If you're running ABM campaigns and need your targeting to actually work—not just look good in a slide deck—this guide is for you. We’ll dig into setting up and optimizing audience segments in Leadspace so you spend less time fiddling with filters and more time getting results you can brag about.
Forget “best practices” with no muscle behind them. Here’s the real approach: what’s worth your time, what’s not, and how to avoid getting lost in the weeds.
Step 1: Know What You Want—Before You Touch Leadspace
A lot of people rush into Leadspace, start clicking around, and end up with a segment that looks impressive but doesn’t actually map to their campaign goals. Don’t do that.
Ask yourself: - Who do you really want to target? (Not just “IT decision makers”—get specific.) - What’s the campaign’s main goal? (Awareness? Pipeline? Expansion?) - How will you measure if your segment is working? (Clicks? Meetings booked? Pipeline generated?)
Pro tip: Write down your ICP (ideal customer profile) somewhere you can see it. If your audience segment drifts from this, hit the brakes.
Step 2: Get Your Data House in Order
Leadspace is only as good as the data you feed it. If your CRM or MAP (think Salesforce, Marketo, HubSpot, etc.) is a mess, your segments will be, too.
Checklist before you start: - Make sure your account and contact data is reasonably clean (no duplicates, up-to-date titles, etc.). - Define your “source of truth” for account lists—don’t let marketing and sales work off different spreadsheets. - Sync or upload your latest data into Leadspace. Don’t rely on last quarter’s upload.
What to skip: Don’t obsess over perfect data. “Good enough” beats “waiting forever for the data team.” Just make sure you’re not starting with garbage.
Step 3: Build Your First Audience Segment
Now it’s time to actually use Leadspace to create an audience. Here’s a no-nonsense approach to get started:
1. Navigate to Audience Segments
- Log into Leadspace.
- Go to the “Audiences” or “Segments” area (naming may vary by version, but it’s usually pretty obvious).
2. Choose Your Base: Accounts, Contacts, or Both
- For most ABM campaigns, start with accounts. You want to know which companies you’re targeting first.
- If you’re running a contact-based campaign (say, for a webinar invite), start with contacts, but always tie them back to accounts.
3. Apply Basic Filters
Start simple and layer on complexity only if it’s actually useful.
- Firmographic filters: Industry, company size, region, revenue, etc.
- Technographic filters: What tech do they use? (Be careful—these can be outdated or spotty.)
- Intent data: Who’s showing signs of researching your solution? (Use, but don’t trust blindly.)
- Custom fields: Things like account status (customer, prospect, partner), existing pipeline, etc.
What to ignore: Don’t use every filter just because it’s there. If you can’t articulate why a filter matters, leave it out.
4. Use Lookalike and AI/ML Features—But Don’t Rely on Magic
Leadspace loves to talk up its AI-powered lookalike modeling. It can help, especially if you have a solid set of “best customers” to base it on. But:
- Garbage in, garbage out: If your “best customers” list is random, your lookalike model will be, too.
- Always sanity-check the results: Pull a sample—do these companies actually look like good targets?
Step 4: Refine and Test Your Segment
Once you’ve got a base segment, don’t just hit “activate” and call it a day.
What to do: - Spot check: Export a small sample. Do these companies/titles make sense? Would sales agree? - Remove obvious junk: If you see companies that are too small, too big, or totally irrelevant, tweak your filters. - Add exclusions: Filter out existing customers (unless it’s a cross-sell campaign), competitors, or companies in regions you don’t serve.
Tip: Ask sales for a gut check, but don’t let them hijack your process with “let’s add just one more industry.” Stay focused.
Step 5: Sync with Your Channels—The Right Way
Now you’ve got a segment. Time to get it where it needs to go (Salesforce, Marketo, LinkedIn, etc.).
Key points: - Map fields carefully: Make sure your Leadspace segment fields line up with your destination platform. Mismatched fields = headaches later. - Test with a small list first: Push a tiny batch to your channel and check—did everyone land in the right place, with the right tags and info? - Document your sync: Write down which segment maps to which campaign/program in each channel, so you’re not lost three months from now.
What to avoid: Don’t push huge lists and hope for the best. Fix issues with a small batch, then go big.
Step 6: Monitor, Measure, and Adjust
Your first segment is never perfect. That’s normal. The trick is to keep an eye on what’s working and what isn’t.
- Track engagement: Are your target accounts actually clicking, opening, or responding?
- Get sales feedback: Are the leads making sense? Are there duds?
- Iterate: Tweak your filters and try again. Small changes can make a big difference—don’t nuke the segment every time.
Caution: Don’t judge segment quality by campaign performance alone. Sometimes the offer stinks, not the audience.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Starting simple, then layering in complexity as needed. - Getting sales in for a sanity check—but not turning your segment into a wishlist. - Documenting everything. Seriously, future you will thank you.
What doesn’t: - Chasing the “perfect” segment. It doesn’t exist. - Over-relying on AI or intent data. These are tools, not magic bullets.
What to ignore: - Fancy filters with no clear value (“Fortune 5000 companies using Docker and headquartered within 20 miles of Boston”—unless you have a real reason). - Vendor hype about “hyper-relevance” or “AI-powered engagement.” Stick to what you can see and measure.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, Repeat
You don’t need a PhD in data science to set up effective Leadspace segments for ABM. Start with what you know, keep it simple, and tune as you go. Overthinking leads to analysis paralysis—so just get your first segment live, watch how it performs, and keep tweaking.
Done right, Leadspace can help you build segments that actually move the needle. Don’t get lost in the bells and whistles. Focus on the basics, and you’ll see better results, faster.