How to Use Firmographic Data to Build a Target Account List

If you’re not desperately interested in defining and evolving your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), then your strategy is going to be wildly off-course. But you need to turn that profile into an actual list of companies you want to target. How?

Last week I went through an approach that I use. It relies on three weighted pillars of account scoring: firmographic, receptivity, and readiness. Let’s start with the most common method of scoring or filtering accounts: firmographic data. This is what you might expect to first see in legacy data vendors – and often it’s their only approach.

Despite it being “traditional”, it’s a vital part of your account scoring. By narrowing your account list, you can concentrate your messaging and spending more effectively. So, here are questions you can ask as you go through the main filters:

Geography: Can you adequately service companies in certain regions? Maybe you need a physical presence to service or install your product. Perhaps there are regulatory restrictions that prevent you from operating effectively in a region. Or, are there growth differences across markets that make one more compelling than another?

Employee Count: Ask whether certain sizes of companies make better customers. Too small of a company may not generate enough revenue for you to pay back acquisition costs. Too large of a company may not be serviceable for you owing to their more complex needs. Or maybe only large companies are likely to experience the pain you solve. Consider size as an important gate depending on the value you provide.

Revenue: Employee count and revenue can be proxies for each other around the size of the company. Not perfectly, but it’s helpful, particularly if you’re targeting private companies that don’t publish revenue data.

Industry: A classic bowling pin strategy focuses on one industry, solves its challenges, speaks to its pains, gains enthusiasts, and then goes to the next industry. You might have a hypothesis about which industries are likely buyers. Or, you might have an industry-specific solution.

However, be cautious in using industry because there are plenty of cross-over accounts. A company that provides booking solutions for hotels: is it a software company, a hospitality company, a platform provider, or a fintech company? Look for tools that don’t only rely on SIC codes but also offer multi-industry tags or selections.

Funding: Whether a company is public or private will impact on your account selection. Their different governance models, regulatory challenges, and transparency can mark a major split between what is prioritized. If those are pains that you focus on, this can be vital. Also, consider the amount and type of funding they’ve received (venture, debt, etc.). Higher funding, particularly from venture firms can increase growth pressures, and so their purchases will differ.

Next up, I’ll take a look at the ‘receptivity’ bucket of account scoring. The weirdest of them all.