Account based marketing strategy template

What this account-based marketing strategy template includes

• ContextThe situation, the challenges to solve, and what is deliberately left out.
• Account selectionHow target accounts are chosen and tiered.
• Account tiersThe level of personalization and investment each tier receives.
• Buying committeeThe roles involved in the purchase and what each cares about.
• PlaysThe coordinated sequences run against accounts.
• Sales alignmentHow marketing and sales work the same accounts.
• Priorities and measuresThree to five priorities, each with an owner, outcomes with a baseline and target, and the initiatives behind them.

Account-based marketing strategy example

A complete account-based marketing strategy for a fictional organization: cybersecurity vendor selling medical device and network security to hospital systems.

Worked exampleAccount-based marketing strategy

Organization	Cybersecurity vendor selling medical device and network security to hospital systems (260 staff)
Ambition	Reach the full buying committee at 314 named health systems and turn that engagement into $17 million of qualified pipeline in 2027.
Horizon	1 year

Context

Where we are and what we are choosing

We sell medical device and network security to hospitals: 140 customers, $45 million in recurring revenue, an average first-year contract of $400,000 at health systems and an 11-month sales cycle. Our addressable list is 410 US health systems with three or more hospitals, and 96 are customers. Last year marketing produced 4,100 leads, but only 6% came from the 314 systems we do not yet serve, and 58% of those systems had no engaged contact at all. Open opportunities average 2.3 engaged contacts, against 6.8 in deals we win. 38% of late-stage losses end in no decision.

Challenges

• Lead volume targets reward webinar sign-ups from students, consultants and small clinics, so budget goes to people who cannot buy.
• Deals start and stay with the security team. Clinical engineering, which owns the devices, and nursing leadership, which fears downtime, join late and stall the purchase.
• Sales and marketing keep separate account lists and definitions, so a system showing interest can wait weeks before anyone calls.

We will focus on

• 314 named health systems, tiered by fit and timing, with 20 receiving one-to-one programs.
• The full buying committee: security, IT, clinical engineering, clinical leadership and finance.
• Opportunities already open, where widening the committee pays back fastest.

We will not

• Lead volume targets and paid content syndication, which supplied 45% of last year's leads.
• Independent hospitals and systems with fewer than three hospitals. They are served through managed security partners, not this program.
• The 30 by 30 foot booth at the largest health IT conference. Its $280,000 funds executive dinners and clinical engineering workshops.

Account selection

Ideal customer profile	US health systems with three or more hospitals. The best fit has 1,000 or more staffed beds and 15,000 or more connected medical devices from a mix of manufacturers, on a flat or lightly segmented network. A named security leader and a clinical engineering department are both required.
Selection criteria	Fit is scored on bed count, device estate, network architecture and existing security tools. Timing is scored on triggers: a new security or technology leader, a merger, a breach at a peer in the same state, a cyber insurance renewal, or a new hospital tower. Tier 1 needs top-quartile fit, one timing trigger and an account executive with capacity.
Data sources	The CRM and closed-won history, a hospital data subscription for beds and affiliations, third-party intent data, public breach reports, job postings for security leadership, and what account executives know, gathered in a quarterly review.

Account tiers

Tier	Number of accounts	Approach	Budget per account
Tier 1, one to one	20	Account plan, custom device risk brief, executive dinner, on-site workshop	$18,000
Tier 2, one to few	70	Seven clusters by region and trigger, each with its own content and a regional roundtable	$5,000
Tier 3, one to many	224	Targeted ads, sales development sequences, webinars; promoted to tier 2 on intent	$800

Buying committee

Role	What they care about	Content for them
Chief information security officer	Unmanaged devices as a ransomware path; reporting risk to the board	Peer breach briefings; board-ready risk summary
Chief information officer	Uptime during the health record roadmap; too many tools	Architecture overview; consolidation business case
Clinical engineering director	Inventory accuracy, patching without voiding warranties, recall response	Device inventory benchmark; workshop on their own asset data
Chief nursing or medical information officer	No disruption to care; infusion pumps and monitors stay online	Clinical safety case study; evidence of zero downtime at rollout
Network infrastructure director	Segmentation without re-addressing the network	Reference design; technical proof plan
Chief financial officer and supply chain	Insurance premiums, cost of diverting patients, contract terms	Cost model for a ransomware diversion; insurer questionnaire guide
Compliance and privacy officer	Patient data exposure and regulator expectations	Mapping of our controls to the system's own compliance framework

