeted list of high-value accounts
TargetingBased on general firmographicsBased on ICP fit, intent signals, behavior, buying stage
MessagingGeneralized, one-size-fits-allPersonalized by persona, stage, industry
ChannelsPrimarily email, web, webinarsMulti-channel: email, ads, SDR outreach, events, direct mail, social
Campaign TypeOne-time campaigns, often staticDynamic, ongoing plays triggered by account behavior
Sales InvolvementMinimal or after-the-factEmbedded from planning through execution
Tech StackCRM, MAP, basic data toolsIntegrated orchestration platforms with AI, intent, personalization, scoring, and feedback loops
MeasurementLeads generated, MQLs, clicksAccount engagement, deal velocity, influenced pipeline, multi-touch attribution
PersonalizationManual, often basic (first name, company)Scalable and intelligent (AI-driven, persona-specific content paths)
ScalabilityStruggles to scale efficiently for high-ticket salesDesigned to scale across 100s or 1,000s of accounts with automation

Related → Revenue Marketing: Defined & Explained (+FAQs) 

When To Use Traditional Marketing vs. ABM Orchestration?

If you need to...Then use...
Generate mass awareness quicklyTraditional Marketing
Nurture high-value deals with multiple buyersABM Orchestration
Optimize for short-term traffic and form-fillsTraditional Marketing
Drive long-term pipeline from ideal-fit accountsABM Orchestration

Benefits of ABM Orchestration

Shorter Sales Cycles for High-Value Deals

B2B sales cycles are long for a reason: there are multiple stakeholders, high budgets, complex solutions, and high risk for the buyer.

Without orchestration, engagement becomes scattered and inconsistent. Marketing sends a campaign, sales calls a few days later, and no one follows up for weeks.

ABM orchestration compresses time by delivering coordinated, consistent engagement across channels and personas. Instead of waiting for leads to respond, you proactively guide them forward—anticipating questions, removing blockers, and keeping the deal warm.

How this works:

  • Plays evolve as the account progresses. Each step is tailored to where they are in the journey.
  • Key decision-makers receive touchpoints in a logical sequence (ad → email → call → follow-up).
  • Internal alerts ensure SDRs, AEs, and marketers respond in real-time to buying signals.

DB Nuggets → The longer the deal, the more valuable orchestration becomes. Without it, marketing loses patience and sales gets out of sync.

Stronger Alignment Between Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success

One of the most powerful (yet underappreciated) benefits of ABM orchestration is team alignment.
Traditionally, marketing focuses on lead gen, sales focuses on closing, and CS focuses on retention—all with separate tools, goals, and definitions of success.

Orchestration forces these teams to plan, execute, and measure success together.

What alignment looks like in action:

  • Shared Definitions. MQAs, ICPs, engagement thresholds, success metrics
  • Joint Playbooks. Every team contributes to the strategy and execution plan
  • Synchronized Handoffs. No more lag between MQA and SDR outreach
  • Unified Reporting. Shared dashboards show engagement, progression, and revenue impact

Operational Impact:

  • SDRs never “go blind” into cold outreach—they act on real signals.
  • Marketing doesn’t waste budget on low-fit leads—it drives pipeline.
  • CS gets visibility into sales conversations, making handoffs seamless and upsells smarter.

Related → B2B Sales & Marketing Alignment: 7 Timeless Strategies for Growth in 2025

Highly Personalized, Multi-Touch Engagement That Stands Out

Generic marketing campaigns are forgettable, especially to decision-makers who receive dozens of vendor emails each week.
ABM orchestration empowers teams to deliver personalized, timely, and relevant interactions at scale.

What this looks like:

  • Custom content delivered based on persona (e.g., CFO vs. IT Manager)
  • Sequences triggered by specific behaviors (e.g., product page views)
  • Personal videos from reps referencing their company’s use case
  • LinkedIn messages sent after a webinar engagement, not randomly

Orchestration ensures that personalization is dynamic, behavior-based, and orchestrated across channels.

