Account-based marketing changed B2B. Instead of casting wide nets, companies focused resources on accounts most likely to buy. It worked. ABM delivered better results than spray-and-pray demand generation.

But ABM had a limitation. It treated marketing as the hero of the story. Target accounts. Run campaigns. Hand off to sales. Hope they close.

The evolution is Account-Based Experience, or ABX. It recognizes that winning accounts requires orchestrated experience across every touchpoint: marketing, sales, customer success, and product. Not campaigns. Experiences.

76%

higher ROI for companies implementing ABX compared to traditional marketing initiatives. This is not incremental improvement. It is a fundamental shift in how B2B companies go to market.

The companies that will thrive in 2026 and beyond understand that acquiring an account is just the beginning. The real value comes from creating experiences that turn customers into long-term partners.

What ABX Actually Means

Let me clarify what we are talking about because the terminology gets confusing.

ABX is a go-to-market strategy that uses data and insights to orchestrate relevant, trusted marketing and sales actions throughout the B2B customer journey. It is customer-centric rethinking of account-based strategy.

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ABX is not a replacement for ABM. It is an evolution that combines the engageability of inbound marketing with the precision and targeting of account-based marketing. Think of ABX as ABM plus customer experience.

The key differences:

ABM focuses on targeting and campaigns. ABX focuses on orchestrating experience across the entire journey.

ABM is marketing-led. ABX requires alignment across marketing, sales, customer success, and revenue operations.

ABM often stops at opportunity creation. ABX extends through the customer lifecycle including retention and expansion.

ABM measures campaign metrics. ABX measures account engagement and revenue outcomes.

Why This Matters Now

Several forces are making ABX essential rather than optional.

Buyer Expectations Have Changed

B2B buyers complete approximately 70% of their research before engaging with sales. By the time they talk to your team, their preferences are largely formed.

70%

of B2B buying research happens before any sales conversation. Buyers know who they like before they talk to you. Winning requires building preference early through the entire experience.

This means the experience you create across marketing, content, website, and digital touchpoints substantially influences whether you even get considered.

Committee Buying is the Norm

Enterprise deals involve multiple stakeholders. The research shows that buying groups include 6-10 decision makers on average, each with different priorities and information needs.

ABX recognizes that you are not targeting accounts. You are orchestrating experiences for multiple people within those accounts, each at different stages and with different concerns.

The Post-Sale Experience Matters More

Customer acquisition cost has increased. Net revenue retention has become the key growth metric. Expansion revenue from existing accounts often exceeds new logo revenue.

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ABM often treats account acquisition as the finish line. ABX recognizes that acquisition is the starting point for building customer lifetime value through ongoing experience.

Data and AI Enable Orchestration

The technology to execute ABX now exists. Intent data identifies accounts showing buying signals. AI helps prioritize and personalize at scale. Orchestration platforms coordinate touches across channels and teams.

The Three Pillars of ABX

Effective ABX rests on three core components.

Pillar 1: Data-Driven Insights

Every interaction with target accounts should be informed by data.

Intent data. Understanding which accounts are actively researching solutions in your category. Third-party intent data from sources like Bombora or G2 combined with first-party engagement signals from your own properties.

Firmographic data. Company size, industry, technology stack, growth signals, and organizational changes that indicate fit and timing.

Engagement data. How accounts interact with your content, website, sales team, and product. This creates a unified view of account health and readiness.

Stakeholder mapping. Understanding who the key players are within target accounts, their roles, and their individual engagement patterns.

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Start by connecting your existing data sources before buying new ones. Most companies have valuable intent and engagement signals scattered across CRM, marketing automation, website analytics, and sales tools that are not being unified.

Pillar 2: Cross-Channel Coordination

ABX requires consistent, coordinated experience across every touchpoint.

Website personalization. Target accounts see relevant content, case studies, and messaging when they visit your site.

Advertising coordination. Programmatic and social advertising reaches the right stakeholders with messages aligned to their stage and role.

Email and outreach. Sales sequences and marketing emails work together rather than bombarding contacts with conflicting messages.

Content delivery. The right content reaches the right stakeholders at the right time based on their engagement and buying stage.

Event and experience. Webinars, events, and other experiences are tailored to account segments and individual stakeholder needs.

Pillar 3: Personalization at Scale

True personalization means relevant experience for each account and stakeholder, not just inserting company names into templates.

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Personalization at scale requires AI and machine learning to analyze patterns and deliver relevant content without manual effort for every account. This is where technology enables ABX that would be impossible to execute manually.

This includes:

Dynamic content that adapts based on account attributes and behavior
Intelligent recommendations for next-best-action across channels
Automated triggers that initiate relevant touches based on engagement signals
Predictive scoring that prioritizes accounts and actions

Organizational Alignment: The Make-or-Break Factor

ABX fails without cross-functional alignment. This is where most implementations struggle.

Marketing, Sales, and CS Must Coordinate

Successful ABX requires:

Shared definition of target accounts and ideal customer profile
Unified account data and engagement visibility
Coordinated outreach and touch cadence
Clear handoff processes and shared accountability

40%

faster revenue growth for businesses that invest in creating great customer experiences. This growth comes from alignment across functions, not just better marketing campaigns.

