Customers’ behaviors are constantly evolving and in fact, recent studies show that 76% of buyers expect personalized interactions from businesses, and 72% say they only engage with marketing messages tailored to their needs.

High-value decision-makers are no longer impressed by generic pitches or broad campaigns. They expect brands to understand their unique challenges, priorities, and goals. And when companies deliver this level of personalization, the results are better: 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with a company that offers a tailored experience.

That is exactly what this playbook is about. It provides a framework to treat each account as its own market, helping you create hyper-personalized strategies that deeply resonate with key stakeholders.

So, whether you are new to ABM or looking to refine your approach, this guide will help you craft unique buyer experiences that build stronger relationships, improve pipeline quality, and guide prospects toward the decision-making stage.

1:1 ABM is about going the extra mile, not just to stand out but to meet your customers where they are, act as a partner who is willing and ready to support them in achieving their goals, and provide solutions that truly make an impact.

What is 1:1 ABM, and Why Should You Care?

All of us play the role of a customer at some point. When you’re on the receiving end, are you more likely to engage with a generic message or one that speaks directly to your unique needs? I bet you’d choose the latter. Who wouldn’t?

As customers, we want to feel valued and understood. It makes decision-making easier and removes the need to sift through vendors to find the “best” one. 

Personalization matters even more when dealing with high-value accounts, where competition is tight, and standing out is critical.

1:1 (Strategic) ABM is the most personalized and targeted form of ABM. As the name suggests, it involves creating custom campaigns, content, and messaging tailored to individual high-value accounts. This type of ABM requires a significant investment of time, effort, and resources, but it also offers the highest potential return on investment (ROI) for the business.

Why It Matters

• When your messaging speaks directly to an account’s needs, it cuts through the noise.
• Showing that you truly understand your customers sets the stage for trust and long-term partnerships.
• Investing in the right accounts ensures your budget and efforts deliver real impact, rather than being spread too thin.

So, Why Isn’t Everyone Doing It?

If personalization is so effective, why aren’t more companies nailing it? The truth is, only 43% of marketers feel confident in delivering personalized experiences at scale. That leaves a huge opportunity for those who are ready to go all-in on 1:1 ABM.

If you’re still part of that 43%, keep reading ‘cause this guide will help you take a more strategic approach to ABM and better engage your high-value accounts.

Let’s Get Started

Step 1: How to qualify an account?

To ensure your 1:1 ABM campaign becomes successful, it's important to first determine if an account is the right fit for such a personalized approach. 

Want to determine if your accounts are 1:1 material? Use the account assessment  below to evaluate if your accounts fit to a 1:1 ABM Campaign.

For accounts that don't meet the criteria, focus on lighter engagement strategies like automated 1:Few or 1:Many campaigns or nurturing them with relevant content. Keep these accounts on your radar, monitoring for changes in behavior or alignment that might qualify them for future 1:1 ABM efforts.

Step 2: Account Deep Dive

Once you have qualified your account, the real work begins. The more we know about an account, the better we can personalize our outreach and engagement.

But gathering the right information isn’t just stalking their website or LinkedIn page. You don’t have to look far to understand your account needs. Alignment with your customer-facing teams, like SDRs and AEs, should do the trick.

Without proper coordination between SDRs, AEs, and Marketing, important insights can be overlooked, resulting in yet another generic approach.  And just like any ABM strategy, 1:1 ABM requires all teams to work together to ensure a seamless flow of messaging from the very first touchpoint until the last.

Here’s how each team plays their role in gathering the right insights:

• SDRs serve as the first touchpoint, collecting firmographic data and key business details to assess whether the account is a good fit. They lay the groundwork by identifying industry focus, company size, and market presence.
• AEs take it further by uncovering strategic objectives, key pain points, and the decision-making process. They refine the account’s profile by understanding challenges, budget allocation, and growth priorities, allowing them to craft a compelling value proposition.
• Marketing analyzes engagement history, tracking how the account has interacted with the brand across different channels. They use this data to personalize messaging, optimize campaigns, and ensure that outreach is both relevant and timely.

When these teams align, raw account data transforms into an actionable ABM strategy. One that speaks directly to your accounts, almost as if you’re reading their minds.

The deeper you dig the more you can give a messaging that is hyper-personalized. Every high-value account should be deeply assessed to ensure your outreach is relevant, personalized, and impactful.

That's why we've put together a super handy list of questions tailored for each team member. You can easily download it and start using it in your own 1:1 campaigns to make sure you're hitting all the right notes with your accounts.