DB Nuggets → Let behavior inform messaging. A CMO who downloads a whitepaper on “Data Consolidation” should be served with related thought leadership and a strategic call offer—not a generic sales pitch.

Related → How to Leverage AI in Marketing: Strategies and Best Practices

Better Account Insights and Engagement Visibility

Orchestration platforms help capture granular insights across every account touchpoint. This gives you a 360-degree view of where an account stands, what content they’ve engaged with, and which personas are heating up.

Types of insights unlocked:

  • Which stakeholders are actively engaging vs. passive
  • What channels are driving the most interaction
  • Where in the journey the account is stalling
  • What content is resonating (and with whom)

With these insights, you can:

  • Score accounts more accurately and dynamically
  • Prioritize outreach to engaged buying centers
  • Adjust messaging based on persona-level behavior
  • Activate sales at the right moment

Role of AI in ABM Orchestration

ABM orchestration involves thousands of micro-decisions across multiple accounts, personas, behaviors, and channels.

Doing this manually or based on static rules creates bottlenecks—and risks losing engagement when timing, relevance, or coordination fails.

Meanwhile, AI enables:

  • Real-time responsiveness to behavioral signals
  • Pattern recognition across large datasets
  • Hyper-personalization at scale
  • Predictive decision-making that evolves as new data comes in

Key AI Capabilities to Leverage in ABM Orchestration

  • Predictive Account Scoring. AI uses historical CRM data, behavioral signals, firmographics, and intent data to score accounts by conversion likelihood
  • Intent Signal Aggregation & Analysis. AI combines multiple touchpoints (search behavior, ad clicks, site visits) and uses NLP and pattern recognition to determine real purchase intent.
  • Content Personalization. AI models can serve the right piece of content to the right persona at the right time based on prior behavior, persona traits, stage, and similar account patterns.
  • Next-Best Action Recommendations. AI analyzes previous play performance, persona preferences, and deal stages to recommend what your reps should do next:
    • Should the AE send a case study or offer a strategy call?
    • Should SDR follow up with a video or escalate to leadership?
  • Account Progression Prediction. AI forecasts which accounts are likely to move to the next journey stage based on past patterns, helping you proactively intervene or accelerate momentum.
  • Playbook Performance Optimization. AI continuously tracks how orchestration plays are performing across channels, personas, and tiers—then recommends changes to sequencing, timing, or assets to improve conversion.

Recommended → Revolutionizing the Potential of AI-Powered ABM/ABX Marketing

How to Create an ABM Orchestration Framework: 6 Key Steps

  1. Define Orchestration Goals
  2. Map the Target Account Journey
  3. Build Cross-Functional Playbooks
  4. Connect and Enable the Right Tech Stack
  5. Implement Reporting and Feedback Loops
  6. Launch a Pilot Before Scaling

Step 1: Define Clear Orchestration Goals

You can’t orchestrate effectively without clarity. Your framework should be grounded in specific, measurable objectives that align with your go-to-market strategy and revenue goals.

What to Define:

Primary Goals. Are you trying to accelerate deals? Re-engage cold accounts? Expand existing customers?

Target Segments. Tier 1 strategic accounts? A new vertical? Existing customers?
Desired Outcomes. Meeting booked? Opportunity created? Revenue expansion?
These goals must be aligned across sales, marketing, and CS to avoid conflicting efforts or disjointed KPIs.

Example → If the goal is to accelerate deal velocity in your Tier 1 accounts, your orchestration plays should be built around removing friction in those journeys.

This means sending timely signals to sales, triggering content that answers objections early, and surfacing new decision-makers.

Step 2: Map the Target Account Journey

Once the goal is clear, define the entire lifecycle of the account—from first signal to post-sale expansion.

