A strategic framework to understand Account-Based Experience (ABX)
- Paola Piccinno
- Jul 24
- 5 min read
Right, let's get straight to it. If Account-Based Marketing (ABM) was the revolution in B2B, then Account-Based Experience (ABX) is the evolution. It’s the next logical step for any business serious about not just winning, but keeping and growing its high-value clients. We're moving beyond marketing to accounts and into the realm of creating memorable, consistent experiences for them, end-to-end.
This isn't about invalidating ABM. ABX simply takes the best practices that have emerged around ABM and adds the critical, all-encompassing concept of customer experience.
The foundations: ABX vs. ABM vs. CX
First, a quick alignment on the terminology to set the stage.
ABM (Account-Based Marketing): a targeted strategy focusing marketing and sales efforts on acquiring a select group of high-value accounts. Its primary objective is often customer acquisition and closing the initial deal.
CX (Customer Experience): the broader concept of how a customer perceives all their interactions with your company.
ABX (Account-Based Experience): this is our focus here. ABX applies the holistic principles of CX - trust, empathy, and relevance at every stage - to your most important accounts. It orchestrates a cohesive journey by integrating marketing, sales, and customer success, extending across the entire customer lifecycle from first touch to long-term advocacy.
Here is an analogy I read about on The CMO and found perfect to explain the difference between ABX and ABM in particular:
"ABM is the Chef making personalised meals for each friend at a dinner party, catering to their unique tastes. ABX is going beyond that, curating the entire dining experience, including ambiance, decor, music, and transportation."
But why is ABX important then in modern B2B marketing?
The adoption of ABX is driven by several key factors:
Increased buyer sophistication: B2B buyers expect personalised, relevant, and value-driven interactions with brands.
The need for deeper customer relationships: in a competitive landscape, building long-term, trusted relationships is crucial for sustainable growth.
The power of data and technology: advances in marketing technology and data analytics have made it possible to deliver personalised experiences at scale.
The higher demand for measurable ROI: ABX provides a clear framework for tracking and measuring the impact of marketing and sales efforts on revenue and customer lifetime value.
The ABX Blueprint: from targeted marketing to orchestrated experience
A list of steps is a start, but true B2B experts know that execution is everything. Let me try and break down how to implement an ABX strategy with the depth required, highlighting how each step transcends traditional ABM.
1. Define your ideal partner profile (not just customer profile)
In ABM, you build an ICP for acquisition. In ABX, you build a profile for a successful, long-term partnership.
Beyond firmographics: go deeper than industry and revenue. Get input from your Customer Success (CS) team. What are the characteristics of your most successful, highest-retaining, and highest-growth clients? Look for factors like technological maturity, potential for expansion, and a culture that values partnership.
Buying committee & success committee: map not only the buying committee but also the key players post-sale: the implementation team, the end-users, the executive sponsor for renewal. A true ABX strategy engages them all from the start.
2. Map the entire customer lifecycle (not just the buyer journey)
ABM focuses on the path to purchase. ABX covers the entire relationship, from the first anonymous website visit to their second contract renewal and beyond.
Cross-Functional lifecycle workshop: get marketing, sales, CS, product, and even finance in a room. Map every single touchpoint. You will find disconnects—the clunky handoff from sales to onboarding, the inconsistent messaging between marketing and support. These are your ABX opportunities.
Identify friction & "Wow" moments: where do your high-value clients get frustrated? Where can you create moments of unexpected delight? A proactive check-in from a senior executive before a renewal, a personalised welcome kit for a new user—these are the hallmarks of great ABX.
3. Align your revenue team (marketing, sales & customer success)
Silos are the absolute enemy of ABX. ABM pushes for marketing and sales alignment; ABX demands a fully integrated revenue team.
Shared lifecycle KPIs: move beyond MQLs and sales quotas. Align everyone around shared metrics that reflect the entire customer lifecycle: Net Revenue Retention (NRR), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), Customer Health Scores, and Product Adoption Rates within your target accounts.
Create cross-functional account pods: for your top-tier accounts, create dedicated pods comprising marketing, sales, and CS. They own the holistic account experience and are jointly accountable for its success.
4. Develop personalised experiences, not just campaigns
This is the core of execution. ABM creates personalised campaigns; ABX orchestrates personalised experiences.
Case Study: 'LiveRamp - expanding reach and Engagement with ABX'
Challenge: LiveRamp sought to evolve from traditional account-based marketing to account-based experience (ABX) in order to uncover new target accounts and deepen engagement with high-value buyers as their offerings grew.
ABX Strategy:
Leveraged D&B Rev.Up ABX platform to gain a unified view of customer data.
Built multitouch, highly personalised campaigns tailored to each target account.
Enabled coordinated sales plays driven by unified customer insights.
Results:
2x increase in target account reach
33% more reached accounts showed engagement (responses/interactions)
4x more marketing qualified leads (MQLs) generated compared to prior efforts
Key Takeaways:
LiveRamp saw material gains in reach, engagement, and opportunity creation.
A mature ABX model delivers more qualified leads, improved sales velocity, and greater team alignment, resulting in measurable business impact.
Success is driven by deep personalisation, unified views of customer data, and end-to-end experience orchestration for each account.
Where is ABX heading?
AI-Powered experience orchestration: AI won't just be for identifying accounts. It will be used to predict churn risk, identify expansion opportunities in real-time, and dynamically personalise every digital touchpoint across the entire lifecycle.
The dominance of RevOps: revenue operations will become the essential operational backbone for any serious ABX strategy, providing the single source of truth needed for true end-to-end alignment.
Ethical personalisation & trust: as experiences become more tailored, transparency and ethical data management will become a key brand differentiator. Building and maintaining trust will be paramount.
Why ABX is no longer optional in a world of attention scarcity
To say modern buyers are overwhelmed is an understatement. They're deluged with content, they're harder to reach than ever, and they do the vast majority of their research anonymously on third-party sites before they ever talk to sales.
This creates a massive quandary. If we wait for a "contact us" form to be filled, we've already lost. Opinions have been formed, and a competitor might have already closed the deal. ABX resolves this dilemma by aligning our GTM efforts to the account's journey, not our own funnel. It uses intelligent insights to know when and how to engage, and what to say at each stage.
The data backs this up: according to Demandbase, businesses that invest in creating great experiences see 40% faster revenue growth and 70% better customer retention.
A conclusion: ABX is a mindset, not just a strategy
Ultimately, ABX is more than a set of tactics; it's a fundamental shift in business philosophy. It’s a customer-centric rethinking of how we go to market, one that combines the engageability of inbound with the precision of ABM. It’s about working with modern buyers on their own terms: anonymous when they want, helpful and relevant when they are ready, and always based on trust.
It’s the commitment to move beyond the short-term win of a new logo and embrace the long-term value of a successful partnership. In a B2B world where retaining and growing your best customers is the true path to sustainable growth, the companies that master the art and science of Account-Based Experience will be the ones that lead their categories.
Ready to build your ABX engine?
