What Is B2B Data?
B2B data is information about businesses and the professionals who work within them. Marketers use it to identify target companies, reach relevant decision-makers, build audiences, enrich existing records, and create more precise marketing and sales strategies.
B2B Data, Explained Simply
Which companies should we be reaching, and who are the right people inside those companies?
B2B data helps marketers answer those two fundamental questions.
Company data can include industry, employee size, revenue, and location. Professional data can include job title, department, seniority, and business contact information.
Together, these data points allow marketers to build audiences around the businesses and people most relevant to what they sell.
Why B2B Data Matters
B2B marketers rarely need to reach everyone. They need to reach the right organizations and the right people within them.
- Build audiences around an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
- Identify decision-makers within target companies
- Find net-new prospects or enrich existing CRM records
- Support ABM, demand generation, and digital advertising
- Improve audience segmentation and personalization
The more relevant and actionable the underlying data is, the more precisely marketers can execute their strategies.
PAULA'S PERSPECTIVE
After decades in the data industry, one thing I've learned is that having more data isn't automatically better.
The real question is whether you have the right data for what you're trying to accomplish.
Marketers should start with the business objective and work backward. Who are you trying to reach? What defines those companies? Who are the decision-makers? And what do you need to be able to do with that audience once you've identified it?
Good B2B data should make marketing more precise and actionable. Its value isn't simply in how many records you have. The value comes from your ability to turn that data into action.
— Paula Chiocchi
B2B Data in Practice
- Step 1Cybersecurity Company
- Step 2U.S. Manufacturers
- Step 3500+ Employees
- Step 4IT & Security Decision-Makers
- Step 5Targeted Activation
B2B data can identify the companies meeting those criteria, locate the appropriate professionals within them, and create an audience that can be activated across marketing and sales channels.
Instead of reaching a broad market, the company focuses its resources on the businesses and people most relevant to its solution.
KEY TAKEAWAY
B2B data gives marketers the information needed to identify the right companies, reach the right professionals, and turn audience intelligence into more precise marketing and sales strategies.
Related Glossary Terms
- B2B2C Data
- Audience Data
- Audience Segmentation
- Audience Enrichment
- Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
- Intent Data
- Identity Resolution
- Data Activation
About Paula Chiocchi
Paula Chiocchi is the Founder and CEO of Outward Media, Inc. and host of B2B Influence: Spotlight on Industry Game-Changers, with decades of experience in data-driven marketing.