This helps you understand:

Where accounts enter your funnel (intent, form fill, referral, etc.)
What milestones they must reach before progressing (e.g., MQA status, meeting booked, opp created)
Which teams take ownership at each phase

A typical ABM customer journey looks like:

  • Awareness/Discovery: Account shows early interest or intent
  • Engagement: Target personas interact with ads, emails, or content
  • Qualification (MQA): Engagement score or behavior crosses a threshold
  • Sales Activation: SDR/AE begins personalized outreach
  • Opportunity Creation & Nurture: Multiple contacts are engaged, value is delivered
  • Closed-Won: Deal closes, handoff to customer success
  • Expansion/Upsell: CS and marketing coordinate ongoing account growth

Example → Once an account reaches the MQA stage (based on engagement score + intent data), a 10-day sales playbook begins: intro email → personalized video → LinkedIn message → followed by a gifting offer from a C-level exec.

Step 3: Build Cross-Functional Playbooks

This is where strategy meets execution. Your orchestration plays should be written out as structured playbooks, shared across teams, and connected to the account journey.

Each playbook should include:

  • Trigger criteria: What qualifies an account for this play? (e.g., viewed pricing page + engaged 3x in 7 days)
  • Target personas and messages: What are we saying, and to whom?
  • Channels used: Email, LinkedIn, display ads, events, calls, direct mail, etc.
  • Execution timeline: Day-by-day steps across teams
  • Play owner(s): Who is responsible for each step? Marketing, SDR, AE, CS?
  • Success metrics: Meeting booked? Opportunity created? Account engagement score improved?

Step 4: Connect and Enable the Right Tech Stack

You can’t orchestrate without visibility and automation. Your technology stack should act as the execution engine. This includes monitoring behavior, triggering plays, and tracking responses in real time.

Here’s a run down of tools to have:

  • CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) for account recording and tracking
  • Marketing automation platform for lead nurturing and scoring
  • Sales engagement platform for SDR/AE cadences, call tracking, email sequences
  • Intent data and insights (e.g. Demandbase) for detecting signals that drive play activation.
  • Ad platforms for targeting engagement by persona.
  • CDP/Data enrichment platform for accurate, unified profiles.

Example → When one system detects engagement (e.g., pricing page visits), another should respond instantly (e.g., trigger SDR sequence with personalized content).

Step 5: Implement Reporting and Feedback Loops

Once your orchestration motion is live, you need a system of oversight that ensures it stays optimized, measurable, and scalable.

Here’s what this includes:

  • Weekly orchestration reviews: Sales, marketing, and ops meet to review top accounts, stuck stages, play performance, and cross-team dependencies.
  • Shared dashboards: Track account-level engagement, play activation, meeting volume, and pipeline progress.
  • SLAs across functions: For example, SDRs follow up on new MQAs within 24 hours, or marketing routes newly engaged buying centers to AEs in real time.
  • Feedback channels: Sales shares which assets work in live conversations, marketing iterates content, ops refines scoring models.

Example → A dashboard shows that accounts who received a 4-step executive outreach play convert 3x faster than those who didn’t. Marketing prioritizes that play across more Tier 1 accounts.

Step 6: Launch a Pilot Before Scaling

It’s tempting to go big with orchestration, but the most successful programs begin narrow and precise.

Your pilot could focus on:

  • One vertical (e.g., Fintech)
  • One region (e.g., EMEA)
  • One account tier (e.g., Tier 1 strategic accounts)
  • One customer lifecycle stage (e.g., re-engagement or expansion)

Once results are proven—i.e., higher meetings booked, increased engagement scores, faster deal progression—you can expand into new segments, add more plays, and integrate CS, product, and leadership.

DB Nuggets → Framework maturity comes through iteration. The more cycles you run, the more optimized your orchestration becomes.

Related → Enterprise ABM Strategy: Modern Best Practices for Targeting High-Value Accounts

How to Measure the Success of ABM Orchestration

Focus on Metrics That Show Real Movement

The success of ABM orchestration should be measured in terms of account progress, pipeline impact, and revenue acceleration.

