If you’re sick of blasting generic ads and emails into the void—and you want to actually reach the companies that matter—account based marketing (ABM) is the way to go. The catch? Most ABM tools are confusing or overhyped, and it’s easy to get lost in the setup. This guide is for marketers, sales ops, and founders who want practical, no-nonsense steps to running ABM campaigns in Ocean. No fluff, just a straightforward path from zero to live campaigns.
What You Need Before You Start
Let’s not kid ourselves: ABM takes work upfront. Before you even log in to Ocean, make sure you have these on hand:
- A list of target accounts: Not just “big companies,” but specific organizations you want to win.
- Contact data: Names, emails, or LinkedIn profiles for key decision-makers at those companies.
- Messaging and offers: Tempting enough to make someone actually reply or click.
- A rough idea of your sales process: If you don’t know what happens after someone replies, ABM won’t save you.
If you’re missing any of these, go fix that first. Otherwise, you’ll just be spinning your wheels.
Step 1: Set Up Your Ocean Workspace
First things first: log in to Ocean and get your workspace ready.
- Create a new workspace
- Click the “+ New Workspace” button.
- Name it something obvious, like “Q3 ABM Campaigns.”
-
Set access permissions so your team can collaborate, but don’t invite the whole company just yet—keep it focused.
-
Add your team
- Only bring in people who’ll actually work on these campaigns. Too many cooks make a mess.
Pro tip: Don’t get lost in Ocean’s settings. You can tweak later. The goal is to get your workspace live, not perfect.
Step 2: Import Your Target Account List
Ocean’s ABM features are only as good as the accounts you feed them.
- Prepare your CSV
- Include columns for company name, website, key contacts, job titles, and any useful notes.
-
Double check for duplicates. Bad data here means wasted effort later.
-
Upload to Ocean
- In your workspace, hit “Import Accounts.”
-
Map your columns to Ocean’s fields. If you’re unsure, keep it simple—company name, contact, and email are enough to start.
-
Tag accounts (optional, but smart)
- Use tags like “Tier 1,” “Enterprise,” or “Tech” to segment your outreach later.
- Don’t overthink tagging. You can refine as you go.
Honest take: Don’t waste time tracking 500 accounts if you only have resources to go after 30. Focus.
Step 3: Build Account Profiles
This is where Ocean starts to shine. The more context you add, the smarter your campaigns get.
- Enrich account data
- Ocean can auto-pull info like company size, industry, and recent news. Use it, but check for errors—these tools aren’t magic.
-
Manually add insights: Are they hiring? Did they just raise money? Anything that gives your outreach an edge.
-
Assign owners
-
Put a real person in charge of each account. If everyone owns it, no one does.
-
Add notes and history
- Record any previous touches or intel from sales calls. It’s easy to forget who’s already heard your pitch.
Step 4: Set Up Your ABM Campaigns
Now for the meat of it. Ocean lets you orchestrate multi-step campaigns targeted at your account list.
- Create a new campaign
- Click “+ New Campaign” and select “Account Based” as the type.
-
Name it clearly—avoid vague project names.
-
Select your target accounts
-
Use filters or your tags to narrow your list to the accounts you actually want to go after in this campaign.
-
Build your outreach flow
- Ocean supports multi-channel: email, LinkedIn, even display ads (if you want to get fancy).
-
Start simple: 2–3 touchpoints is plenty to start. For example:
- Email #1: Short, personal intro (not a pitch deck).
- LinkedIn connect.
- Email #2: A relevant resource or mention of a trigger event.
-
Write your messages
- Use account-specific context. Skip the “Hi, {FirstName}, I noticed your company is great” nonsense.
-
Keep it human. If you wouldn’t reply to it, don’t send it.
-
Set schedule and rules
- Decide how many days between touchpoints. Ocean will handle the timing.
- Add exit conditions: e.g., stop if someone replies or books a meeting.
Real talk: Don’t try to automate your way out of bad messaging. Ocean can help you scale, but it can’t make boring emails interesting.
Step 5: Launch and Monitor
Ready to go? Here’s how to get live without tripping over yourself.
- Review everything
- Double-check your data, messages, and campaign steps.
-
Send a test to yourself or a teammate.
-
Launch in batches
- Don’t blast all accounts at once. Start with a small group (10–20) to see what works.
-
Adjust messaging based on early replies (or lack thereof).
-
Monitor activity in Ocean
- Track opens, replies, and engagement at the account level.
-
If you see crickets, don’t just blame the tool—look at your offer and message.
-
Flag high-potential accounts
- Use Ocean’s dashboard to quickly spot who’s biting.
- Loop in sales early if someone engages. Don’t let leads get cold waiting for a “perfect” sequence to finish.
Quick warning: Ignore vanity metrics—opens and clicks are nice, but meetings booked and real conversations matter way more.
Step 6: Iterate, Don’t Overcomplicate
ABM is about testing, learning, and repeating. Ocean gives you data, but it’s up to you to use it.
- Review campaign results every week
- What messages get replies? Which accounts are ignoring you?
- Trim dead weight
- If an account hasn’t engaged after 3–4 thoughtful touches, move on.
- Refine your targeting
- Maybe you picked the wrong companies. That’s fine. Adjust your list and try again.
- Share learnings
- Have a weekly debrief. What’s working? Where are you spinning your wheels? Don’t keep insights locked in a spreadsheet.
Don’t get lost in features. Ocean has bells and whistles, but you’re better off running a simple, focused campaign than spending hours on “advanced” settings you don’t need.
What Actually Works (and What to Ignore)
A few honest truths from people who’ve run dozens of ABM campaigns:
- Personalization beats automation. Ocean helps you organize, but real results come from messages that sound like a human wrote them.
- Quality over quantity. Ten real conversations are worth more than 1000 automated emails.
- Don’t get sucked into “attribution” debates. You’ll never know exactly which touchpoint closed the deal. Focus on what moves the needle.
- Skip the display ads unless you have budget to burn. Most SMBs won’t see ROI here. Stick to email and LinkedIn until you’ve nailed those.
Keep It Simple and Keep Moving
ABM isn’t magic, and neither is Ocean. But if you use it to stay organized, target the right companies, and communicate like a real person, you’ll see results. Start simple, iterate fast, and don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
Get your first campaign live, see what happens, and adjust. That’s how real progress happens—one conversation at a time.