5 Ways Firmographic Data Improves Lead Scoring

Want to boost your B2B marketing? Firmographic data is your secret weapon. Here’s how it can supercharge your lead scoring:

Company Size: Match your approach to employee count and revenue
Industry Matching: Focus on sectors that fit your offerings
Revenue and Growth: Spot high-potential leads with solid financials
Location Data: Find market opportunities and tailor your outreach
Data System Setup: Use tools to gather and apply firmographic insights

Firmographic data is like a company’s ID card. It tells you:

How big the company is
What industry they’re in
How much money they’re making
Where they’re located
Who owns the company
How fast they’re growing

Why care? Because using this data can seriously level up your lead scoring game. Businesses using data-driven personalization have seen their ROI jump by 5-8 times.

Ready to put firmographic data to work? Let’s dive in.

What is Firmographic Data?

Think of firmographic data as a company’s ID card. It’s the business equivalent of demographics, but instead of telling you about people, it spills the beans on organizations.

Firmographic data is a goldmine for B2B marketers and sales teams. It helps them pinpoint their ideal customers by providing key details about companies. Here’s what it typically includes:

Company size (employee count)
Industry
Revenue
Location
Ownership structure
Growth rate

Why does this matter for B2B lead scoring? Simple: it’s like having a cheat sheet that shows you which leads are worth chasing.

By using firmographic data, you can:

Spot high-value targets that match your ideal customer profile
Customize your pitch for specific industries or company sizes
Focus on leads most likely to convert

Here’s a real-world example:

"At Salesforce, we use firmographic data to segment our audience and create targeted marketing campaigns. By focusing on mid-sized tech companies with rapid growth rates, we saw a 35% increase in qualified leads and a 20% boost in conversion rates within six months." – Brent Leary, CRM Industry Analyst

1. Using Company Size Data

Company size data can turbocharge your B2B lead scoring. It’s simple: employee numbers and revenue tell you which leads are hot and match your ideal customer.

Why does size matter? Three reasons:

Big companies often have fat wallets and complex needs.
Size helps you tailor your approach and use resources wisely.
Your product might be perfect for certain-sized companies.

Let’s see how to use this data:

Build a Scoring Model

Create a point system based on company size. Here’s a quick example:

Employee Count	Points	Annual Revenue	Points
1-50	10	<$1 million	10
51-200	20	$1-10 million	20
201-500	30	$10-50 million	30
501-1000	40	$50-100 million	40
1001+	50	$100+ million	50

This lets you quickly gauge a lead’s potential value.

Get the Data

You need the right info to make this work. Here’s how to get it:

Add company size and revenue fields to your forms. Be smart about which ones are must-fill.
Use tools like Clearbit or ZoomInfo to fill in the blanks automatically.
Get your sales team to update size info when they talk to leads.

Make It Personal

Now use that data to customize your approach:

Create content for different company sizes. Show them case studies of similar companies.
Tweak your sales pitch. Startups might love scalability, while big firms care about integration.
Send your best leads to sales ASAP.

Real-World Wisdom

Mark Osborne, founder of Modern Revenue Strategies, drops this gem:

"Track external company data on new leadership, M&A activity, new investments, or PR crises. It helps you understand the company’s current situation and how you fit in. This uncovers potential for long-term, profitable deals."

This takes you beyond just size, helping you spot growth chances and nail your pitch.

Keep Improving

Don’t set and forget your scoring. Analyze what works, see which leads convert, and tweak your system. It’s an ongoing process.

2. Matching Industry Types

Matching industry types can supercharge your lead scoring strategy. It’s like having a secret weapon to spot your best potential customers.

Not all industries are equal when it comes to your product or service. Some are hot leads, others are just lukewarm. Using firmographic data to match industry types helps you focus where it counts.

Why Industry Matching Matters

If you’re selling enterprise software, a tech startup is probably a better fit than a local bakery. By giving higher scores to leads from industries that match your offerings, you’re creating a shortcut to your ideal customers.

Creating Your Industry Scoring Model

Here’s how to build an effective industry-based scoring model:

List out industries most likely to need your product or service.
Check your customer data. Which industries convert best? Which become long-term, high-value clients?
Create a point system based on industry fit. For example:

Industry Fit	Points
High-fit	30
Medium-fit	20
Low-fit	10

Use your CRM or marketing automation tool to automatically assign these scores.
Regularly check and adjust your model’s performance.

Real-World Success

TeamBuilding, a company that hosts team-building activities, focused on two key attributes: group size and event date. They used custom fields in their contact forms to gather this data and prioritize leads.

By zeroing in on these industry-specific details, TeamBuilding quickly identified and focused on the leads most likely to convert, boosting their sales efficiency.

"The more detailed your buyer persona and buyer journey description is, the more accurate your lead scoring will be."

Don’t just stop at broad industry categories. Dig into sub-industries or niches for even more precise targeting.

3. Checking Revenue and Growth

Revenue and growth are key indicators when scoring leads. They help you spot potential high-value customers.

Why? Companies with strong finances and rapid growth are more likely to invest in your offerings. They’ve got the budget and the need for solutions to support their expansion.

Let’s break it down:

Revenue: The Starting Point

A company’s revenue gives you a snapshot of their purchasing power. Here’s a simple scoring system:

Annual Revenue	Points
<$1 million	10
$1-10 million	20
$10-50 million	30
$50-100 million	40
$100+ million	50

But revenue is just part of the story. Growth tells you the rest.

