NetApp, Octave and Acronis on Account-Based Marketing in B2B
In a recent episode of the B2B Marketing Leaders Podcast, Olga Bondareva, Founder of ModumUp, talks about account-based marketing in B2B with experts from different companies companies:
The three experts represent different ABM models. Irina Chernova runs strategic one-to-one ABM at NetApp - deep engagement with high-value accounts across EMEA, often over years. Viviane Ross focuses on one-to-many and one-to-few at Octave, building credibility in the US and Canadian public sector where each state operates almost as its own market. Elena Simkina leads a combination of one-to-few and one-to-many at Acronis, built around industry-specific target lists personalized by country and vertical.
Real Case Studies From Zero to Long-Term Customers
Irina Chernova shared a strategic play targeting a Middle Eastern oil-and-gas company during COVID - no contacts, no giveaways allowed, limited live meetings. The team identified AI as a resonant topic, built conversations around it, and sent a delegation of specialists. The company remains a customer. She also highlighted using existing events to create VIP experiences for strategic accounts with minimal investment. Viviane Ross described building brand awareness in the public sector from scratch over three years - grouping accounts by pain points and gradually moving the most engaged ones toward personalized interactions. Elena Simkina described Acronis's evolution: the company started by targeting 5,000 accounts with general advertising through Six Sense and this approach didn't lead to the result the team expected. Over time, Acronis shifted to industry-specific target lists with a combination of one-to-few and one-to-many approaches.
The Biggest Challenge is Sales Alignment
All three speakers agreed on the same challenge. Elena Simkina: the sales team expected hot leads, and it took about a year to agree that ABM is about working together on a specific list of accounts, not delivering ready-to-close opportunities. Irina Chernova put it sharply: ABM is not marketing, it is a customer experience - marketing only orchestrates, but the work is still sales. The name itself creates confusion because sales hears "marketing" and assumes it is someone else's job. Viviane Ross added that managing expectations is never a one-time conversation, it requires continuing education and regular reminders.
Personalization vs. Scalability
Irina Chernova personalizes primarily by job role - engineers and decision makers care about different aspects of the same project. Elena Simkina shared a lesson from Acronis: the team once built 20 different landing pages and personalized each message, each banner, each outreach. It didn't deliver results. What worked was personalizing by role and buying committee expectations - granular enough to be relevant, scalable enough to execute. Irina Chernova on the boundary: personalization should be good enough, but it shouldn't look like stalking. Marketing warms accounts, sales delivers hyper-personalized conversations when the moment is right.
AI and Account Research
Viviane Ross listed Dun & Bradstreet, G2, and Power BI but stressed the human element: ABM is about the person-to-person aspect behind business-to-business. Elena Simkina noted that AI helps with gathering and analyzing account data at scale, and that sales teams often hold key insights they don't realize are valuable. Irina Chernova described mentoring a colleague from professional services to act as an intelligence channel - delivering marketing messages to existing customers and gathering insights without being invasive. On AI for content, all three agreed: it speeds up research, analysis, and localization, but the final review stays human. As Viviane Ross put it: AI is a support tool, not a replacement.
Metrics and Alignment Tips
Irina Chernova outlined four core KPIs:
- number of contacts within the buying committee,
- engagement score,
- marketing-sourced pipeline,
- influenced pipeline.
Viviane Ross split success measurement into engagement KPIs for marketing and sales-language metrics - deal size, acquisition cost, conversion rate. Elena Simkina pointed to intermediate measurements during sales cycles lasting up to 18 months.
On alignment:
Elena Simkina recommended starting with sales teams that agree with the approach and setting rules before launch.
Irina Chernova: ABM is not for every prospect - only the biggest accounts with the highest potential.
Viviane Ross: translate marketing terms into sales language.
You can check out the full episode on the B2B Marketing Leaders Podcast: