ABM + Demand Gen: A Powerful Combination for Scalable Growth

A new strategy combining ABM and Demand Gen helps you attract an audience, accounts worth pursuing based on intent and fit, and targeted campaigns. But when the two strategies work in isolation, you either get volume without value or value without enough volume.   

This article explores combining ABM and Demand Gen to create a unified strategy.  

Here's why the hybrid approach between ABM and Demand Gen matters.  

1. Reach Broadly, Then Focus  

Demand Gen educates the market, creates awareness and pulls in leads starting their journey. 

ABM identifies high-value accounts and tailors you're messaging for the accounts.  

Example: A cybersecurity SaaS company runs a Demand Gen campaign targeting IT leaders through webinars. From the leads captured, they segment accounts for an ABM follow-up with custom case studies and 1:1 outreach.  

2. Improve Funnel Efficiency 

Many Demand Gen leads don't convert because they aren't the fit. 

With ABM, you can filter your inbound pipeline for engaged and qualified accounts. 

Example: A fintech firm uses website traffic and intent data to identify which engaged leads belong to target accounts, then moves to personalized ABM for conversion.  

3. Align Marketing and Sales Teams 

ABM collaborates with marketing and sales to agree on target accounts and shared KPIs. 

Meanwhile, Demand Gen provides the volume and insights to fuel the ABM efforts.  

Example: A SaaS CRM platform's marketing team shares weekly Demand Gen insights with sales to identify new ABM prospects to refine the message.  

4. Create Personalized Experiences 

Demand Gen gives you reach through content, ads, and campaigns.  

ABM helps you tailor journeys and account-specific outreach.  

Example: A MarTech company uses marketing automation to nurture audiences, but once an account shows strong buying signals, it switches to ABM with email sequences and live demos.    

5. Accelerate Pipeline and Deal Velocity 

ABM focuses efforts on deals to close, while Demand Gen keeps filling the top of the funnel.  

Example: A data analytics provider saw faster deal closures after integrating ABM into their Demand Gen and aligning their follow-ups.  

Here's the whole journey of ABM and Demand Gen's combined efforts.  

1. Awareness Stage: Drive Market Education (Demand Gen) 

Start with content that attracts an audience — blog posts, webinars, social ads, and SEO.  

It will generate interest and capture engagement.  

Example: A SaaS HR platform launches a LinkedIn ad campaign promoting a guide on the "Future of Work." The campaign captures leads from an audience such as HR or People Ops.  

2. Interest Stage: Qualify and Segment Accounts 

Use intent data and behavioral signals to identify accounts from the leads generated through Demand Gen. 

Segment leads into ABM tiers — high-value (1:1), mid-tier (1: few), and long-tail (1: many). 

Example: A cloud infrastructure company sees repeat visits from CTOs at Fortune 500 companies. These accounts are flagged for 1:1 ABM campaigns, while mid-market accounts are grouped into themed 1: 1:few.  

3. Consideration Stage: Engage with Personalized ABM Campaigns 

You can prioritize and build tailored messaging and campaigns for each tier.  

Use multi-channel touchpoints — email, direct mail, custom landing pages, and SDR outreach.  

Example: An analytics vendor sends personalized case studies and scheduling links to healthcare CIOs and runs webinars to nurture interest.  

4. Decision Stage: Align Sales and Marketing  

Sales take insights from marketing, such as what content they engage with, what questions they ask, and who iswho's involved in the decision-making.  

Continue with demos, ROI calculators, or briefings.  

Example: For a high-intent ABM account, a marketing automation firm invites decision-makers to a tailored product demo relevant to their existing stack. 

5. Post-Sale: Expand and Nurture 

Keep using ABM to onboard, upsell, and retain. Demand Gen continues nurturing broad prospects. 

Example: A SaaS company offers workshops for key ABM accounts while continuing to run Demand Gen campaigns for a new pipeline.   

Here are the metrics to measure your ABM and Demand Gen campaigns.  

1. Marketing Qualified Accounts (MQAs) 

For ABM, the goals are engaged accounts. 

MQAs are accounts that meet your fit criteria and show buying signals.  

Example: A cybersecurity company tracks accounts visiting key pages (like pricing or demo) and labels them as MQAs if multiple stakeholders engage within a week.  

2. Account Engagement Score 

Measures how much a target account is engaging with your brand across touchpoints.  

Factors include website visits, content downloads, webinar attendance, and email opens.  

Example: A software firm creates a scorecard that gives higher weight to visits on solution pages than blog visits, prioritizing which accounts are ready for ABM outreach.  

3. Pipeline Velocity 

It tells you how quickly leads move through the sales funnel. 

Combining Demand Gen volume and ABM targeting leads to faster conversion times.  

Example: A MarTech platform shrunk its sales cycle after integrating ABM for high-intent leads sourced via inbound Demand Gen.  

4. Cost Per Opportunity (CPO) 

Tracks how much you're spending to generate qualified opportunities. 

With Demand Gen, you optimize for lower CPL (cost per lead), but CPO gives a clearer view of ROI in ABM.  

Example: A fintech company noticed that its ABM campaigns had higher upfront costs, but its CPO was lower than that of its Demand Gen efforts due to better win rates.  

5. Win Rate by Segment 

Compare win rates for accounts targeted via ABM vs. those sourced through Demand Gen. 

It shows how effective your hybrid strategy is at closing deals.  

Example: A SaaS CRM firm found that Tier-1 ABM accounts closed at 30% vs 12% for general inbound leads.  

6. Influence on Revenue 

It tracks how both ABM and Demand Gen influence pipeline and revenue.  

Use multi-touch attribution or engagement scoring to connect marketing impact to sales outcomes.   

Here are the roadblocks in the hybrid strategy and how to overcome them.  

1. Siloed Teams and Misaligned Goals 

Marketing runs Demand Gen campaigns for MQLs, while sales focus on a different set of ABM accounts.  

Solution: Create a shared account list and align KPIs. Sync the target accounts and campaign performance. 

Example: A SaaS firm created a "revenue council" with sales, marketing, and RevOps to align on ICPs, campaign plans, and pipelines.  

2. Technology Overload  

Running ABM and Demand Gen means juggling multiple platforms such as CRMs, ad tools, and marketing automation.  

Solution: Consolidate tools and integrate key platforms for data visibility. Ensure intent data, engagement signals, and lead scoring flow into your CRM.   

Example: A cybersecurity startup used HubSpot for Demand Generation and 6sense for ABM. By syncing them through Salesforce, it got a unified view of the buyer journey.  

3. Scaling Personalization Without Burning Resources 

ABM demands personalized experiences, but personalization doesn't scale easily across many accounts. 

Solution: Use a tiered ABM model. Reserve 1:1 personalization for top accounts and automate 1:1, 1: few, or 1: many campaigns for other accounts.  

Example: A MarTech firm created email sequences and landing pages for mid-market ABM accounts and used custom outreach for its top enterprise accounts.  

4. Measuring Success Across Two Different Motions 

Demand Gen is volume-driven; ABM is value-driven. Tracking performance without context can mislead. 

Solution: Define shared metrics like pipeline influence, opportunity rate, and deal velocity.  

Example: An analytics company moved away from MQL targets and focused on the marketing-influenced pipeline.  

Combining ABM and Demand Gen creates a growth engine that aligns teams, improves ROI, and accelerates pipeline velocity. What is the reward? A scalable approach to growth that adapts to the modern B2B buyer journey. Now's the time to rethink your strategy; it's the key to scaling up in the competitive landscape.  

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