Shared Goals and Metrics

Everyone must understand and work toward shared objectives:

Account engagement metrics that span the full lifecycle
Pipeline metrics that measure both quality and velocity
Revenue metrics that include expansion and retention
Customer health metrics that indicate long-term value

Process and Governance

Define clearly:

Who owns the account relationship at each stage
How handoffs happen between functions
What coordination mechanisms ensure consistent experience
How conflicts or overlapping touches get resolved

Technology for ABX

The technology landscape for ABX includes several categories.

Full ABX Platforms

Platforms like 6sense, Demandbase, and Terminus provide comprehensive ABX capability: intent data, account identification, advertising, orchestration, and measurement.

These platforms are significant investments ($50,000-200,000+ annually) but provide integrated capability that is difficult to replicate with point solutions.

Unbundled Approach

Many companies build ABX capability from existing tools:

CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot) for account and contact data
Marketing automation (Marketo, Pardot) for campaign execution
Intent providers (Bombora, G2) for buying signals
Sales engagement (Outreach, Salesloft) for outreach coordination
Web personalization (Mutiny, Intellimize) for site experience
Analytics (Dreamdata, Bizible) for attribution

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Start by aligning your existing tools and teams around the customer experience. While ABX platforms can help, success depends more on strategy and organizational alignment than specific tools.

Common Technology Mistakes

Buying platforms before establishing processes. Technology amplifies strategy. It does not replace it.

Over-investing in intent data without ability to act on it. Intent signals are only valuable if your team can respond effectively.

Implementing tools in silos. Disconnected tools create disconnected experiences.

Implementation: A Practical Approach

Here is how to build ABX capability systematically.

Phase 1: Foundation (Months 1-2)

Define ICP and target accounts. Get marketing, sales, and leadership aligned on what makes an ideal account and who belongs on your target list.

Map current state. Document existing touchpoints, data flows, and handoff processes. Identify gaps and coordination failures.

Align teams. Establish shared goals, communication cadence, and basic coordination processes.

Start small. Begin with a pilot targeting 10-20 key accounts. Focus on understanding their buying journey, mapping stakeholders, and creating personalized touchpoints.

Phase 2: Build (Months 3-4)

Implement data foundation. Connect intent signals, engagement data, and CRM into unified account views.

Enable personalization. Start with website personalization for target accounts. Add personalized content and outreach.

Establish measurement. Build account-level dashboards that track engagement, pipeline, and revenue outcomes.

Scale pilot learnings. Apply what works in the pilot to expand the program.

Phase 3: Optimize (Months 5-6)

Add sophistication. Implement predictive scoring, automated triggers, and AI-driven recommendations.

Expand coverage. Scale to full target account list with tiered investment based on account value and readiness.

Integrate lifecycle. Extend ABX into customer success with account health monitoring and expansion plays.

Measure and iterate. Continuously optimize based on what drives results.

The Competitive Moat

ABX creates defensible competitive advantage through several mechanisms.

Data compounds. Every interaction generates insight that makes future interactions more relevant. Competitors cannot replicate your accumulated understanding of your accounts.

Relationships deepen. Coordinated, relevant experience across the journey builds trust and preference that competitors struggle to displace.

Execution complexity. ABX done well requires organizational capability that takes time to build. Companies that invest early create barriers for fast followers.

"Companies implementing ABX see 76% higher ROI, improve retention by 70%, and increase customer lifetime value 1.6x more than other companies. The investment creates compounding returns."

At BKND, we help B2B companies build ABX capability through integrated marketing systems. Our approach to CRO services focuses on the personalized digital experiences that ABX requires, and our analytics capabilities provide the unified account intelligence that powers effective orchestration.

The shift from ABM to ABX is not optional for B2B companies competing for enterprise accounts. The experience you create across the entire journey determines whether you win, not just the campaigns you run.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between ABM and ABX?

ABM focuses on targeting accounts and running campaigns to generate pipeline. ABX extends this to orchestrate experience across the entire customer journey, from first awareness through retention and expansion, coordinating marketing, sales, customer success, and product touchpoints.

Do I need an ABX platform, or can I use existing tools?

Many companies successfully build ABX capability from existing tools like CRM, marketing automation, and sales engagement platforms. Full ABX platforms provide integrated capability but represent significant investment. Start by aligning existing tools before adding new technology.

How do I get sales and marketing aligned for ABX?

Start with shared definitions of target accounts and ideal customer profile. Establish common metrics that span both functions. Create regular coordination meetings. Ensure both teams have visibility into account engagement and activities.

How many accounts should I target with ABX?

It depends on your resources and deal value. Most B2B companies start with a tiered approach: high-touch ABX for top accounts (10-50), scalable ABX for mid-tier (50-500), and programmatic approaches for the long tail.

How long does it take to see results from ABX?

Pilot results typically emerge within 90-120 days. Meaningful revenue impact takes 6-12 months depending on your sales cycle. The key is establishing measurement from day one so you can track progress and demonstrate value.

What is the biggest mistake companies make with ABX?

Treating it as a marketing initiative rather than a go-to-market transformation. ABX requires cross-functional alignment and organizational change, not just new tools or campaigns. Companies that focus only on marketing execution miss the full potential.

Account-Based Experience (ABX): The Evolution Beyond ABM That Drives 76% Higher ROI