RESEARCH REPORT
ABM Pulse
Climbing the ABM maturity ladder
Introduction
We surveyed 600 CMOs on both sides of the Atlantic and found a firm belief in ABM – but few are pretending they’ve got it all figured out.
Although 99% say their programme is delivering success, there’s growing realisation of the difficulties in scaling and embedding ABM organisation-wide.
That’s because climbing the ABM maturity ladder is a bit like trying to teach a symphony orchestra to play jazz… mid-concert… with musicians who don’t really ‘get’ jazz.
Bottom line, our data shows brands are getting stuck on either the beginner or intermediate rungs. So how do we get them unstuck?
Theme 1: B2B has embraced ABM
ABM has become a foundational element of enterprise GTM strategy.
Uptake is strongest in complex B2B sectors where long sales cycles and relationship-driven selling make ABM a natural fit – sectors like software and B2B technology, financial services, and manufacturing.
CMOs report early signs of success where ABM is helping them advance key areas, like marketing alignment and defining ideal customer profiles (ICP), but there’s still work to do.
Only 25% claim ABM is embedded business-wide, and around a third are still in the early stages of working out strategy or piloting proof of concept.
Get in touch to receive your Strategic ABM Maturity Assessment and discover where your organisation sits on the ABM ladder.
Theme 2: What’s blocking ABM maturity?
The core issue isn’t ‘why’ or ‘what’, but ‘how’.
- Lack of ABM know-how: 40% of CMOs say they don’t have the right talent to execute their ABM strategies effectively.
- How to scale: A third struggle with embedding new ways of working and knowing how to scale programmes across teams and regions.
- Structure and alignment: Over a quarter are still struggling with sales engagement.
- Technology: Even intermediate-level ABM programmes are susceptible to the martech trap.
- Measurement and success: A third of CMOs say they struggle to demonstrate the success of ABM.
Knowledge gaps
For most CMOs, the road to ABM maturity will feature a heavy dose of on-the-job learning.
Only 32% report strong ABM knowledge across all teams, including leadership. And over half say the ABM knowledge they have is locked up in siloes.
Leading organisations are overcoming this by investing in external expertise, working with ABM specialists and training partners to upskill teams and build momentum.
Certifications from tech vendors can help teams get to grips with specific platforms, while analyst firms offer frameworks to help stakeholders build context and understanding.
ABM Centres of Excellence can be developed to serve as a central hub for knowledge sharing, enabling consistency by breaking siloes and preventing fragmented or ‘rogue’ approaches.
“What is ABM? Ask five different people across your business… how many different answers will you get?”
Terminology trouble
Rogue approaches will show up most obviously in the language and interpretations used across organisations, regions, even within teams.
An assumption of shared understanding can be a serious barrier to maturity. If there’s no consensus on what things are called, can you be sure of alignment on anything?
When you’re trying to get your pilot up and running, it’s tempting to simply adopt the language tech vendors give you. Resist. This language wasn’t designed for you, your team, or your objectives.
Our panel advised organisations to define their own terms. One successful team spent months building an ownable ABM lexicon and proved that if you put the time in to get this right, it will pay off.
Owned terminology reflects shared objectives and boosts stakeholder buy-in – reframing ABM as something that matters to the entire business.
“The M in ABM has been controversial ever since it was coined 20 years ago. As long as this is called account-based marketing, it’s going to be seen as a marketing-owned programme.”
Ren Howell, Hexagon
The reframe
An explicit reframe into what matters – account progression, deals, revenue – builds trust faster than any marketing jargon.
Some of the most effective teams are ditching marketing-style terms – including ‘ABM’ – altogether.
Instead, they’re adopting revenue focussed language that lands better across the business.
One team renamed their ABM programme a ‘key account accelerator’, for instance, making it feel immediately more commercially relevant – helping everyone visualise ABM goals as business goals.
I think it’s interesting how we are starting to see “People-Based Marketing” (PBM), as the next GTM, but it is essentially the same as “Account-Based Marketing” (ABM). I expect soon I will need to educate colleagues who might suggest pivoting to PBM as a new concept, emphasizing that it’s “just another buzzword for the same thing”.
Jeri Lyn Egbert, Sysdig
Theme 3: Who should own ABM?
Data suggests ABM isn’t fully embedded across teams.
A third of CMOs report equal ownership between marketing and sales. In the US, marketing leads 43% of the time, either alone or with sales support – while in the UK, marketing claims solo ownership of a fifth of programmes.
This suggests ABM isn’t fully embedded across teams. But hold on – who should own ABM?
The answer isn’t straightforward. We know there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, so it isn’t as simple as saying “marketing and sales should always share it.”
Stop thinking about ownership and start defining an architecture that fits your reality and offers the best chance for alignment with sales.
