Segmentation for B2B Businesses (Firmographics)

    What is segmentation?

    Segmentation is the process of classifying potential customers into groups based on their common characteristics. A good segmentation allows companies to focus on the customers who matter most.

    Once you segment the market, you have a better understanding of who your customers are, what they care about, and how to reach them. You also have an understanding of who your customers are not.

    Now, you can adapt your messaging to resonate better with each segment you want to target.

    Segmentation

    What Kind of Information Does Firmographic Data Contain?

    Firmographic data, also called firmographics or business demographic data, is a type of demographic data that provides information about businesses. Firmographics are collected to help companies better understand their target customers, as well as their current customers, to more effectively deliver their products, services, and solutions.

    B2B vs B2C segmentation

    In B2C (business-to-consumer) segmentation, your aim is to get a complete picture of an individual customer who belongs to your target audience. Depending on what you’re selling, this individual may consult a few people before making a decision (example: when choosing a restaurant or a new pair or shoes, they may ask the opinions of friends and family). When selling to consumers, purchases are generally made for personal consumption.

    B2B (business-to-business) segmentation has an extra layer. In B2B Sales, business decisions are driven based on expected financial gains. As a B2B business, your product or service may benefit some businesses more than others.

    Before reaching out to representatives to pitch your services, first you need to assess which companies are the right fit for your business. Companies can be grouped based on their shared characteristics. These characteristics are also known as firmographics.

    firmographic segmentation on HappierLeads
    Segmenting companies on the HappierLeads dashboard

    You can segment businesses based on the following firmographic factors:

    Segmentation for B2B (Firmographics)

    Firm Revenue:

    Segmenting firms based on revenue is a good way to determine the available purchasing power they have. This allows you to engage in value based pricing, where you charge customers different prices in line with the value you can bring.

    For example: If you were a consultant, you may charge differently when working with a startup compared to a Fortune 500 company.

    Evaluating companies by firm revenue can allow you to focus on companies with the budget to pay for your products or services.

    Number of Employees:

    Will your product or service impact a one-person business or a department of 50 people? 

    Let’s say you offer a cloud storage system. A solopreneur may store all their files locally, but an accounting firm may need to have a shared platform to synchronize files between employees.

    Sectors and Industry:

    Some sectors and industries may benefit more from your product or service than others.

    Products and services:

    You can establish partnerships with companies who are further down the supply chain. 

    If you make tennis rackets, it may be useful to market to sports retailers. 

    If you are a catering company, partnering with event management companies may be a good idea.

    Technology:

    Does your product integrate with, or intend to replace any existing technology?

    If you are a delivery company for e-commerce stores, do you integrate with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce? Then you may want to segment companies based on their existing systems and platforms.

    What if you replace an existing technology? 

    If you replace an existing technology, you can segment companies according to:

    • Companies who use the existing technologies
    • Companies who are looking to implement the technology
    • Companies who aren’t using existing technologies / aren’t aware of your solution
    • Companies who aren’t aware of the problem the technology solves

    Needs:

    You can segment companies based on their needs and use cases. In other words, how will the company you sell to benefit from your product or service?

    If you sell spare parts for example, your customers may do one of the following:

    • Resell your spare parts to their customers
    • Use your spare parts in their repair centers
    • Outsource manufacturing of parts to you

    Behaviors:

    Behavioral segmentation revolves around the purchasing patterns of companies. For example, some companies are price conscious and would switch to a supplier with the lowest price when they feel like it. 

    Some companies may take more time to purchase but have long lasting relationships with their business partners. 

    Segmentation of behaviors is useful when determining the type of relationships you want to establish with your customers.

    Values:

    You may decide to segment companies based on their values. Some values for example include sustainability, innovation, community-centric, etc.

    Partnering with companies that share your values allows you to establish synergy through a shared problem-solving perspective.

    For example: companies who value innovation may be more open to experimental ideas your company can bring.  

    Why Is Firmographic Data Important for B2B Sales?

    Firmographic data, also known as firmographics, is a type of data that is used in B2B Sales to provide marketers and salespeople with a better understanding of their target customers.

    It contains the demographic, geographic, and psychographic information of an organization and can be used to target the right prospects, develop tailored sales strategies, personalize customer experiences, and ultimately increase sales.

    By collecting firmographics data, B2B sales teams can gain a comprehensive view of their target customers, including their company size, location, type, industry, and business goals. This helps them build more informed and tailored sales strategies, target the right customers, and understand the nuances of the customer’s buying journey.

    Firmographics data is also invaluable for determining the ideal customer profile and can be used to identify, segment, and prioritize prospects.

    What are the benefits?

    By having a firm understanding of the customer’s profile, the sales teams can further refine the customer experience, deliver more relevant messaging, and increase opportunities for conversion.

    Ultimately, firmographic data can be used to not only gain a comprehensive view of customers, but also use that data to identify key prospects, craft tailored campaigns, and drive more sales. By leveraging this data, B2B sales teams can build better relationships with their customers and increase their chances of success.

     

     

    How Can Firmographic Data Help Salespeople Target the Right Prospects?

    Firmographics data is a powerful tool to help salespeople target and reach out to more qualified prospects. Firmographics data provides key information about businesses such as industry, size, geographic location, revenue, number of employees, etc. This information helps salespeople better understand their potential prospects, allowing them to determine which potential prospects are the best fit for their product or service. With firmographics data, salespeople can easily create a list of businesses to reach out to that are most likely to be interested in their product or service.

    Furthermore, firmographics data can help salespeople identify and segment customers into different categories or segments, giving them a more holistic view of their prospects. By leveraging firmographics data, salespeople can save time and resources by targeting the right prospects and focusing efforts on prospects that have a higher likelihood of being interested in their product or service.

    How Happierleads Data can help Salespeople and marketers achieve their goals.

    In the world of B2B marketing, firmographic data is crucial for creating effective marketing strategies. Understanding the characteristics of a company, such as its industry, size, location, and revenue, can help marketers identify potential customers and tailor their messaging to specific target audiences. This is where Happierleads.com comes in – a powerful tool for marketers looking to leverage firmographic data to drive business growth.

    Happierleads.com is a comprehensive B2B database with over 60 million company profiles, each with more than 100 data attributes. This includes basic information such as the company name, address, and phone number, as well as more detailed firmographic data such as industry classification, company size, revenue, and technology usage. Happierleads.com also offers a reverse IP lookup feature that allows marketers to identify the companies visiting their website, even if they don’t fill out a form or contact the company directly.

    One of the biggest advantages of Happierleads.com is its anonymous identification tool. By tracking and analyzing website visitor behavior, Happierleads.com can identify the companies that are showing interest in a business’s products or services. This allows marketers to reach out to potential customers who may not have otherwise engaged with the company directly. By knowing which companies are interested in their offerings, businesses can prioritize their outreach efforts and tailor their messaging to specific target audiences.

    Another key benefit of Happierleads.com is its ability to provide detailed firmographic data. With access to information on a company’s industry, size, location, and revenue, marketers can create more targeted campaigns that resonate with specific audiences. For example, a company selling software for small businesses might use Happierleads.com to identify companies with fewer than 50 employees in the retail industry. They could then tailor their messaging to speak directly to the pain points and needs of that specific audience.

    Happierleads.com also allows marketers to filter their search results by a wide range of criteria, including industry, revenue, location, and more. This makes it easy to find the exact types of companies they are looking for and narrow down their search to the most relevant targets. With detailed firmographic data at their fingertips, marketers can create highly personalized campaigns that are more likely to resonate with potential customers.

    In summary, Happierleads.com is a powerful tool for marketers looking to leverage firmographic data to drive business growth. With its reverse IP lookup and anonymous identification features, as well as its comprehensive B2B database and detailed filtering options, Happierleads.com provides businesses with the insights they need to create more effective marketing strategies. By understanding the characteristics of their target audiences, businesses can tailor their messaging and outreach efforts to drive more leads, close more deals, and ultimately grow their business.

    Happierleads

    Targeting

    Once you’ve defined the segments available in the market, it’s time to choose the ones you want to focus on. 

    Remember: segmenting your audience is useful not only to choose the right companies to focus on – but also to filter out companies you DON’T want to target.

    Determining your ICP

    Once you’ve segmented the firms you want to target, it’s time to define the decision makers. Decision makers are the representatives from the target companies who will either purchase or use your products and services.

    The relevant decision makers vary based on your product or service and the size of the company you are selling to. For example, in a small company, you may be selling directly to the CEO. For a larger company, you may be selling to a more specialized decision maker such as the Head of Content or the Local Warehouse Manager. 

    Clapping

    How do I know my targeting strategy is working?

    Your targeting strategy is working when you are attracting your ideal customers to buy from you. When they are on your website, ideally, they should get in contact. 

    However, very often, potential customers end up leaving your website without filling out a contact form or getting in touch. Sometimes they just need a little nudge or reminder to turn them from a prospect to a paying customer.

    With HappierLeads, you can see the B2B Companies visiting your website, connect with the relevant decision makers, and close sales up to 70% faster. Start your free 14-day trial

    Happierleads

    Once you’ve installed HappierLeads on your website, you can see which B2B companies are visiting your website. From here, you can filter your website visitors based on firmographic data to focus on the ones who matter the most to you

    Dheeraj Ramchand

    Dheeraj Ramchand

    Marketing Specialist at Happierleads, I'm always curious to help businesses grow by connecting the dots.

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