One more method to gather account-specific information about buying intent, including website and ad engagement as well as third-party intent, is through N.Rich. Check out the video below to see how we at N.Rich collect specific account data from Buyer Journey Intent reports.

Step 3: Campaign Planning & Execution

Once deep account research is complete, the next step is translating insights into a highly targeted and strategic campaign. 

A well-structured 1:1 ABM campaign consists of three key phases: Preparation, Activation, and Follow-Up, ensuring that every interaction is intentional and moves the account closer to conversion.

Preparation Phase (2-4 Weeks)

This phase focuses on setting clear objectives, aligning internal teams, finalizing messaging, and developing content assets. The goal is to ensure that every touchpoint in the campaign is tailored to the account’s needs and business priorities.

1. Set Clear Goals and KPIs

To ensure the campaign is data-driven, measurable objectives must be established at the outset. 

Goals should be specific, aligned with sales objectives, and focused on advancing the target account through the buyer’s journey.

2. Conduct In-Depth Account Research

A comprehensive account profile should be created using insights collated from the SDRs, Sales and Marketing. This will serve as a single source of truth for the sales and marketing teams, containing business goals, pain points, buying committee members, and past engagement history.

3. Align with Sales on Messaging

Sales and marketing must work together to craft a unified, compelling value proposition that differentiates the offering. Messaging should be consistent across all channels and tailored to the concerns of each decision-maker.

4. Develop and Organize Content Assets

New and existing content should be mapped to different engagement stages, ensuring that every touchpoint provides value. Depending on the account’s stage, content should include case studies, whitepapers and competitive analysis reports.

5. Secure Internal Alignment & Approvals

Before campaign launch, all teams should be aligned on ownership and approvals. Roles should be clearly defined to avoid bottlenecks in execution.

6. Budget

If you are not sure what budget to allocate to your 1:1 campaign, you can use our own calculator below, as a starting point on how much you should allocate to the campaign. The more ACV you expect, the more budget should be allocated 

Activation Phase (4-8 Weeks)

In this phase, highly personalized multi-channel marketing efforts are launched to capture the attention of decision-makers. This involves digital campaigns, direct outreach, and interactive engagements designed to create maximum impact.

1. Launch Personalized Ads and Social Selling

Paid ad campaigns and organic social content should be deployed on platforms like LinkedIn and N.Rich to increase awareness and engagement. Personalized messaging and ad creatives ensure relevance.

2. Execute Highly Personalized Email Sequences

Email remains one of the most effective tools in ABM, but generic outreach will not drive engagement. A well-structured email sequence should be deeply personalized, role-specific, and aligned with the account’s unique challenges, industry, and business goals. Each stakeholder in a SaaS company has different concerns, so messaging must be tailored to product adoption, revenue growth, efficiency, or competitive advantage.

A highly effective ABM email sequence for SaaS should include:

• Personalization Beyond First Name – Reference recent company news, funding rounds, product launches, hiring trends, or tech stack insights.
• Role-Specific Messaging – A CFO wants to know about cost savings and revenue impact, while a VP of Sales focuses on pipeline growth and win rates.
• Multi-Touch Sequences – A single email will not drive results. Plan a structured series that moves from education to direct engagement.
• Value-Driven Content – Use case studies, ROI reports, benchmarks, and competitive comparisons to reinforce your message.
• Clear Calls to Action – Guide the recipient toward a measurable action, whether it is booking a meeting, starting a trial, or downloading a resource.
  
  

3. Host Account-Specific Events and Webinars

Exclusive events tailored to an account’s industry, business challenges, and buying committee are one of the most effective ways to drive engagement in ABM. These events create a high-value, interactive experience that strengthens relationships, builds trust, and positions your company as a strategic partner rather than just a vendor.

Successful account-specific events can take several formats:

• Custom Webinars for the Buying Committee: Instead of generic webinars, tailor content specifically for the account’s stakeholders, challenges, and goals. Use data-driven insights to create an agenda that addresses their unique needs, ensuring stronger engagement.
• Executive Roundtables: Private discussions where key decision-makers from the target account join industry experts to discuss pressing challenges and trends. These create a peer-learning environment that builds credibility and fosters relationships.
• Product Workshops: Hands-on sessions demonstrating how your solution directly solves the account’s pain points. Personalizing the workshop with real data and use cases from the account makes the experience highly relevant.

To maximize impact, engage the sales team early in the event planning process. Their insights on key stakeholders and objections can help shape the content, ensuring the event moves the account closer to a buying decision.

