How to set up account-driven GTM: TAM mapping, account tiering, signal tracking
Part 2 of 3 in "Shift to account-driven GTM" series
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Account-driven GTM strategies are rapidly becoming table stakes. If you’re still relying on inbound alone, tracking only leads and not accounts too, and not leveraging data enrichment and signal-based workflows, you’ll struggle to compete with companies using this more proactive, account-driven approach.
It’s time to take steps towards mapping your TAM & ICPs into your CRM and running campaigns to these accounts.
In my newsletter 2 weeks ago, I laid out the case for why you should account-driven GTM strategy. This newsletter follows that up with a much more tactical guide.
In this newsletter:
This newsletter is part 2 of a 3 part series. Subscribe so you don’t miss part 3.
Part 1 (2 weeks ago): Why you need to shift to an account-driven strategy
Part 2 (this newsletter!): The set up and foundation required for an account-driven GTM strategy
How to define your TAM (total addressable market), ICPs (ideal customer profiles) & account tiers
How set up account tiers & “signals” in your CRM & GTM stack
Where to start on account-driven GTM set up
Part 3: Deep dive into running signal-based campaigns
For paid subscribers in our template library:
List of 50+ tools to help you orchestrate account-driven GTM
50+ signal-based campaign ideas
Recommended products & agencies
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Recap: “Account-driven GTM strategy”
Before I jump into my tactical guide to researching accounts, here are the core principles of an account-driven approach to keep in mind:
I use the phrase “Account-driven GTM” to describe this new approach, not ABX or ABM: Account-driven GTM is broader—it structures your entire GTM strategy around accounts, balancing 1:1 personalized outreach with scalable marketing. ABX & ABM are loaded terms and can lead you to ignore brand building and inbound as viable strategies.
Account-driven GTM starts by proactively mapping your TAM & ICPs, followed by determining the best GTM strategy for each account tier, and using intent signals, engagement data, and firmographics to run more effective campaigns.
Account & contact data, everywhere for everyone: This shift is driven by the improved ability to map and track all potential customers—not just a small ABM list of 100 accounts. You can leverage firmographic, demographic, and intent data to more effectively reach your target audience.
This process is not just an expansion of ABM or a minor tweak to inbound: It’s a fundamental shift in how B2B companies approach marketing and sales, requiring changes in operations, analytics, campaign execution, and content creation.
This newsletter will tackle phase 1, the orangey-gold sections. Part 3 will cover the pink phase 2 sections.
A metaphor for setting up an account-driven strategy…
I thought a metaphor might help, and since I need to put away my laundry at this very moment, this one came to mind. Think of organizing your accounts like organizing your clothes.
Step 0 - Structure, map, and prioritize your TAM: Before you can organize your clothes, you need to understand what clothes you even have hanging around your house–on chairs, in drawers, in laundry baskets, etc. You also should understand what clothing size you are today and your rubric for clothes you’ll keep vs get rid of/donate.
Step 1 - Define your account tiers - Once you know what you’re working with, you can then figure out what goes in drawers, on shelves, on hangers or in bins in the basement. That’s account tiering.
Step 2 - Map your TAM into your CRM: Now you can actually start putting clothes into these places. In account-driven GTM that place is your CRM (or data warehouse).
Step 3 - Choose “signals” & campaigns for each tier: Finally, you can start putting together outfits. Outfits are your campaigns.
Step 0: Define your TAM & ICPs
Why is this step 0 and not step 1? Many companies will have already done this regardless of whether you are using an account-driven strategy. Understanding your TAM & ICPs is part of building your marketing strategy & foundation.
🔭 Overview
What to do: Before you can effectively segment and prioritize accounts, you need to define:
Total Addressable Market (TAM): The total universe of companies that could buy from you, regardless of fit or intent. (Pink in the diagram)
Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs): The subset of your TAM that represents your best-fit customers—companies most likely to buy, succeed, and grow with your product (Orange in the diagram)
Not in your TAM: Figuring out who you aren’t targeting is just as important. If a company won’t benefit from your product in the next ~1 year it’s not worth tracking.
Note: In the past, GTM teams sometimes used terms like SAM & SOM to break down their TAM (Green & blue in the diagram)
Never heard of SAM or SOM? That’s probably for the best and you aren’t alone. Here’s the debate on LinkedIn.
I’ve always found SAM & SOM confusing and complicating, so I typically just say “TAM” to mean currently addressable TAM that fits your ICP.
That said, the TAM you use for shaping your GTM efforts might be a bit different than what your company uses to pitch investors on market size (you want your market size to seem big when pitching VCs on your vision, but want to narrow it down for GTM).
As always, use whatever terms that work for your company!
Why do it: It’s hard to start organizing, without knowing what you are actually organizing. And if you don’t have the right targets in the first place, the effort of moving to an account-driven strategy won’t be worth it!
Remember: Unlike traditional ABM, where you focus only on a small list of high-priority accounts, you’re not just creating parameters for a small list of really great-fit accounts. Instead, you’re understanding the whole universe of who you can market and sell to, organizing it, and tracking progress against it.
More from MKT1
📖 Keep reading: Paid subscribers get access to the rest of this newsletter which includes how to define your TAM by creating account tiers, map your TAM into your CRM, and choose “signals” to track.
✂️ Templates and discounts for paid subscribers: Paid subscribers can find all growth marketing templates here including an account-driven signal list, 50+ signal-based campaign ideas, and account tiering methods. Active discounts on products we recommend.
👁️ Related newsletters: Anatomy of a marketing plan, Shift to account-driven GTM, and Guide to signal-based campaigns
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