“I don’t believe in this equal ownership thing,” said one of our experts. “The clue is in the name; it’s Account Based MARKETING.”
Andrew Fitzgerald, Kyndryl
Give sales what they want
Our data shows engaging sales remains a key challenge for almost a third of US CMOs, and a quarter in the UK.
Our expert panel suggests an approach that respects a hard reality – if sales aren’t on board, ABM doesn’t stand a chance.
Bottom line, if you want sales to align with you, help them hit targets by serving them clear, account-focused intel. ABM wins hearts and minds by helping sales drive account growth – so make it easy for them, then make sure everyone hears about it.
“Recognise that sales teams may not have the bandwidth to master complex marketing technology. Run the data side and hand it over to sales rather than expecting them to go into the platform.”
Theme 4: The martech trap
Breaking free from fragmentation
Technology is vital to ABM, but it’s also the area where businesses often need the most support. If this sounds familiar you’re not alone, over a third of CMOs (40% in the US) say they don’t have the right tech in place.
Fewer than half are able to track account engagement, report on programme performance, map account journeys, or understand where buying groups are in the process. No surprise that they’re struggling to see how accounts are engaging.
Many will have fallen into the martech trap – a state reflected by fragmented, siloed, and underutilised technology where teams have to switch between tools to get a full picture.
Often the solution isn’t more tools, but a strategic approach that prioritises consolidation, integration, data integrity, and a focus on long-term value.
Theme 5: Measurement
Embracing the true goal of ABM
Are we measuring what matters?
Nearly 40% of CMOs admit difficulty proving their ABM is working and over a quarter say they would struggle to write a business case for it.
This is quite an admission. But again, it reflects knowledge and execution gaps rather than critical strategic shortcomings.
“The biggest problem we hear is, ‘we don’t know what good looks like’,” says ABM strategist Kasch Wilder.
“After six months, they feel like they have nothing to show the board, so panic sets in.”
Jeri Lyn Egbert, Sysdig
Volume vs quality
So what are we measuring? Our research found the second most popular success metric is still Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) – a volume metric that suggests programmes are still stuck on the beginner rung.
Volume measurements like MQLs, ad impressions, and email clicks are great for tracking reach and engagement at a contact level. They’re easy and familiar, but to climb the ladder, we need to embrace ABM’s true goal – revenue from specific accounts, which means measurements must be built on quality, not volume.
What does good look like?
ABM is a long play, says Kasch Wilder. “At the start, help your stakeholders understand that you’re investing in next year’s pipeline.”
Year one is about foundations – alignment, account selection, buying group mapping, targeted creative. At this stage we can show how effectively we’re getting in front of the buying group, what we call ‘digital account surround’:
- Brand visibility across multiple touchpoints
- Multiple stakeholders engaging
- Key personas seeing consistent, tailored messaging
- Intent signals increasing across relevant topics
From ten to 14 months, the groundwork starts to pay off and we see account level engagement turning into active intent.
- Form fills, demo requests, pricing enquiries, solution-specific downloads
- Multiple stakeholders showing interest
- Conversations at events or trade shows where the account knows who you are
- Sales seeing more traction, warmer replies, and faster meeting conversions
These are your hand raisers, and they indicate accounts moving from passive engagement to potential buying mode.
Measurement frameworks
ABM implementation should begin with a framework that tailors reporting to your hierarchy and your org structure – who needs to know what, when, and how often?
There’s no one-size-fits all, but generally the C-suite needs a long view – value, growth, and account development. Programme and department leaders need more regular visibility on revenue and performance.
This reporting should be optimised so each tier or stakeholder can have a tailored dashboard, with clear metrics and red/green flags that help them act, approve, escalate, or adjust at speed.
Nick Webb, CMO, CloudPay on ABM (watch)
How mature is your ABM?
Some advanced ABM programmes are business-wide strategies with executive sponsorship, clear measurement frameworks, and harmonised sales and marketing teams. Some programmes are stuck at pilot stage. Others are scaling but struggling to show value.
Many are still struggling to connect technology, data, and teams to execute effectively.
Your best next steps and the support you need depend on your current maturity level.
Get in touch to establish a clear maturity benchmark with our Strategic ABM Maturity Assessment. Receive an objective read on where your programme sits today, and where to kickstart the next stage of your journey.
About the research
This research-based guide combines our own experience with insight from a panel of leading CMOs. Together we reviewed the data and considered the key question: How can organisations climb the ABM Maturity Ladder?
Modern commissioned Censuswide to survey 611 CMOs in B2B companies in the UK and US between 15.10.24 – 18.10.24. In-depth interviews with the expert panel were held between 16.09.25 – 10.10.25.
Censuswide, a global insight-driven research company, abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles. Censuswide are also members of the British Polling Council.