You don’t want to be tracking surface-level stats like impressions or email opens. Rather, you want to keep track of momentum across the entire buying committee.

Below are core metrics that matter:

MetricWhat It Tells You
Account Engagement ScoreHow active and interested an account is across all touchpoints (ads, emails, website, webinars)
Marketing-Qualified Accounts (MQAs)Which accounts have reached a threshold of meaningful engagement and are ready for sales
Pipeline VelocityHow quickly accounts move from engagement → opportunity → closed-won
Influenced Pipeline & RevenueHow much pipeline and revenue was impacted by orchestrated activities
Account CoverageHow many key decision-makers you’ve reached within an account (buying committee penetration)
Content Engagement by AccountWhat types of content accounts are consuming and what it says about their intent/stage
Sales & Marketing Alignment ScoreWhether the teams are working in sync (e.g., follow-up times, SLA compliance, joint planning metrics)

Build Stage-Based Progression Models

The core of orchestration measurement is understanding how target accounts are progressing through your defined journey stages.

  • Are we moving the right accounts from early intent to active engagement?
  • Are accounts showing momentum across teams (marketing → SDR → AE)?
  • Where are accounts getting stuck—and why?

Here’s a typical journey-based measurement:

Journey StageSample Metrics
Engaged AccountAsset views, ad clicks, time on site, email CTR
Marketing-Qualified Account (MQA)Engagement score reached, multiple persona touches
Sales-Activated AccountSDR outreach initiated, meeting booked
Opportunity AccountOpportunity created in CRM, buying group identified
Closed-Won AccountRevenue booked, contract signed
Expanded AccountUpsell/cross-sell achieved, new product adoption

For each stage, track:

  • Number of accounts reaching the stage
  • % progression from one stage to the next
  • Average time spent in stage
  • Drop-off rate (to identify friction points)

DB Nuggets → If you see a high number of MQAs but low opportunity creation, you may need to adjust sales handoff timing or playbook effectiveness.

Demandbase One™ Quick Cards

Evaluate Playbook and Channel Effectiveness

Plays are the building blocks of orchestration. You need to evaluate how well each play performs across channels and segments.

For every major play or sequence:

  • Track performance by account tier (Tier 1 vs. Tier 2)
  • Compare effectiveness across channels (e.g., LinkedIn vs. SDR email vs. direct mail)
  • Measure how long it takes to drive a key outcome (e.g., meeting booked, demo requested)

For example, let’s say you run a play targeting procurement heads at late-stage accounts.

After 30 days, you find that accounts who received a case study PDF + a follow-up call converted 2x more often than those who only received a product brochure.

That insight should feed into future content and sequencing.

DB Nuggets → Use A/B testing within plays to compare formats, timing, or CTA variations. For instance, try “ROI Calculator” vs. “Customer Story” in follow-up emails.

Related → How to Measure ROI of Your Account Based Marketing Strategy

Use Attribution Models to Prove Multi-Touch Influence

​​To measure the true impact of your ABM efforts, you need account-based attribution models that reflect the complexity of B2B buying.

Look for attribution models that can:

  • Track engagement across the entire buying group
  • Attribute influence to sequences of touches rather than isolated events
  • Reveal which channels, content, and outreach tactics contributed to opportunity creation and pipeline movement

Consider this example: A high-value account that converted may have followed a layered engagement path over three weeks:

  • Detected via intent signals showing increased research on competitor topics
  • Targeted with LinkedIn ads promoting customer stories
  • Clicked through to a case study showcasing results in their industry
  • Received a personalized SDR email with a value proposition
  • Accepted an invitation to an executive dinner that led to a live sales conversation

Your attribution model should count these touches and connect them, revealing the influence pattern behind progression.

Pro Tip → You can leverage Demandbase’s Pipeline Predict to identify accounts likely to open an opportunity with you in the near future.

Predictive Score Setup

Align Metrics to Strategic Business Goals

In the end, measurement only matters if it ties back to business impact. Every orchestrated activity should be towards a goal—whether that’s engagement, pipeline, expansion, or retention.

