Why B2B Marketers Struggle to Shift from Leads to Accounts

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Account-based marketing (ABM) has emerged as a strategic priority in modern B2B marketing, yet many firms remain tethered to outdated, lead-centric practices. The transition is not a matter of desire but of design — systems, structures, and mindsets are still built for a model that no longer fits today’s buying realities.

Traditional customer relationship management platforms remain a major constraint. Designed primarily to track individual contacts, these systems struggle to aggregate insights at the account level, rendering full visibility into decision-making units nearly impossible. Without this, marketing efforts often remain misaligned and incomplete.

Compounding the issue is fragmented infrastructure. Sales, marketing, and customer teams frequently operate in siloed platforms, making it difficult to form a coherent view of account engagement. Integration is costly and complex, often delayed in favour of campaign volume or short-term KPIs.

The internal dynamics are equally challenging. Shifting to an account-based approach demands more than new tools — it requires a reallocation of resources and a shift in cultural priorities. Teams must move away from lead scoring and funnel metrics toward behaviour-driven insights across buying groups. That shift, while strategically sound, disrupts long-held reporting norms and internal incentives.

In B2B purchasing, decisions increasingly involve multiple stakeholders from various departments. Addressing each role with relevant, personalized content is essential but rarely efficient. Developing such nuanced messaging is resource-intensive, requiring deeper research, broader collaboration, and long-term planning.

Yet where ABM is executed well, the results are hard to ignore. Firms report improved engagement, greater alignment between marketing and sales, and measurable increases in deal velocity and value. Rather than chase volume, these organisations cultivate precision and trust — earning influence across the buying journey.

What slows the shift is not a lack of evidence, but a reluctance to rebuild from the inside out. Until B2B organisations rewire both their systems and their thinking, the potential of ABM will remain just that.