If you’re running account based marketing (ABM), you already know the basics: spray-and-pray doesn’t work. You need to pick the right accounts, get them into the right buckets, and actually do something with that info. This guide is for marketers, sales ops, or anyone who’s tired of vague advice about “personalization” and wants to wrangle actual account lists—without wasting a week in spreadsheets or getting lost in buzzwords.
Let’s walk through how to segment and target accounts in Withlantern for real ABM campaigns. I’ll cover what works, what to skip, and some honest pitfalls to watch out for.
1. Get Your Account List in Shape
Before you fire up Withlantern, check your account list. If you’ve got old, half-baked CSVs or a CRM packed with duplicates, clean it up first. Withlantern can’t fix garbage inputs.
What you need: - A single list of target companies: Names, domains, and (ideally) key firmographics like industry, size, and region. - No dups, no blanks: Scrub duplicates. If you’re missing company names or domains, fill them in, or cut those rows. - Consistent formatting: Make sure columns have consistent headers and values. “Industry” shouldn’t be “SaaS” one row and “Software-as-a-Service” in another.
Pro tip:
Don’t overthink it. Start with your best-guess list—even if it’s just 100 companies. You can tweak it later.
2. Import Accounts into Withlantern
With your list ready, jump into Withlantern and import those accounts. The upload interface is pretty forgiving, but here’s what matters:
- CSV is safest. Excel works, but CSV avoids weird formatting issues.
- Map your fields. Withlantern will prompt you to match your columns (like “Company Name,” “Website,” “Industry”) to its fields. Double-check here; bad mapping = bad segmentation later.
- Tag on import. You can add tags like “2024 Q3 campaign” or “High Priority” right as you import. This will save you time later.
What to ignore:
Don’t waste time importing every possible field from your CRM. Only pull in what you’ll actually use for segmentation or outreach.
3. Segment Accounts Using Filters and Tags
Now for the main event. Withlantern gives you a few ways to slice and dice your accounts: filters, saved views, and tags. Here’s how to actually use them.
a. Use Filters for Fast Slicing
- Standard filters: Company size, industry, location, revenue, etc.
- Custom fields: If you imported custom data (like “Tech Stack” or “Renewal Date”), filter by those too.
- Boolean logic: Want “Manufacturing” companies in the Midwest with over 500 employees? Combine filters.
What works:
Filters are fast for “show me all accounts that fit X.” They’re great for one-off pulls or building segments on the fly.
What doesn’t:
Don’t try to build your entire ABM strategy inside one complex filter. It’ll get messy. Use filters to make lists, not to plan entire campaigns.
b. Use Tags for Grouping and Campaigns
Tags are your friend for tracking groups over time:
- Apply tags like: “Tier 1,” “Webinar Invitees,” “Current Customers,” “2024 Expansion.”
- Bulk tag: Select a bunch of accounts and add/remove tags in one go.
- Stack tags: Accounts can have multiple tags. Don’t stress about overlapping groups.
Pro tip:
Tags are way more flexible than filters for ongoing campaigns. You can “graduate” accounts from “Prospect” to “Engaged” just by changing tags.
4. Build Saved Views for Repeat Work
Withlantern lets you save filtered views—think of these as smart lists you check every week.
- Set up saved views for: Each campaign (“Q3 ABM Targets”), each rep (“Jenny’s Accounts”), or each region.
- Update automatically: As you add or tag new accounts, views update. No manual list-building.
- Share with your team: Everybody gets the same up-to-date segment, no more “which spreadsheet?” confusion.
What to ignore:
Don’t go nuts building dozens of views for every possible scenario. Keep it simple: 5–10 views is plenty for most teams.
5. Prioritize Accounts—Don’t Treat All Accounts the Same
Just because you can segment a list doesn’t mean you should treat every account equally. “Tiering” is where most ABM programs live or die.
- Decide what matters: Is it revenue potential? Strategic fit? Likelihood to close? Pick 1–2 real criteria.
- Tag or score accordingly: Use Withlantern to tag “Tier 1,” “Tier 2,” etc., or use a custom score field if you want to get fancy.
- Be honest: If you can’t explain why an account is Tier 1, it probably isn’t. Don’t let sales or marketing politics fill your top list with “wish list” logos that’ll never buy.
Pro tip:
Review your tiers every quarter. Accounts move up and down. Don’t set it and forget it.
6. Align Segments to Tactics (Don’t Just Build Lists)
This is where most teams stall. They slice accounts into pretty lists, but then…nothing happens. Withlantern isn’t magic—what matters is what you do with your segments.
- Match tactics to tiers: Tier 1 gets personal outreach and custom content. Tier 3 might just get quarterly emails.
- Sync with tools: Push segments from Withlantern into your CRM, email tool, or ad platform. Don’t just keep them in one place.
- Track engagement: Use Withlantern’s integrations (if you’ve hooked them up) to see which accounts are actually responding.
What to ignore:
Don’t build segments you can’t actually activate. If you don’t have the resources to run 10 custom campaigns, focus on 2 you can do well.
7. Iterate and Clean Up Regularly
Segmentation isn’t a set-and-forget thing. Your market changes, people leave, priorities shift.
- Review every month or quarter: Prune dead accounts, update tiers, archive old tags.
- Get feedback from sales: If reps aren’t working the lists, find out why. Don’t assume your segments make sense to everyone.
- Don’t chase perfection: No segment is ever “done.” Good enough is good enough.
Pro tip:
Build a 15-minute “list review” into your monthly or quarterly marketing meeting. It’s boring, but it beats running your next campaign on stale data.
Honest Takes: What Works, What Doesn’t
- Works: Starting simple, clear tiering, syncing segments across teams, and using tags for actual campaign tracking.
- Doesn’t: Over-segmenting, chasing “perfect” data, or building lists you’ll never use.
- Ignore: Any advice that says you need “real-time AI-driven segmentation” unless you have a massive ABM budget and team.
Keep It Simple and Build As You Go
The best ABM teams don’t spend months planning. They pick a segment, run a campaign, learn what works, and tweak their lists. Withlantern makes segmenting and targeting accounts pretty painless—if you focus on what you’ll actually use. Don’t stress about getting it perfect. Get started, keep it tight, and iterate as you learn. That’s how you actually move the needle.