Leading with Purpose: ABM Insights from IBM’s Pooja Raj

In today’s fast-evolving B2B marketing landscape, few leaders are as insightful and impact-driven as Pooja Raj, Global ABM & Client Experience Leader at IBM. In a recent conversation, Pooja shared key lessons from her 14-year journey from hands-on campaign execution to architecting globally scalable, insight-led ABM programs.

Her core belief? True ABM success lies in building meaningful, client-centric strategies grounded in insights, agile practices, and unified cross-functional collaboration.

At the heart of her approach is audience intelligence. When working across diverse markets like APAC and MEA, Pooja stresses the importance of moving beyond firmographics. She champions a deep understanding of regional buying behaviors, local decision-making structures, and intent signals—ensuring each message lands with precision and cultural relevance.

Storytelling, according to Pooja, should not be one-size-fits-all. She emphasizes the need to localize narratives that reflect regional goals—whether digital transformation in emerging economies or optimization in mature markets. Partnering with field teams helps her co-create formats that resonate, boost credibility, and build trust.

Orchestration is another cornerstone. Aligning marketing with sales and partner ecosystems ensures seamless journeys across digital and in-person touchpoints. By designing connected multi-touch campaigns, she maps engagement to each account’s buying cycle, driving meaningful progression from awareness to revenue.

Pooja also brings a strong agile mindset to the table, using iterative testing, data-driven optimization, and continuous refinement to stay responsive to buyer signals. Whether it’s budget reallocation or channel performance tweaking, she believes agility is key to staying relevant and efficient at scale.

When it comes to high-value account engagement, Pooja moves beyond templates. Her strategies start with deep listening, insight mining, and aligning every marketing effort to account-specific business goals. Events, too, become orchestrated, high-touch moments that accelerate conversion through personalized experiences and executive alignment.

Her advice to aspiring marketing leaders?

“Start with the customer. Collaborate across functions. Stay curious, and let insight be your compass.”

From leveraging AI for personalization and predictive targeting to aligning global programs with local nuances, Pooja’s vision reflects what modern ABM leadership should look like strategic, agile, and relentlessly customer-focused. Know More!

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