4. Monitor and Optimize Campaigns in Real Time

ABM campaigns should be dynamic and data-driven, meaning teams must monitor performance continuously and optimize in real time to ensure maximum impact. Simply launching an ABM campaign and waiting for results is ineffective—real-time tracking and adjustments are essential for engagement and conversion.

Key areas to monitor:

• Ad Performance: Track impressions, clicks, and engagement rates for account-targeted ads. If an ad is underperforming, test different messaging, visuals, or calls to action.
• Email Engagement: Monitor open rates, reply rates, and link clicks to assess interest. If engagement is low, adjust subject lines, timing, or personalize the message further.
• Content Interaction: Measure how decision-makers interact with landing pages, case studies, and whitepapers. If prospects are dropping off early, reconsider the messaging or content format.

A real-time optimization strategy ensures that marketing and sales teams quickly adapt to what is working and refine their approach to drive better engagement. Using analytics tools can help businesses automate tracking, trigger personalized responses, and make data-backed decisions that keep target accounts engaged throughout the journey.

Follow-Up Phase (2-4 Weeks)

The final phase ensures that momentum from the activation phase leads to meaningful conversations and conversions. Sales teams leverage engagement insights to follow up with the most interested stakeholders, while marketing continues nurturing activities.

1. Enable Sales Outreach with Engagement Insights

Sales teams must be equipped with detailed reports on who engaged the most and what content they interacted with. This allows for personalized follow-ups with relevant insights.

This next image shows how N.Rich enables you to track digital activities, such as the topics your account researched and the competitors they are checking, so you can personalize your messaging based on their engagements.

2. Document Results & Insights

At the end of the campaign, teams should analyze key metrics and compare results to the initial KPIs. This allows for insights that can improve future ABM efforts.

Here is a quick look of the phases and what necessary things you need to do during those weeks: 

Step 4: Creative Personalization & Execution

With all the important information you need to create targeted content for your accounts, it’s time to go the extra mile with personalization. 

The best 1:1 ABM campaigns create experiences that leave a lasting impact. Whether through bold campaigns, creative engagement strategies, or hyper-personalized content, our goal is to stand out, spark conversations, and build trust with decision-makers. We may not close the deal immediately, but by making a strong impression, we stay top of mind when they are ready to make their decision.

One of the biggest struggles for sales and marketing teams is breaking out of the usual playbook and getting creative. Playing it safe might feel comfortable, but it often stops teams from launching campaigns that actually leave a mark. Sticking to what has worked for others may seem like a smart move, but if prospects have seen it before, it won’t make them stop and pay attention.

That’s why bold and memorable ABM campaigns matter cos even if we don’t win every account right away, we should still aim to create buzz, position ourselves as industry leaders, and make prospects take notice. 

Think of GumGum’s comic book campaign. They weren’t just trying to sell, they were making an impression that stuck.

And here’s another win when you stand out, you get organic word-of-mouth. When people love a campaign, they talk about it, share it, and tag others, giving you free exposure without lifting a finger. A campaign that gets people talking doesn’t just hit your target audience, it takes on a life of its own.

Why Personalization Matters in 1:1 ABM

Personalization is what makes your ABM campaigns stand out. It’s about showing your accounts you know them and understand their challenges, goals, and what matters most to them. When every ad, email, and event feels relevant, you build trust, spark connections, and get better results.

Below is a quick guide to the do’s and don’ts of effective personalization to ensure your outreach feels intentional and impactful without crossing the line into being too generic or invasive.

Examples of personalization

1. Paid Advertising

How do we ensure your ads aren’t just seen but actually resonate? Using the research materials that you have gathered, you focus on their pain points, goals, and competitors. Every ad should feel tailored to their reality and shedding light on why they are actually looking for your service or solution. You can use platforms like N.Rich to track engagements and use these data (1st and 3rd party intent data) to further tweak and personalize your approach. This can also help you identify if they are nearing their decision stage and if you are actually pushing them down the funnel. 

• Highlight their specific pain points and challenges and position your company as the solution. 

• In the example below, we addressed an account's challenge of expanding to the German market with very precise messaging and visuals that incorporate German cultural elements.

  

2. Direct Mail and Gifting

B2B buyers receive over 120 emails daily, making it harder than ever for marketing and sales teams to stand out. 1:1 ABM requires a white-glove experience, and strategic gifting is one of the most effective ways to cut through digital noise and create real connections.

