B2B data, or business-to-business data, refers to any information that benefits B2B companies, particularly their sales, marketing, and revenue operations teams. This data includes account and contact information for company decision-makers with purchasing power, and is essential for activities such as lead generation, outbound sales, and analytics, ultimately leading to more effective and efficient revenue generation.
There are five essential types of B2B data:
Leveraging B2B data for sales success involves a combination of strategies and best practices. To make the most of your B2B data, consider the following:
Ensuring the accuracy of B2B data is crucial for effective sales and marketing efforts. To maintain data accuracy, businesses should consider the following techniques:
B2B data privacy and compliance issues are increasingly important as businesses collect and utilize data to enhance their sales and marketing efforts. Adhering to data privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is crucial to avoid potential financial and reputational damage.
To address these challenges, businesses should implement strict data storage guidelines and data governance practices to minimize the risk of data breaches and ensure the privacy and safety of the data they access.
Lead routing is the automated process of distributing incoming leads to the right sales reps based on predefined criteria.
The lead qualification process is how you determine which prospects are most likely to become customers by evaluating them against specific criteria.
Email engagement measures how your audience interacts with your emails. It includes key actions like opens, clicks, replies, and forwards.
Funnel optimization is the process of improving each stage of the customer journey to maximize conversions and drive revenue growth.
Database management is the process of organizing, storing, and maintaining data in a database to ensure its accuracy, security, and availability.
A commission is a service charge paid to an agent for a transaction. It's typically a percentage of the sale, rewarding performance directly.
Cohort analysis is a behavioral analytics tool that groups users with common traits to track their actions and engagement over time.
Learn about B2B, including what is it, its key elements, the benefits of B2B partnerships, the differences between B2B and B2C, and strategies for effective marketing.
Functional testing verifies that software performs its intended functions as specified in the requirements, ensuring it works as users expect.
Learn about big data, including understanding big data characteristics, benefits of leveraging big data, & challenges in managing big data.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are websites that look and feel like native mobile apps, offering features like offline access and push notifications.
Workflow automation uses rule-based logic to run a sequence of tasks that would otherwise require manual human effort to complete.
Serviceable Available Market (SAM) is the segment of the total market that your business can realistically serve within its geographical reach.
A competitive advantage is a unique edge that allows a business to produce goods or services better or more cheaply than its rivals.
Voice search optimization is the process of optimizing your content, SEO, and online listings to appear in and rank for voice-based searches.
The Dark Funnel describes customer buying activities that are untrackable by companies, such as private chats and word-of-mouth referrals.
A drip campaign is a series of automated messages sent to prospects or customers over time to nurture leads and drive engagement.
Sales team management is the process of leading, coaching, and motivating a sales team to achieve its sales goals and drive revenue growth.
WordPress is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) that allows you to easily create, manage, and publish websites and blogs.
Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy for managing all of a company's relationships and interactions with its customers.
An account is a company or organization that you're targeting for sales. It can be a prospective, current, or even a past customer.
A complex sale features a long sales cycle, multiple stakeholders, and a high-value transaction, demanding a strategic, consultative approach.
A Master Service Agreement (MSA) is a foundational contract that sets the general terms for an ongoing business relationship between two parties.
A performance plan is a formal document outlining an employee's goals, expectations, and metrics for success over a specific period.
Inventory management is the process of ordering, storing, and using a company's inventory, from raw materials to finished goods.
Marketo is a marketing automation platform used by B2B marketers to manage lead generation, nurturing, email marketing, and analytics.
The consideration buying stage is where potential customers have defined their problem and are now actively researching and evaluating solutions.
GPCTBA/C&I is a sales qualification framework for understanding a prospect's goals, plans, challenges, timeline, budget, and authority.
Contract management is the process of creating, executing, and analyzing contracts to maximize performance and minimize financial risk.
Customer engagement is the ongoing, value-driven relationship a business builds with its customers to foster brand loyalty and awareness.
Customer data analysis is the process of examining customer information to uncover insights that drive business decisions and improve experiences.
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is technology that controls access to copyrighted digital content, restricting its use, modification, and distribution.
Lead qualification is the process of determining which prospects are most likely to become paying customers based on predefined criteria.
Revenue intelligence is the process of collecting and analyzing customer data to provide insights that help sales teams make smarter decisions.
Learn about B2B data platform, including key benefits of B2B data platforms, choosing the right B2B data platform, challenges in implementing B2B data platforms.
Video selling uses personalized video messages to engage prospects, build rapport, and guide them through the sales funnel to close more deals.