Plays

Play	Trigger	Channels	Owner
Peer breach response	Public ransomware event at a system in the same state	Email from our security chief, briefing call, targeted ads for 30 days	ABM manager with account executive
New leader, first 90 days	New security or technology chief announced	Handwritten note, peer introduction, 30-minute benchmark review	Account executive
Device inventory workshop	Clinical engineering contact engages, or tier 1 kickoff	Mailed invitation, half-day on-site workshop, written findings	Solutions engineer
Widen the committee	Open opportunity with fewer than 4 engaged contacts	Role-specific content, executive sponsor outreach, customer reference call	Account executive with ABM manager
Insurance renewal	Cyber policy renewal within 120 days	Insurer questionnaire guide, finance email, session co-hosted with a broker	Field marketer
Merger integration	Announced acquisition of a hospital or system	Integration risk brief, network leadership meeting, regional roundtable	ABM manager

Sales alignment

Shared definitions	An engaged contact is a person at a named account with two meaningful interactions in 90 days: a meeting, an event, a reply, or five minutes on high-intent pages. A marketing-qualified account has three engaged contacts across two functions. Both teams report against one list in the CRM, and lead counts are no longer reported.
Meeting rhythm	A weekly 30-minute account standup per region for account executives, sales development and the ABM manager. Monthly reviews of tier 1 account plans. Quarterly re-tiering with sales leadership, moving no more than 20% of accounts.
Handover rule	When an account qualifies, the account executive is alerted the same day and makes first contact within 2 business days using the play brief. After 5 days without action it goes to the regional sales director. Marketing keeps its programs running until an opportunity opens or the account is returned.

Priorities and measures

Priority 1Owner: Head of Demand Generation

Reach the whole buying committee in tier 1 and tier 2

Deals we win have nearly seven engaged contacts and deals in flight have two. Clinical engineering and clinical leadership are missing from almost every account.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Tier 1 and 2 accounts with 5 or more engaged contacts across 3 functions	11 accounts	45 accounts	Q4 2027
Tier 1 and 2 accounts with an engaged clinical engineering leader	9%	50%	Q3 2027

Initiatives

• Map the committee by name at all 90 tier 1 and tier 2 accounts
• Produce one core asset for each of the seven committee roles
• Run 12 device inventory workshops and 8 regional executive dinners
• Move the syndication and booth budget into tier 1 and tier 2 programs

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 2Owner: VP of Enterprise Sales

Open opportunities in named accounts

Only 6% of leads came from the systems we want, and more than half of them have never engaged. Pipeline has to be built account by account, on their timing.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Qualified pipeline created in named accounts per year	$9.5M	$17M	Q4 2027
Tier 1 accounts with an open opportunity	3 accounts	11 accounts	Q4 2027
Named accounts with no engaged contact	58%	35%	Q3 2027

Initiatives

• Write joint account plans for the 20 tier 1 accounts
• Monitor triggers daily and start the peer breach play within 5 business days
• Assign sales development reps to tier 2 clusters instead of territories
• Pair each tier 1 account with an executive sponsor from our leadership team

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 3Owner: Chief Revenue Officer

Close open deals by widening the committee

38% of late-stage losses end in no decision, usually after a stakeholder outside security raises a concern nobody had addressed. Existing opportunities are the fastest return on this program.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Late-stage losses that end in no decision	38%	22%	Q4 2027
Average engaged contacts per open opportunity	2.3 contacts	5 contacts	Q3 2027

Initiatives

• Run the widen-the-committee play on every opportunity with fewer than 4 engaged contacts
• Publish the clinical safety case study and the ransomware diversion cost model
• Recruit reference customers by role so a clinical engineer can talk to a clinical engineer
• Add a mutual action plan to every late-stage deal, naming each committee member

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

Priority 4Owner: Director of Revenue Operations

Run one account list with sales

Two lists and two sets of definitions mean interest goes unanswered and budget goes to accounts sales will never pursue. Shared rules come before more spend.

