What is Technographic Data? And How to Use It in ABM
Knowledge of a company's tech stack or technographic data can improve the outcomes of an account-based marketing (ABM) campaign. This dataset, when used alongside other data points, helps marketing teams build a full picture of their ideal customer profile (ICP).
How? Let’s look at how marketing and sales teams running ABM programs can use technographic data to find and better serve their audience.
What is Technographic Data?
Technographic data describes the tools and technologies used by an organization's employees to run their daily operations. These intent data include details related to each individual's software, hardware, and technical maturity.
For instance, the technographic data of a company might include details like what customer resource management (CRM) tool they use or which enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are a part of their tech stack.
These details will make it easier for teams to create personalized ABM campaigns that resonate with their target account, ultimately resulting in a higher rate of customer success.
Technographic Data vs. Firmographic Data vs. Demographic Data
To solidify our understanding of technographic data, let’s quickly differentiate between the three datasets (firmographic, demographic, and technographic) that usually make up an ICP.
Technographic Data
- Primarily focuses on a company’s technology stack and applications
- Provides insights into a company’s digital behavior and technology adoption
- Helps with segmentation in account-based marketing (ABM)
- Typically collected through digital footprints, scraping, and third-party providers (more on this below)
Firmographic Data
- Organizational attributes such as company size, industry sector, revenue, and location
- Segments markets and tailors marketing efforts to different types of businesses
- Generally gathered from business registries, company websites, and public financial reports.
Demographic Data
- Statistical data about individuals, including age, gender, income level, education, and occupation
- Often overlap with professional roles and responsibilities, influencing how products or services are marketed to potential customers (particularly in B2B marketing)
- Usually sourced from surveys, social media profiles, and purchasing patterns
How to Use Technographic Data to Improve Your ABM Campaigns
Having well-defined strategies and action plans is essential to use technographic insights in ABM campaigns. Here are six ways how you can leverage the technographic intent data about your target audience’s technology stack for better marketing ROI:
1. Personalize Your ABM Content Strategy
Sending a personalized message to the verified target accounts is key to boosting engagement and reply rates. Prospective customers are more likely to look at your emails, for instance, favourably when they realize that you know their pain points and ambitions.
To put this into practice, here's how technographic data supports your ABM content strategy:
- Identify technology gaps: Learn which software, hardware, etc., your prospects are using to map their workflows. Then, find where your offerings can enhance their operations.
- Tailor content addressing their needs: Based on your technographic analysis, talk about the challenges they face related to their tech stack. For instance, does their current software come with a steep learning curve?
- Create content for different segments. Some prospects might be early adopters, and others might want to consider tech changes later. Either way, present your offer in a way that respects their organizational culture.
2. Build Relevant Target Account Lists
Although it may seem like many businesses and enterprises can benefit from your offerings, the practical desirability may vary. For instance, some companies may prefer sticking to legacy software due to some organizational policies.
Here’s how you can filter your target account list for the accounts that are most likely to convert with the help of intent data:
- Look at tech usage: Research and analyze how the teams at the potentially relevant companies currently run their operations, including the nature of apps, the features they need, etc.
- Prioritize by tech compatibility: Some tech stacks are easier for your solutions to fit into than others. Leverage the technographic data to isolate the accounts that can swiftly adopt new technology.
- Emphasis on the leap in performance: Your offerings will probably help some teams more than others. Focus on this parameter while prioritizing the leads and sending them the initial message.
3. Spotlight Opportunities, Gaps, Trends, and Customer Pain Points
Pay close attention to the market to identify and capitalize on users' opportunities, gaps, trends, and pain points. Technographic data can help you do this. This data-driven marketing method will allow you to position yourself advantageously in the market to attract hot prospects.
- Look at the industries of your audience: The niches your target market operates in determine the technology they use. When you observe shifts, close those gaps by offering your products and services.
- Stay updated on technology news: New tools and technologies constantly emerge and become obsolete. You can position yourself as the replacement technology or the solution that works well with the other accessory tools.
- Monitor negative reviews of competitors: Technographic data on the market will help you identify potential customers' unaddressed pain points.
4. Refine Your Account-based Marketing Segmentation Strategy
Using technographic data to refine your ABM segments to prioritize accounts based on how close to your ICP can be key in boosting your marketing ROI. You can do it by:
- Identifying technical dependencies: Group accounts based on their reliance on specific software, hardware, or usage patterns that align with your product’s strengths.
- Use relatable language: A team often uses terms that are related to their technology. For instance, in the world of SEO, a team using Moz may use “domain authority,” whereas Ahrefs users may find “domain rating” more relatable.
- Present offers based on tech usage: Different teams may use a tool for different purposes. For instance, some marketing teams might use Zoom exclusively for client communication, while others may rely on it to host webinars. Offer your products and services based on how a company uses certain tools and technologies.
5. Prioritize Target Accounts
As we touched upon multiple times above, spending more dedicated resources on accounts that are more likely to convert is essential for boosting the ROI of ABM campaigns. This means identifying which potential customers are most likely to benefit from and respond to your product or service.