Growth: The Game-Changer

A company growing at 20% yearly has different needs than one growing at 5%. Consider adding points for growth:

20%+ yearly: 30 points
10-20% yearly: 20 points
<10% yearly: 10 points

Real Results

Michael Alexis, CEO of TeamBuilding, saw the impact firsthand:

"After we started scoring leads based on revenue and growth rate, our monthly revenue tripled. We focused on leads most likely to become high-value customers."

Putting It Together

Imagine a tech company with 300 employees, $25 million in revenue, and high growth. They might score:

Revenue ($25 million): 30 points
Growth (high): 30 points

Total: 60 points

This high score suggests a lead worth chasing.

Pro Tip: Look beyond current revenue. Recent funding or new product launches can signal future growth.

Keep Improving

Don’t set your scoring model in stone. Review and adjust based on which leads actually convert. As MadKudu suggests:

"Study your revenue history. Which leads closed smoothly? What do they have in common?"

Use these insights to fine-tune your model over time.

4. Looking at Location Data

Location data packs a punch in lead scoring. It’s your secret weapon for spotting market opportunities and qualifying leads based on where they’re at. Let’s dig into how you can use this key firmographic info to supercharge your B2B marketing.

Why Location Matters

A company’s location tells you a lot about its potential value. It affects:

Market conditions
Regulations
Culture
Economy

Use location data to fine-tune your approach and zero in on the best leads.

Scoring Based on Location

Here’s a quick way to add location to your lead scoring:

Location Relevance	Points
High-priority region	30
Medium-priority region	20
Low-priority region	10

Tweak these scores to fit your business and target markets.

Real-World Success

Take Driveline Retail Merchandising. They scored leads by location before reaching out. The result? A $1.5 million deal and contracts worth $3 million.

"Lead scoring drives revenue growth. When we started scoring leads based on attributes like location, our monthly revenue tripled." – Michael Alexis, CEO of TeamBuilding

Actionable Strategies

Use IP geolocation or ask for location on lead forms. This gives you solid data to work with.

Visualize your leads on a map. You might spot patterns or untapped markets.

Customize your messages for different regions. IBM does this, adjusting their offerings to fit local business practices and laws.

If you’re global, factor in time zones when planning follow-ups.

Use location data to serve up more relevant content and ads. It can seriously boost engagement and conversions.

Location data isn’t just about HQ addresses. It helps you understand market reach, spot expansion opportunities, and gauge product needs.

5. Setting Up Your Data System

Let’s get your data system ready to use firmographic data for better lead scoring. Here’s how to do it:

Getting and Adding Data

To use firmographic data, you need to collect it and add it to your CRM. Here’s the process:

1. Pick your key data points

Focus on what matters to your business. This could be company size, industry, location, or revenue.

2. Use multiple sources

Mix your CRM data with info from places like Dun & Bradstreet, Hoovers, or ZoomInfo.

3. Collect data smartly

Use IP geolocation, add fields to your lead forms, and get your sales team to update info when they talk to leads.

4. Connect to your CRM

Link your data sources to your CRM for automatic updates. Here’s how to do it with Apollo:

Open Apollo
Go to Data Enrichment > CRM
Search for contacts or accounts
Pick the records and click Enrich records
Check and confirm the process

5. Keep your data clean

Update and check your data regularly. Companies change, so your data needs to keep up.

"Collecting firmographic data isn’t a one-and-done job. You need to keep at it to make sure your data stays accurate."

Software for Lead Scoring

The right tools can make lead scoring a lot easier. Here are some good options:

1. Salesmate

Costs: Basic ($23/user/month), Pro ($39/user/month), Business ($63/user/month)
What it does: AI, custom scoring models, CRM integration

2. HubSpot

Costs: Free Plan ($0), Starter Plan ($15/month/seat), Professional Plan ($800/month)
What it does: Full CRM, marketing automation, detailed analytics

3. Clearbit

Costs: Starts at $99/month for enrichment
What it does: Real-time data enrichment, big firmographic database

When picking a tool, think about:

How it fits with your current tech
If you can customize the scoring
If it uses AI to predict things
If it’s worth the money and can grow with you

The goal is to make lead scoring easier and faster. For example, with Salespanel, you can set up rules like:

Give 10 points to leads from countries you’re targeting
Add 20 points for companies with 200-500 employees
Give 30 points for C-level or VP contacts

These rules help you focus on the leads that are most likely to turn into customers.

Next Steps

Let’s put firmographic data to work in your lead scoring. Here’s how it can boost your B2B lead generation:

Company Size: Match your approach to employee count and revenue
Industry Matching: Zero in on sectors that fit your offerings
Revenue and Growth: Spot high-potential leads with solid financials
Location Data: Find market opportunities and tailor your outreach
Data System Setup: Use tools to gather and apply firmographic insights

Ready to take action? Here’s what to do:

Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Sketch out your perfect customer. This will shape your firmographic scoring and help you target the best leads.

Set Up a Solid Lead Scoring System

Pick a lead scoring tool that plays nice with your CRM. Salesmate offers AI-powered models from $23/user/month, while HubSpot’s Professional Plan goes for $800/month.

Keep Your Model Fresh

Don’t set it and forget it. Check how your model performs and tweak it based on real results. This keeps your scoring accurate and effective.

Get Sales and Marketing on the Same Page

Make sure both teams get and agree on your firmographic scoring criteria. When everyone’s aligned, you’ll see better results.

Fill in the Data Gaps

Think about using tools like Clearbit (starts at $99/month) to automatically beef up your firmographic data and keep it current.

Make It Personal

Use your firmographic insights to craft targeted, personalized campaigns. Remember:

Personalized emails can bump up open rates by 29% and click-through rates by 41%.