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
Qualified accounts contacted by sales within 2 business days	41%	90%	Q2 2027
Program budget spent on named accounts	22%	80%	Q2 2027

Initiatives

• Load the 314 accounts and their tiers into the CRM as the only target list
• Replace the lead dashboard with an account engagement scorecard
• Pay sales development reps on meetings held with named accounts, not meetings booked
• Re-tier accounts each quarter with sales leadership

Targets are illustrative. Adapt them to your baseline before you start.

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Blank account-based marketing strategy template

The same structure with a prompt in every field. Copy it, or download it as a Word or Excel file.

Your planAccount-based marketing strategy

Organization	[Describe your organization in a few words, with its size]
Ambition	[One sentence on where you want to be at the end of the plan]
Horizon	[How long the plan runs, for example 12 months]

Context

Where we are and what we are choosing

[Where things stand today: the facts that make this strategy necessary]

Challenges

• [A problem the strategy has to solve]
• [A problem the strategy has to solve]

We will focus on

• [Something you are choosing to concentrate on]
• [Something you are choosing to concentrate on]

We will not

• [Something you are deliberately leaving out]
• [Something you are deliberately leaving out]

Account selection

Ideal customer profile	[Your ideal customer profile]
Selection criteria	[Your selection criteria]
Data sources	[Your data sources]

Account tiers

Tier	Number of accounts	Approach	Budget per account
[Tier]	[Number of accounts]	[Approach]	[Budget per account]
[Tier]	[Number of accounts]	[Approach]	[Budget per account]
[Tier]	[Number of accounts]	[Approach]	[Budget per account]

Buying committee

Role	What they care about	Content for them
[Role]	[What they care about]	[Content for them]
[Role]	[What they care about]	[Content for them]
[Role]	[What they care about]	[Content for them]

Plays

Play	Trigger	Channels	Owner
[Play]	[Trigger]	[Channels]	[Owner]
[Play]	[Trigger]	[Channels]	[Owner]
[Play]	[Trigger]	[Channels]	[Owner]

Sales alignment

Shared definitions	[Your shared definitions]
Meeting rhythm	[Your meeting rhythm]
Handover rule	[Your handover rule]

Priorities and measures

Priority 1Owner: [Role accountable for this priority]

[Name the priority in a few words]

[Why this priority matters now, in one or two sentences]

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]

Initiatives

• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]

Priority 2Owner: [Role accountable for this priority]

[Name the priority in a few words]

[Why this priority matters now, in one or two sentences]

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]

Initiatives

• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]

Priority 3Owner: [Role accountable for this priority]

[Name the priority in a few words]

[Why this priority matters now, in one or two sentences]

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]

Initiatives

• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]

Priority 4Owner: [Role accountable for this priority]

[Name the priority in a few words]

[Why this priority matters now, in one or two sentences]

Outcome	Baseline	Target	Due
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]
[Metric you will track]	[Where it is today]	[Where it should be]	[When]

Initiatives

• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]
• [A project or action that moves the outcomes above]

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How to adapt it

1. 01

   Count your total addressable accounts first. If the number is in the hundreds, account-based marketing fits. If it is in the tens of thousands, it probably does not.

2. 02

   Build the list with sales in the room. A tier 1 account that no account executive has time for is not tier 1.

3. 03

   Set tier sizes from budget and people. Multiply accounts by budget per account and check the total against what you actually have.

4. 04

   Map the buying committee from your last ten won and lost deals, including the roles that appeared late and slowed things down.

5. 05

   Define each play by its trigger. If you cannot detect the trigger from data you already have, the play will not run.

6. 06

   Agree the handover rule and its escalation before launch, and replace lead metrics with account metrics in every report.

How to run it

A plan only works if it is reviewed on a rhythm. This is the cadence the example assumes.

Check-in	Outcome owners update progress and confidence weekly.
Review	Priority owners review outcomes and unblock initiatives monthly.
Reset	Leadership revisits priorities and targets quarterly.

Tability keeps this cadence for you. Each priority becomes an objective, each outcome a key result with its baseline and target, and each initiative a tracked task. Owners get a check-in reminder and the plan shows what is on track.

Track this plan in Tability

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Common mistakes

• Calling targeted advertising to a long list account-based marketing, with no change in how sales works those accounts.
• Putting too many accounts in tier 1, so one-to-one programs become thin one-to-many campaigns.
• Keeping lead volume targets alongside the new program, which pulls budget back to whatever produces form fills.
• Reaching only the usual champion and discovering the rest of the committee in the final month of the deal.