Late last year, the Sky team had an article published in Forbes Council called “The 90/10 Proposition: Using an Integrated Account-Based GTM Strategy to Drive Revenue Efficiency.” This article, which reached millions of people around the globe (Forbes), has come up many times in conversation with customer success (CS) leaders since.

Those discussions have commonly revolved around four key questions:

• What is account-based go-to-market?

• What is account-based customer success?

• Why is now the time to focus on account-based customer success?

• Why should I consider integrating all my account-based go-to-market initiatives?

Below are some answers and insights on each of these topics..

What is Account-Based Go-To-Market?

Account-based go-to-market (GTM) is a practice in which organizations leverage technology to drive customer outreach efficiency. This approach uses insights and automation to help go-to-market leaders prioritize targets for outreach, package messaging at a granular level, orchestrate actions in a business context, and provide visibility to management to foster accountability—all at scale and in snug alignment.

Over the past several years, the practice has taken two primary forms:

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) came about as a way to fix the inefficiencies of traditional lead generation. Instead of blasting messages to everyone, ABM homes in on high-value accounts and creates personalized campaigns just for them. By using intent data, marketing teams can focus their energy on the prospects that are most likely to convert.

Then came Account-Based Selling (ABS), which applies the same philosophy to sales. ABS gets sales teams laser-focused on key accounts, prioritizing deeper relationships and strategic engagement over a scattershot approach. This way, sales reps can spend their time where it really counts—on the highest-value opportunities.

Together, ABM and ABS have revolutionized the way businesses approach customer acquisition. But so far, these strategies have mostly been pre-sale focused.

What is Account-Based Customer Success?

To truly optimize revenue and customer success, the same account-based principles need to be applied post-sale. That’s where Account-Based Customer Success (ABCS) comes in. ABCS brings the same level of focus, personalization, and automation of pre-sale engagement to post-sales engagement. By applying account-based principles beyond the sale, companies can boost efficiency, reduce customer churn, and maximize long-term value.

Why ABCS Now?

Many companies deal with platform overload—using multiple tools for CRM, analytics, advocacy, and support. This makes it tough for customer success managers (CSMs) to find the right data quickly and respond to customer needs in real-time.

ABCS tackles this challenge by:

• Prioritizing customer outreach based on real-time signals

• Creating predefined playbooks tailored for different customer scenarios

• Providing guided actions to help CS teams engage more effectively

• Embedding workflows into existing systems for a smoother experience

• Giving leadership visibility into performance and impact

By integrating ABCS, businesses can move from reactive customer support to proactive relationship management, reducing churn and increasing expansion opportunities.

Why Integrate All Account-Based GTM Initiatives?

The introduction of ABCS is the missing puzzle piece in the account-based GTM approach. Companies that have already embraced ABM and ABS can now extend the strategy across the entire customer lifecycle.

This approach ensures that all teams are working toward common goals, from the first prospecting email to long-term customer retention and growth.

By coordinating efforts across marketing, sales, and customer success, businesses can improve efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and unlock new revenue opportunities.

Conclusion

The evolution of account-based GTM strategies—from marketing to sales to customer success—shows a clear shift toward more holistic and data-driven revenue operations. By integrating ABM, ABS, and ABCS into a single, connected approach, companies can improve efficiency, increase customer satisfaction, and drive sustainable growth.

As competition heats up, the businesses that embrace this next-level account-based strategy will be in the best position to maximize success and customer loyalty for years to come.