Sample Goals and Aligned KPIs:

ObjectiveExample KPIs
Increase engagement with Tier 1 accountsAccount Engagement Score, # of engaged personas, time spent on site
Accelerate pipelineTime from MQA to opportunity, deal velocity, sales cycle length
Expand existing accountsExpansion revenue, cross-sell/upsell rate, CS-qualified leads
Influence pipeline qualityConversion rates by tier, % of pipeline from target accounts
Improve sales & marketing alignmentResponse SLAs met, campaign follow-up rates, win rates by playbook

Related → How to ABM Like a Boss (Part 6): Measure with Account-Based Marketing Metrics

Popular ABM Orchestration Platforms to Consider

1. Demandbase One

Demandbase One offers a unified solution for B2B go-to-market (GTM) teams to identify, engage, and convert high-value accounts at scale.

It combines account intelligence, intent data, and AI-powered insights to help marketing and sales teams focus on the right accounts with personalized messaging and coordinated outreach.

The platform includes modules for advertising, account-based analytics, sales intelligence, and personalization, all working together to drive pipeline and revenue growth.

Key Features:

  • Dynamic Audiences. Allows you to build target account lists that auto-update in real-time based on intent, behavior, firmographics, or pipeline stage.
  • Account Intelligence. Integrates first-party data (e.g., CRM, web activity) with third-party data (e.g., firmographics, technographics) to offer a holistic view of target accounts.

Family Tree

  • Engagement Minutes. Tracks every interaction across ads, email, site visits, and sales touches to assign an engagement minutes score—quantifying real interest and readiness.
  • Sales Intelligence & Alerts. Surfaces buyer signals inside CRM platforms and alerts reps with real-time insights—like who’s spiking in intent or visiting high-value pages.Show me accounts
  • Predictive Scoring & Qualification. Uses machine learning to rank accounts based on conversion probability, factoring in historical sales data, web activity, and intent trends.Qualification Score Setup

Strengths

  • All-in-one Orchestration Platform: Combines intent, engagement, personalization, ads, and sales enablement in one ecosystem.
  • Real-time Signal Responsiveness: High granularity and speed in detecting account activity shifts.
  • Strong AI and Data Modeling: Predictive capabilities that help forecast pipeline readiness with impressive accuracy.
  • Deep Salesforce and MAP Integration: Native integrations that sync data and engagement scores back into your core GTM tools.

Best for: mid-market to enterprise B2B companies with mature sales and marketing operations looking to execute end-to-end ABM orchestration

2. Revenue AI (6sense)

Revenue AI (by 6Sense) helps B2B revenue teams uncover anonymous buying signals, prioritize in-market accounts, and engage decision-makers with highly personalized experiences at scale.

It captures intent data across the web, combines it with first-party signals, and uses machine learning models to map where each account is in the buying journey.

There’s also the ‘Dark Funnel’ feature that allows GTM teams to engage the right personas across the right channels—email, ads, web, SDR outreach, and more.

Strengths

  • Deep Integrations: Native connections with Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, Outreach, LinkedIn, Demandbase, and more.
  • Account Identification. Offers IP-to-company resolution technology that de-anonymizes web traffic and matches it to target accounts
  • Predictive Buying. Categorizes accounts into stages (like Awareness, Consideration, Decision, and Purchase) using AI models trained on historical deal data.

Best for: large B2B organizations with complex sales cycles, larger deal sizes, and strong alignment between sales, marketing, and RevOps.

Related → 15 Best 6Sense Competitors & Alternatives Right Now

3. Terminus

Terminus is a purpose-built ABM platform that specializes in engaging target accounts across multiple channels.

It offers a unified command center where marketing, sales, and revenue teams can align campaigns, activate data-driven plays, and measure outcomes using account-based KPIs.

