How to set up account based marketing campaigns in Koala for B2B success

If you’re in B2B marketing and tired of spray-and-pray campaigns that don’t move the needle, account based marketing (ABM) is worth a look. It’s about targeting the companies that matter, not just anyone with an email address. This guide is for marketers, sales leaders, and founders who want to actually land big clients—not just collect clicks.

We’ll walk through how to set up ABM campaigns using Koala, a tool that claims to make B2B outreach less painful. I’ll show you what actually works, what to skip, and how to avoid common time-wasters.

Why ABM? And Why Koala?

You probably know this already, but ABM isn’t for everyone. If your product’s $20/month and you’re chasing thousands of customers, ABM is overkill. But if you sell to companies where every deal matters, targeting specific accounts (not just personas) is a no-brainer.

Koala pitches itself as an “all-in-one” ABM platform. In practice, that means it helps you:

  • Build target account lists
  • Find contacts
  • Launch personalized campaigns (email, ads, etc.)
  • Track engagement and handoff to sales

There are plenty of tools that promise the moon, but Koala actually does a decent job at the basics. That’s what we’ll focus on—skip the bells and whistles unless you really need them.

Step 1: Get Your ABM Foundations in Place

Before you touch Koala, get clear on:

  • Who you want to target: Not just “SaaS companies,” but which SaaS companies? What size? What industry? Where?
  • Why those accounts: Are they a good fit, or just big logos you’d like to brag about?
  • Who’s involved in buying: Decision-makers, blockers, champions. Map out the roles, not just titles.

Pro tip: If you can’t list 20-50 dream companies off the top of your head, you’re not ready for ABM. Do the homework. Guesswork leads to wasted time.

Step 2: Build and Import Your Target Account List

  1. Gather your list: Use your CRM, LinkedIn, spreadsheets—whatever. Make sure you have company names, URLs, and (ideally) company size and industry.
  2. Clean it up: Check for duplicates, dead companies, or obvious mismatches.
  3. Import into Koala: Log in, go to the “Accounts” section, and choose “Import.” You can usually upload a CSV or sync with your CRM if it’s supported.

What to ignore: Don’t get sucked into “scoring” or “tiering” accounts unless you have hundreds to manage. For most small B2B teams, a simple list works fine.

Step 3: Find the Right People at Each Account

Here’s where most ABM efforts fall apart—targeting “the company” but forgetting that people, not logos, make decisions.

  1. Use Koala’s contact finder: The platform can surface key roles (think: Head of IT, CFO, etc.) at each account. You can filter by title, department, seniority, and more.
  2. Double-check the data: No tool is perfect. Google, LinkedIn, or your network can help fill gaps or confirm info.
  3. Add contacts to accounts: In Koala, link each person to the right company. You’ll want at least 2-3 contacts per account (champion, decision-maker, influencer).

What doesn’t work: Buying giant lists or scraping emails. Quality trumps quantity every time—bad data will tank your campaigns before you start.

Step 4: Personalize Your Messaging

This is the grunt work, but it’s where ABM pays off. Koala lets you personalize at scale, but don’t confuse “mail merge” with “personal.”

  • Start with a template: Use Koala’s built-in templates, but tweak them. Mention the company’s recent news, a competitor, or something relevant.
  • Keep it short: Decision-makers aren’t reading essays. Three sentences is plenty.
  • Focus on their pain, not your product: “Saw you’re hiring remote engineers—are you struggling with onboarding?” beats “We’re the leading solution for...”

Pro tip: Personalization doesn’t mean faking familiarity. Don’t pretend you’re best friends just because you saw their last press release.

Step 5: Set Up Multi-Channel Campaigns

One email won’t do it. Koala lets you mix emails, LinkedIn messages, and even targeted ads.

  1. Build a sequence: In Koala, create a campaign with 4–6 touchpoints over 2–3 weeks.

    • Day 1: Personalized email
    • Day 3: LinkedIn connect + note
    • Day 7: Follow-up email
    • Day 10: Retargeting ad (if you have budget)
    • Day 14: Final email or call

  2. Automate, but don’t set-and-forget: Koala lets you automate, but check replies and adjust on the fly.

  3. Be human: If someone replies, stop the sequence and respond personally.

What to skip: Don’t use every channel just because you can. If your audience isn’t on LinkedIn, don’t force it. Same for ads—great if you have budget, but not required.

Step 6: Measure, Learn, and Adjust

ABM is about quality, not just volume. Here’s what to track in Koala:

  • Account engagement: Are the right people opening, clicking, or replying?
  • Meetings booked: This is the real metric—did you get a conversation started?
  • Pipeline impact: Are these accounts moving forward, or just ghosting?

Koala’s dashboards are decent for this, but don’t obsess over vanity metrics (like email open rates). Focus on actual engagement and deals.

What doesn’t work: Trying to “optimize” before you have data. Run the campaign, see what lands, then tweak.

Step 7: Handoff to Sales (and Keep It Tight)

Once you get a bite, don’t let it fall through the cracks.

  • Notify your sales team: Koala can automate this, but make sure there’s a clear owner.
  • Share context: What did they engage with? What did you promise?
  • Stay involved: Marketing shouldn’t disappear after a meeting’s booked, especially for big accounts.

Pro tip: Set up a quick sync between sales and marketing every week. The tighter the feedback loop, the better your ABM will get.

A Few Things to Ignore (and Why)

  • Over-automation: Koala can automate a lot, but don’t let it run wild. The best ABM feels personal, not robotic.
  • Gimmicky integrations: Unless you have a real need, skip the endless integrations Koala offers. Focus on what moves accounts forward.
  • “AI-generated” everything: AI can help with drafts and data, but it’s not a substitute for real research or thoughtful messaging.

Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast

ABM isn’t magic. It’s just being intentional about who you target and how you reach them. Koala does a solid job at the basics, and honestly, that’s all you need to start.

Don’t overthink it. Pick your accounts, find the right people, send something worth reading, and follow up. Learn what works, tweak, and repeat. You’ll get better with every campaign—and that’s what actually brings in deals.