Is Account-Based Marketing Worth It? (Most Teams Get This Wrong)

Most B2B teams jump into ABM without asking the one question that actually matters: should you even be doing it?

In this episode, we break down what account-based marketing really is, where it fits in your go-to-market strategy, and why most ABM efforts fail before they even start.

We go beyond theory and show you the practical decisions you need to make, including how to define your target list, why deal size changes everything, and why “cataloguing the market” is the missing piece most teams ignore.

Tune in and learn:

When ABM actually works (and when it doesn’t)

Why most teams waste money targeting the wrong accounts

How to use cataloguing to stop guessing and start closing

If you’re a B2B marketer trying to drive real pipeline, not just activity, this is a must-watch.

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00:00 Why Everyone Is Talking About ABM (But Few Get It Right)

00:35 The Big Question: Should You Even Do ABM?

01:10 Why Most B2B Marketing Still Feels Like “Spray and Pray”

01:30 The Hidden Truth: ABM = Disciplined Go-To-Market

02:00 Why Weak Targeting Kills Your Positioning

02:30 When ABM Actually Makes Sense (And When It Doesn’t)

03:00 What ABM Really Is (And What It Isn’t)

04:00 The 3 Decisions You Must Make Before Doing ABM

05:00 Step 1: Define Your Objective

06:00 Why Most Teams Skip Proper Target Lists

07:00 The ICP Trap

08:00 When Your TAM Is Too Small for Paid Ads

09:00 The Real ABM Filter: Deal Size

10:00 Why ABM Fails for Low-Value Products

11:00 Step 2: The Missing Piece – Cataloguing

12:00 Why Marketing Can’t Guess Who’s In-Market

13:00 The 95/5 Reality

14:00 The Contract Problem That Kills Deals

15:00 Real Example: Why Campaigns Fail

16:00 How Cataloguing Changes Everything

17:00 Why Your TAM Might Be Wrong

18:00 Step 3: Not Everything Should Be ABM

19:00 Running ABM + Broad Marketing Together

20:00 Enterprise vs SME

21:00 Why Over-Personalised Ads Don’t Work

22:00 What Actually Works: Real Conversations

23:00 The Problem With AI Personalisation

24:00 Why Buyers Don’t Share Pain Publicly

25:00 The Final Answer: Is ABM Worth It?

26:00 The 3 Rules for Deciding

27:00 Final Takeaways

👥 Are you a B2B marketer in a small team?

💰 Need to bring in more revenue for your company (so sales and your boss love you)?

Get the:

🔹 strategy

🔹 templates

🔹 tools

So you have everything you need to drive more revenue for your brand.

See why other B2B marketers like you love The B2B Incubator

Check out: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

S08 E2255 - The B2B Playbook

#b2b #b2bmarketing #digitalmarketing #demandgeneration #accountbasedmarketing

Most B2B marketers run LinkedIn ads… but never turn them into real pipeline.

In this video, I break down the exact LinkedIn Ads strategy we used to help a B2B agency client go from zero to $185k a month in just 22 months.

💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Ads?

https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency

I cover ICP targeting, Thought Leadership Ads, scaling beyond the founder's personal brand, and the feedback loops that keep the whole thing growing.

If you are a B2B founder or marketer trying to figure out how to use LinkedIn Ads to stay top of mind with the right buyers and actually turn that into booked calls and revenue, this video is for you.

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🔗 Links + CTAs

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💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Ads?

https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency

🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school

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Timestamps:

00:00 How LinkedIn Ads Helped Scale to $185K/Month

01:30 Step 1: Get Brutally Clear on Your ICP

04:00 Step 2: Using Thought Leadership Ads to Grow

09:30 Step 3: Scaling Beyond the Founder Brand

12:00 Step 4: Optimisation & Feedback Loops

14:10 Step 5: Most Buyers Aren’t Ready Yet

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S08 E224 - The B2B Playbook

#b2bmarketing #demandgeneration #linkedinads #linkedinthoughtleadership #linkedinadsagency

In this video, we break down what OpenAI's new ChatGPT ads mean for B2B marketers, and why it's probably not the performance channel you should be betting on in 2026.

We cover:

→ The background behind OpenAI's push into advertising and why they're starting with B2C

→ Why ChatGPT ads are unlikely to impact B2B marketing anytime soon (ad-free business/enterprise tiers, limited tracking, shopping-focused formats)

→ How buyer discovery is shifting from search + social toward AI assistants

→ Our 3-point framework (based on the Five B's) to prepare your B2B marketing for the age of LLMs

If you are a B2B founder or marketer wondering whether you should be spending on ChatGPT ads, or trying to figure out how to get your brand surfaced in AI-driven search results, this episode is for you.

Tune in and learn:

✅ Why the fundamentals of trust-building and demand gen matter more than ever

✅ How to tighten your ICP messaging so LLMs actually surface your brand

✅ The content and distribution strategies that build organic visibility in ChatGPT

✅ How to set up measurement and UTM practices now so you're ready when B2B ads do arrive

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🔗 Links + CTAs

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🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program:

https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School:

https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school

💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads?

https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency

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SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter

GET the latest CONTENT: https://theb2bplaybook.com/

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:40 - What's happening with ChatGPT ads

03:54 - Does AI make the Five B's Framework obsolete?

07:06 - Why ChatGPT ads won't help B2B marketers yet

13:49 - B2C vs B2B: Why OpenAI is targeting consumers first

15:49 - The Five B's still stand the test of time

16:00 - 3-point framework to prepare for ChatGPT ads

16:08 - Step 1: Be Ready - tighten your ICP and messaging

19:27 - Why LLM context makes ICP clarity even more critical

20:42 - Step 2: Be Helpful - build trust with content at scale

23:46 - Growth is about people, not platforms

24:31 - Step 3: Be Seen - measurement, distribution, and experimentation 27:41 - Practical action points and repurposing strategy

30:00 - Key takeaways and recap

31:17 - Outro

S08 E222 - The B2B Playbook

#chatgpt #b2bmarketing #chatgptads