84% of marketers say personalized gifts and direct mail deliver the highest ROI of any channel. A well-timed, thoughtful gift turns cold outreach into warm conversations. Whether it’s a hiking backpack for an outdoor enthusiast or a custom swag box with a targeted CTA, personalized gifting makes your brand memorable.

Measuring ROI is key. With the right tracking, gifting programs can boost response rates, shorten sales cycles, and increase win rates. Successful campaigns tie gifting to key milestones—job changes, funding rounds, or personal life events. Sprout Social, for example, increased MRR by $1.4M in under nine months with a gifting campaign tailored to new parents.

4. Events & Experiences

Nothing builds relationships better than live experiences, whether virtual or in person. Events should feel personal and engaging, not just another cookie cutter webinar with information they could find on Google.

In her previous work, Marina Dabic, now our Demand Generation Manager at N.Rich, was chasing a huge account and had everything lined up for an in-person dinner to seal the deal. Then COVID hit. A webinar sounded too boring, and a workshop seemed too predictable. They needed something fun, memorable, and totally unexpected.

As their Account Executive got to know the decision-maker, they discovered a shared love for hip hop. Instead of going with a webinar or workshop, the team decided to turn it into a virtual happy hour featuring freestyle rapper Harry Mack. To make it even better, they sent cocktail kits to the entire buying committee, setting the perfect vibe.

When the event kicked off, Harry Mack jumped in and started freestyling about their business challenges, goals, and even their competitors. All on the spot, making the experience interactive, hilarious, and completely relevant. At first, the marketing team was not sure if it would work, but the decision makers loved it. And the deal? Closed. Their biggest one of the year.

Personalized Microsites or Landing Pages

A personalized microsite should seamlessly blend personalization, problem-solving, and engagement to guide the account toward the next step in their buyer’s journey. To streamline this process, having a templated structure in a platform like HubSpot ensures consistency and efficiency.

Here’s a guide if you want to create personalized microsites for your campaign:

1. Personalization & Branding

Make the account feel valued by incorporating their name and logo (e.g., “Hi [Account Name], let’s transform your strategy together!”). Align the microsite visually with their brand by using industry-relevant imagery and subtle color integrations while maintaining consistency with your branding.

2. Problem-Solution Narrative

Clearly define the account’s challenges and position your solution as the answer.

• Headline: Address a key pain point directly (“Struggling with X? Here’s how to solve it.”).
• Content Flow: Identify the problem, followed by a clear, data-backed solution that highlights measurable outcomes (e.g., “Reduce inefficiencies by X% with [Solution].”).

3. Tailored Case Study

Showcase a relevant success story with measurable impact:

“See how [Similar Company] improved X metric by Y% with this approach.”

Use quotes, visuals, or key performance metrics to reinforce credibility and relevance.

4. Interactive Tools

Engage visitors with dynamic, data-driven elements such as:

• ROI Calculator: Allow users to input their own data to see potential savings or growth.
• Competitive Comparison Tool: Show how your approach outperforms alternatives based on key criteria (cost, efficiency, results).

5. Curated Content Recommendations

Provide resources that support their decision-making process:

• Whitepapers (“The Ultimate Guide to [Industry-Specific Success]”).
• Webinars (Embed relevant sessions addressing their top challenges).
• Blogs & Reports (Targeted insights based on their industry and pain points).

6. Strong, Actionable CTAs

Use clear, goal-oriented CTAs tailored to their needs:

• “Schedule Your Personalized Demo”
• “Get Your Custom Report”

Strategically place CTAs throughout the microsite (header, after key sections, bottom) to encourage engagement.

7. Dynamic Personalization & Smart Content

Leverage smart content and automation to personalize the microsite based on visitor attributes:

• Role-Based Personalization: Decision-makers see ROI-driven content, while marketers get tactical insights.
• Engagement-Based Personalization: Follow-ups change based on user interaction history, dynamically adjusting based on their actions.

Conclusion

1:1 ABM is more than just a marketing tactic—it’s a strategic approach that redefines how you engage with high-value accounts. By treating each account as its own market, aligning sales and marketing efforts, and leveraging deep personalization, you create stronger relationships, accelerate pipeline velocity, and improve deal outcomes. While executing a successful 1:1 ABM strategy requires effort, the rewards are well worth it. The brands that master personalization don’t just win accounts—they build long-term partnerships and position themselves as trusted advisors.

As you put these insights into action, remember that you’re not alone. If you have any questions or need guidance along the way, our team is always here to help. Reach out to us anytime—we’d love to support you in making your ABM strategy a success!