For example, with Ad Experiences, teams can launch highly targeted display and LinkedIn ads to specific accounts or personas. There’s also Web Experiences that allow for dynamic website personalization based on firmographic data.

Strengths

  • Channel Diversity. Terminus stands out with its integration of less common channels like email signatures and chat alongside standard digital ads.
  • Native Tools. Many orchestration features—chat, email signature marketing, personalization—are native, not bolt-ons.
  • Actionable Engagement Insights. Spike alerts and analytics help sales and marketing take proactive steps.

Best for: B2B companies that want to execute full-funnel ABM programs across multiple channels, especially those looking to go beyond just advertising.

Related → 11 Best Cookieless Advertising Solutions for B2B Marketing

4. RollWorks

RollWorks, a division of NextRoll, is another ABM platform that helps B2B marketing and sales teams identify target accounts, engage them across channels, and measure campaign performance.

It features easy-to-deploy ABM programs, strong intent and fit scoring capabilities, and automated orchestration features that don’t require large teams to manage.

Strengths

  • Fast Time to Value. Easy onboarding and intuitive setup mean teams can start running campaigns and seeing results without long ramp-up periods.
  • Flexible Journey Staging. The Journey Stages feature enables clear segmentation and campaign orchestration based on the buyer’s funnel position, making messaging more relevant and timely.
  • Cost-Effective ABM. RollWorks offers flexible pricing and feature tiers that make it approachable for small to mid-sized businesses just getting started with ABM.

Best for: lean GTM teams looking to implement account-based strategies without investing in large, complex platforms.

5. HubSpot Marketing Hub

HubSpot Marketing Hub is an all-in-one inbound marketing platform that enables businesses to attract, engage, and convert leads through a centralized suite of tools.

The platform combines content creation, lead nurturing, automation, analytics, and CRM integration into one system.

While not solely focused on ABM, HubSpot Marketing Hub includes robust ABM capabilities that integrate seamlessly with the rest of the HubSpot ecosystem. This makes it ideal for growing B2B teams that want to combine inbound and ABM strategies.

Strengths

  • User-Friendly Interface. HubSpot is known for its clean, intuitive UI that simplifies the process of building campaigns, workflows, and reports—even for non-technical users.
  • Built-In CRM. Its tight integration with the HubSpot CRM provides unified customer data and simplifies lead handoff between marketing and sales.
  • Full-Funnel Visibility. From first touch to closed deal, HubSpot offers detailed insights into contact behavior, campaign performance, and ROI across the entire funnel.

Best for: small to mid-sized B2B companies that want an easy-to-use yet powerful marketing automation platform with deep CRM integration and flexible ABM support.

ABX Framework: The Evolution to Account-Based Orchestration

What is Account-Based Experience?

ABX is a unified, data-driven strategy designed to create value-driven, relationship-based experiences for high-value accounts at every stage of their journey.

It shifts the focus from just “activating accounts” to orchestrating meaningful, personalized interactions throughout the entire lifecycle.

  • ABX = Orchestration + Experience + Strategic Alignment + Continuous Optimization

Let’s break down the key pillars of ABX and how they elevate the orchestration model:

Strategic Account Tiering

ABX introduces a more refined, tiered approach to account segmentation.

Instead of treating all target accounts the same, it categorizes them by strategic value. This is based on intent signals, firmographic data, potential deal size, and historical behavior.

How It Works:

  • Tier 1 Accounts. High-value, strategic deals receive white-glove experiences—fully personalized content, human outreach, and executive involvement.
  • Tier 2 Accounts. Receive semi-personalized messaging with a balance of automation and human interaction.
  • Tier 3 Accounts. Are nurtured using programmatic, scalable plays and intelligent automation.

This tiering ensures that resources are allocated efficiently, personalization is scaled appropriately, and orchestration plays are tailored to account value and readiness.

Precise Contact Persona Targeting

ABX emphasizes targeting the entire buying committee within that account. That means understanding the specific roles, motivations, and influence levels of each stakeholder involved in the deal.

