In our previous post on firmographic data, we understood what the process of firmographics entails. We also saw how you can use firmographic data to enrich your business’ sales intelligence.
We now move on to studying a few firmographic data examples that can help you better understand the process in detail, and help you reach your ICP Ideal Customer Profile.
But how can I get firmographic data? Glad you asked!
Download this Chrome Extension and get access to firmographics data along with buying intent and technographic data from your prospects’ websites. You can use the extension to find and qualify leads as well. The First 100 emails are free.
Now that we can easily decipher between the different firmographic variables that play a role in an industrial buyer’s decision-making, it may be worth looking into the following firmographic data examples. This should help you integrate the same into your business’s sales and marketing efforts.
Firmographic Data Examples
The following is a list of firmographic variables that influence consumer decision making and a few firmographic examples of the same.
1. Industry – Targeting the right industries
The industry from which the buyer’s firm operates can play a large role in how your sales campaign might be designed. Your business’s product or service might serve the needs of only a certain industry or sector while other industries may not have any use for it.
Let’s take a look at the following firmographic segmentation examples on the basis of industry:
Example 1
For this example, let’s assume that you’re trying to market a restaurant management system. As your product is extremely specific, it is quite straightforward that your ad must be designed to appeal to an individual that can influence the decision making of a business in the restaurant industry. Only those businesses in the restaurant industry may have a use for your restaurant management system. It would hence be logical only to target them.
Through firmographics, you can obtain key details such as information about
- Important decision makers at different restaurants.
- Credentials of those looking for restaurant management solutions or those that are not happy with their current restaurant management system.
- Contact details of owners, managers and key employees that influence restaurant decision making, and much more.
Firmographics can also provide your sales team with cues that will help you predict your next customer. This in turn will help you optimize your platforms and pitches. It will also ensure that the next restaurant you approach makes a decision in your favor.
Example 2
In a similar example, let’s say you’re a business that sells a POS system that also serves, but is not confined to, businesses in the restaurant industry. Your product isn’t as specific as a restaurant management system. As a result, your platforms, sales and marketing endeavours will necessitate a greater amount of detail to appeal to the appropriate audiences.
In the above example, the interface of the POS website is designed keeping in mind the industry variable. It caters to all necessary industries that may have a use for its software — restaurants, retail and other service industries.
2. Location – How location affects your product’s demand
Where your targeted firms hail from can play a major role in defining your marketing and sales efforts. Firmographics give you important insights that can help you boost conversions and avoid mishaps. Some of them include population density, colloquial language, cultural aspects including those that govern color and semantics and other location firmographic variables.
The following firmographic data examples for Location should give you a better idea.
Example 1
Upwork, a platform for businesses to hire freelancers, spent a sizable amount of their advertising budget on hoardings and digital billboard ads around business districts across New York City.
New York City being one of the largest business capitals in the world, is a practical location for a freelancing platform like Upwork to grab the attention of key people across businesses that could seek the use of their platform.
All of the vast number of businesses across New York City could possibly have some utility for Upwork’s service. Firmographics can identify the optimal locations for your business to focus its sales and marketing efforts among other location based cues. This can help your business maximize its conversions through data-backed decision making.
Example 2
Another firmographic segmentation example for location is the following campaign by New York based food delivery service, Seamless. Seamless caters to individuals who don’t have enough time or are too lazy to cook their own meals. The colossal number of corporate employees that are too lazy or can’t find time to cook their own food in a business capital like New York is an ideal proposition for a food delivery service like Seamless.
The ads are designed using a recurring theme centered around New York and its culture. This makes it relatable for consumers in the location and thereby more appealing to them.
3. Size – How size firmographics can help you segment your customers
Depending on whether you choose to measure business size using the number of employees they have or the revenue they generate, size firmographic variables can make or break a particular firm’s demand for your product or service.
Example 1
The following is an example of sponsored content that promotes accounting softwares for large businesses. The content appropriates a list of sponsors that would best suit the accounting needs of a large business.
Firmographics can be used to define what company size would best suit your business’s specific sales efforts. It also points you towards avenues through which you can reach converting industrial consumers of that size.
Example 2
Another example is the following MasterCard campaign that targets small businesses.
Segmenting consumers appropriately based on their size can give you a lot of information to create high-yielding, personalised sales pitches and marketing campaigns. Firmographics can help you accurately predict your next customer and avoid chasing baseless leads that eat up your business’s resources.
4. Status and Structure – How inter firm relationships and structure can define product demand
Status firmographic data classifies firms based on their relationships with other firms. Franchisor and franchisee firms or parent and subsidiary firms are examples of status based firmographic segmentation.
Example 1
The above is an example of how Oath integrates its subsidiary businesses like Yahoo and HuffPost into its website’s interface. Oath was formed in 2017 after Verizon decided to merge AOL and Yahoo. Being relatively new, people might only be able to recognise what the company stands for by learning about its subsidiaries. It would thus be practical for Oath to market itself through identification with its well-known subsidiaries rather than as a standalone.
Example 2
Structure based firmographic segmentation involves segmenting firms based on their legal status. For instance, firms may be segmented into Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) or business corporations.
The following is a table that shows you the differences between different company structures.
Different structures signify the different ways in which firms operate, how their managements function, who makes what decisions and other such details. Segmenting industrial consumers based on structural firmographic variables can help you tailor your sales and marketing efforts towards only those industrial buyers that are likely to purchase your product or service.
Now for the final one of our firmographic segmentation examples.
5. Performance – Why performance matters when segmenting your audience
The performance of a firm can determine their demand for your product. Various indicators such as financial statements, customer reviews and revenue fluctuations can be assessed before assigning consumers into specific actionable segments.
Example
The above is an example of an online reputation management platform catering to companies that may be worried about poor online reviews, indicating poor performance and growing bounce rates. Your product or service might be useful to a poorly performing company or one that is doing extremely well, each requiring different approaches. Performance based segmentation can thereby help you predict whether a consumer is worth pursuing or not.
Will these firmographic data examples help you reach your ICP?
We hope these firmographic data examples helped you gain a better understanding about what firmographic segmentation entails. In addition to firmographics, technographics and psychographics can help you enhance your sales intelligence and predict your future customers with the utmost accuracy.
From UI design cues and personalized sponsored content to ad and PR campaigns, the combination of these sales intelligence indicators can provide crucial information. This can help your business optimize its sales and marketing efforts, boosting conversions and drastically reducing the wastage of resources, effort and time.