Here’s how technographic data can help you with that:
- Assess technology fit: Use technographic data to evaluate how well a potential customer's current stack aligns with your offerings.
- Identify high-value prospects: Prioritize companies that rely heavily on software or hardware compatible with your solutions. This usually indicates a higher potential for integration and value.
- Evaluate readiness for adoption: Determine which accounts are mature and thus more likely to understand and value advanced solutions. Send educational material to companies that need more time to consider. This also helps with lead nurturing.
6. Develop Relevant Sales Pitches
Send tailored messages on preferred platforms that resonate with the specific needs of each target account and consider the technological contexts of each target account. Leveraging technological data in your sales efforts can increase engagement and conversion rates.
To put it into practice:
- Highlight competitive advantages: Clearly mention the benefits your prospects can look forward to in terms of costs and efficiency. If you use email to communicate, say this in the subject line and increase your open rates.
- Talk about associated changes: Explain how their current workflow will change. Use the technographic data to speak in terms they can relate to.
- Present stats and facts: Numbers and definitive statements present a compelling case for upgrading their existing technology.
How to Gather Technographic Data
Having discussed the importance of technographic data in refining ABM strategies, it's essential to understand how to collect this valuable information effectively.
1. Website Scraping
Website scraping involves using software to extract data from company websites. This method can effectively gather current information about a company's publicly visible technology tools and platforms.
- Identify technology badges: Look for badges or icons that indicate the use of certain technologies, such as analytics tools or marketing automation software.
- Extract meta tags and scripts: Analyze HTML meta tags and JavaScript to uncover details about a site's backend technologies and tools.
- Monitor website updates: Regularly scrape target websites to track changes and updates in their technology usage, providing timely data for ABM activities.
2. Customer Surveys
Customer surveys are direct inquiries that ask individuals or companies to provide information about the technologies they use. This method ensures data relevance and accuracy directly from the source.
- Design tech-focused questions: Include specific questions about the types of technologies, tools, and platforms used within the organization.
- Segment surveys: Tailor surveys based on the respondent’s role or industry to increase response rates and the relevance of the data collected.
- Incentivize participation: Offer rewards or incentives to encourage participation and gather more comprehensive data.
3. Purchase it From a Third Party Data Provider
Purchasing technographic data from a third-party provider offers a quick and comprehensive method to access detailed insights about a wide range of companies.
- Choose reputable providers: Select technographic data providers known for their accuracy and up-to-date information.
- Examine the bits of data first: Get small datasets to assess the quality and relevance of the data before making a purchase.
- Ensure data compliance: Verify that the data collection and distribution methods comply with privacy laws and industry regulations.
To ensure that the technographic data collected is accurate, relevant, and useful, sales and marketing teams can follow this actionable checklist:
When verifying the quality of technographic data, ABM teams should consider the following key aspects:
- Accuracy: The data should correctly represent the current technology usage of the target accounts to prevent misinformed decisions.
- Scalability: The data collection methods should be scalable to accommodate growing data needs as your target list expands.
- Integration with Existing Tech Stack: Ensure the data can be easily integrated with your existing CRM and marketing automation tools to streamline workflows.
- Historical Data: Past market information can help identify trends and changes in technology adoption over time, aiding in better marketing strategies.
Benefits of Using Technographic Data in ABM Programs
Businesses considering the technographic data of their target accounts can look forward to the following four advantages:
1. Align Marketing and Sales Teams
Technographic data can educate teams better about target accounts’ operational needs. This can result in better synergy between marketing and sales teams. This shared understanding enables both teams to develop cohesive strategies and messaging.
As a result, marketing campaigns become precise, and sales pitches are highly personalized. Moreover, it reduces discrepancies in customer communications and enhances collaborative efforts.
2. Increase Productivity Across the Business
Technographic data streamlines the targeting process in ABM by allowing teams to quickly identify and prioritize accounts based on their technology needs and compatibility. This reduces the time spent on prospecting and qualifying leads.
Consequently, the efficiency gained by using precise data increases productivity and accelerates the sales cycle.
3. Increase the Chance of Taking the Deal to a Close
By understanding the specific technologies potential customers use, sales teams can craft sales enablement content that directly address how their products can integrate with the tools the prospects currently use.
This tailored approach resonates more effectively with decision-makers, increasing the relevance of the pitch and the likelihood of conversion.
4. Improve ROI
Technographic data in ABM helps teams allocate their resources more effectively, targeting only those accounts most likely to convert and benefit from their offerings. Combined with the additional benefits mentioned above, companies can see a substantial improvement in their return on investment, making technographic data a valuable asset in any ABM strategy.
Embracing the Impact of Technographic Data on ABM
Leveraging technographic data enhances ABM efforts by providing deep insights into potential customers' technology usage, enabling precise targeting and personalization of marketing strategies.
The benefits are clear: improved alignment between marketing and sales, increased productivity, higher closure rates, and an enhanced ROI.
However, the effectiveness of technographic data hinges on its accuracy and relevance, which are influenced by the ever-evolving technological landscape, regulatory changes, and industry trends.
Companies must continually learn to elevate their understanding and application of technographic data to stay competitive and make the most of ABM.
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