What This Looks Like:

  • Sales and marketing collaborate to define detailed persona profiles
  • Messaging is segmented by role: CMO, CFO, CTO, end user, influencer, blocker, champion
  • Content and outreach are designed to speak to each persona’s goals, concerns, and language

This ensures that your engagement strategy is multithreaded, relevant, and more likely to earn consensus across complex B2B buying groups.

Comprehensive Account and Contact Lists

While ABM often starts with a static list of target accounts, ABX insists on a data-enriched, continually evolving system of records. It’s more about list quality, and not list quantity.

ABX list management includes:

  • Defining account inclusion criteria by tier and industry
  • Continuously refreshing accounts based on intent, engagement, and CRM data
  • Mapping personas within each account: decision-makers, influencers, champions, blockers
  • Building contact-level intelligence using enrichment tools (e.g., technographics, engagement history)

These lists become the engine that fuels orchestrated plays across marketing, sales, and CS.

Integrated Selling Strategy

Rather than marketing running top-of-funnel campaigns and handing off leads to sales, ABX calls for:

  • Joint planning between sales and marketing teams by tier and vertical
  • Shared playbooks that align touchpoints across inbound and outbound
  • Coordinated execution timelines, where email, ads, calls, and content hit in unison

This integrated approach ensures a cohesive experience for the buyer. No more fragmented messaging or redundant outreach.

Dynamic Routing and Engagement

In ABX, automation is a strategic lever for real-time engagement and resource allocation. The framework emphasizes behavior-based routing and nurture logic:

How It Works:

  • Engaged contacts (e.g., visiting the pricing page, clicking ads) are automatically surfaced to sales with next-best-action suggestions
  • Passive or lightly engaged contacts are kept in personalized nurture flows—adjusted by persona, stage, and behavior
  • Routing can be based on tier, persona, region, or product line, ensuring fast action when engagement spikes
  • Take proactive steps.

DB Nuggets → As buyer journeys become more complex and expectations grow higher, it’s no longer enough to just “run plays.”

ABX challenges organizations to design experiences rooted in intelligence, empathy, and precision.

It’s the natural progression for teams who have matured beyond ‘lead-gen’ and now aim to build lasting, trust-based relationships with the accounts that matter most.

Growth Shouldn’t Feel This Hard (Hint: It Doesn’t Have To)

You’ve got the data. The strategy. The stack.

So why does building pipeline still feel like a grind?

Simple: Because there’s no real alignment.

Signals are scattered. Sales and marketing are running plays—just not the same ones. Everyone’s busy, but nothing’s moving.

And instead of executing a clear, account-based GTM motion, your team is left stitching together spreadsheets, meetings, and guesswork

One thing is clear: You don’t have a marketing problem. You have an orchestration problem.

And that’s exactly what Demandbase Orchestration was built to fix.

It takes the chaos out of your GTM and replaces it with a system that actually moves the business forward.

  • Connected, Signal-Based Engagement. Instead of chasing cold accounts, your teams act on intent signals in real time, engaging buyers when they’re actually in-market.
  • More Pipeline, Less Waste. Campaigns aren’t launched just to hit a number. They’re strategic, targeted, and built to convert. So you can generate pipeline that closes.
  • Personalization That Scales. Move past one-size-fits-all. Demandbase helps you tailor outreach by persona, behavior, and stage—without adding hours of manual work.
  • One View of the Full Buyer Journey. No more stitching together data from 5 platforms. Demandbase gives you a single, unified view of how accounts are progressing.
  • Automation That Actually Accelerates. From routing leads to triggering campaigns, Demandbase automates intelligently, giving your team more time to focus on high-impact work.

Thinking of how this applies to you? Check out our case study: Coalfire Transforms ABM with Demandbase, Achieving 40% Pipeline Growth.

 

See What Happens When Your GTM Finally Clicks →


Jonathan Costello Headshot
Jonathan Costello
Senior Content Strategist, Demandbase