ABM changes how Field Marketing and Demand Gen work, and often, they just become motions of the Account-Based GTM.
You only have to read half of the job descriptions out there looking for ABMers, most of them ask for everything, often for a single practitioner: execute 1:1, 1:few and 1:many, plan events like executive dinners, conduct account research and random ABM tactics like gifting or ad hoc webinars, own end-to-end campaigns, etc.
At first, it looks like a mess, but looking closer, you just need to put everything in place, and with the right ABM framework, everything should fall into place.
Field Marketing and Demand Gen don’t disappear when you implement ABM. Field Marketing becomes the high-touch, experiential motion within your account strategy. Demand Gen shifts from generating volume to generating coverage within target accounts.
The ABMer aligns Demand gen and Field to priority accounts, buying journey stages, and Sales partnerships.
The confusion
The confusion
When companies decide to “do ABM and it becomes another initiative instead of a GTM, Field Marketing and Demand Gen keep doing the same they were doing and the “ABM program” runs separately; then, Sales won’t buy it and Marketing will work in silos.
But if instead they become ABM motions, Field Marketing runs events designed for engagement within target accounts, and Demand Gen builds coverage and progression within priority account segments.
Field Marketing as an ABM motion
Field Marketing becomes more focused by designing experiences for all 1:1, 1:few, 1:many and deal acceleration for target accounts, and success gets measured by account engagement and pipeline influence.
The ABMer doesn’t plan the experiences; Field Marketing does that. Instead, the ABM practitioner provides target account lists segmented by priority or buying journey stage context. Field Marketing executes. The ABMer ensures the execution aligns with the account strategy.
Demand Gen adapted to Growth ABM
Demand gen adapts from volume-based to account-based.
Traditional Demand gen optimizes for maximum reach, lead volume, MQL conversion rates, and cost per lead. Growth ABM Demand Gen optimizes for coverage within target account lists, multi-contact engagement per account, account progression through buying journey stages, and pipeline influence and velocity.
Targeting changes. Paid media shifts from broad reach to contact-level advertising using platforms like Influ2, Demandbase, or Propensity to build awareness and engagement within the buying committee of specific accounts.
Content strategy focuses on account coverage and walks away from lead capture by creating content designed to engage multiple contacts within target accounts across different stages.
Measurement changes by focusing on metrics of account coverage, multi-contact engagement, and pipeline outcomes.
Demand Gen builds the campaigns, and the ABMer provides target account segmentation showing which accounts are one-to-many Growth ABM versus other motions, buying journey context showing what stage these accounts are at and what content is relevant, signal integration identifying which accounts are showing intent, and Sales coordination explaining how this campaign connects to Sales outreach.
Demand Gen executes scaled programs. The ABMer ensures those programs focus on the right accounts with the right messaging at the right time.
ABM creates clarity
In an organization with a single ABMer, the practitioner defines the target account strategy, provides account intelligence, coordinates timing, ensures Sales partnership, and measures account progression. It’s a strategic role, not tactical.
ABM gives focus to Field Marketing and Demand gen and the ABMer orchestrates with the right approach. Those job descriptions will not look like three jobs crammed into one anymore and ABM brings clarity.
Field Marketing and Demand gen in ABM takeaways
Field Marketing and Demand Gen become motions within Account-Based GTM rather than separate functions. Field Marketing shifts from regional events for anyone who registers to high-touch experiences designed for target accounts at specific buying journey stages. Demand Gen adapts from volume-based lead generation to account-based coverage, using contact-level advertising platforms like Influ2, Demandbase, or Propensity to reach buying committee members within priority accounts rather than broad audiences.
The ABMer orchestrates rather than executes. The ABM practitioner defines target account strategy, provides account intelligence including signal data and buying journey stage context, coordinates timing between Field and Demand Gen programs, ensures Sales partnership so reps know which accounts are being targeted, and measures account progression rather than individual campaign metrics. Field Marketing plans and executes experiences, Demand Gen builds and runs campaigns, and the ABMer ensures both align to priority accounts.
Job descriptions often ask one practitioner to execute 1:1, 1:few, and 1:many programs, plan executive dinners, conduct account research, manage gifting campaigns, and own end-to-end execution. This appears overwhelming because it conflates strategic orchestration with tactical execution. With the right ABM framework, Field Marketing handles high-touch experiential execution, Demand Gen handles scaled program delivery, and the ABMer provides strategic coordination including target account segmentation, signal intelligence, and Sales partnership.progression to identify accounts where both acquisition and retention work.