A sales stack is the suite of tech tools—from CRMs to prospecting software—that sales reps use to close deals faster and more efficiently.
A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a prospect who has shown interest based on marketing efforts but isn't yet ready for a sales conversation.
Corporate identity is the visual and verbal persona of a company, encompassing its logo, color palette, communication style, and core values.
A sales quota is a time-bound sales goal for a rep or team, measured in revenue or units sold, to be met within a specific period.
Call analytics is the practice of analyzing phone call data to extract insights, track key metrics, and improve overall business performance.
Learn about bulk API, including how it works, the advantages of using it, common use cases, and tips for optimizing it.
Psychographics categorizes people by their attitudes, interests, and lifestyles, revealing the 'why' behind their purchasing decisions.
A hybrid sales model blends traditional and digital sales methods to engage customers across multiple channels and buying preferences.
A Data Management Platform (DMP) is a software that collects and organizes audience data from various sources for targeted marketing efforts.
Learn about brand awareness, including understanding its importance, building an effective strategy, key metrics to track, & examples in the real world.
Multi-channel marketing uses various platforms—like email, social media, and direct mail—to engage with customers wherever they are.
Clustering is the technique of grouping similar items. In sales, it means segmenting leads by shared traits to better personalize outreach.
A headless CMS is a back-end content repository that delivers content via API to any front-end, decoupling the content from its presentation layer.
Unit economics are the direct revenues and costs of a business calculated on a per-unit basis, revealing its fundamental profitability.
Net 30 is a common payment term where a client has 30 calendar days from the invoice date to pay for goods or services in full.
The buyer's journey maps the path a potential customer takes, from first becoming aware of a problem to making a final purchase decision.
SFDC stands for Salesforce Dot Com, a popular cloud-based CRM platform that helps companies manage their customer interactions and data.
The Challenger Sales Model is a sales approach where reps challenge a customer's thinking by teaching, tailoring, and taking control of the sale.
Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication method allowing users to access multiple applications with one set of login credentials.
Marketing automation uses software to automate repetitive marketing tasks, such as email marketing, social media posting, and ad campaigns.
Signaling is using credible actions to convey information about quality or intent to a less-informed party, effectively building trust.
"Smile and dial" is a high-volume sales tactic where reps make numerous cold calls from a list, often with little to no prior research.
A marketing attribution model is a framework for assigning credit to the marketing touchpoints that lead a customer to convert.
Lightning Components is a UI framework for building dynamic web apps for mobile and desktop devices on the Salesforce Lightning Platform.
Subscription models are a business strategy where customers pay a recurring fee at regular intervals for access to a product or service.
Sales workflows are a set of automated actions that streamline the sales process, helping teams engage leads consistently and close deals faster.
Low-hanging fruit are the most obvious and easy-to-tackle tasks or goals that provide a quick, valuable return for minimal effort.
Outside sales reps sell products/services in person, traveling to meet clients and close deals face-to-face, outside of a traditional office.
Pipeline coverage is a key sales metric. It's the ratio of your total open pipeline value to your sales quota for a specific period.
Cost Per Click (CPC) is a digital advertising model where an advertiser pays a fee each time one of their ads gets clicked by a user.
Firmographic data is information used to classify firms. It includes attributes like industry, employee count, location, and annual revenue.
Application Performance Management (APM) monitors and manages an application's performance, availability, and the experience of its end-users.
Sales training is the process of honing a salesperson's skills and knowledge to enhance their effectiveness and drive sales success.
Learn about buyer intent, including understanding buyer intent signals, strategies to capture buyer intent, & buyer intent vs. customer interest.
A lead magnet is a free incentive offered to potential customers in exchange for their contact details, like an email, to generate sales leads.
Product recommendations are a marketing strategy that uses customer data to suggest relevant products, boosting sales and customer engagement.
A Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is the page displayed by a search engine after a user enters a query, listing results ranked by relevance.
Prospecting is the process of identifying potential customers, or prospects, to build a sales pipeline and generate new business opportunities.
A marketing budget breakdown is a detailed plan that allocates your total marketing funds across various channels, campaigns, and activities.
Smarketing is the process of aligning your sales and marketing teams. This integration focuses on shared goals to improve lead quality and drive revenue.
Guided selling simplifies complex sales by giving reps step-by-step instructions and data-driven recommendations to close deals faster.
Serverless computing is a cloud model where the provider manages servers, so developers can focus on code without worrying about infrastructure.
Cost Per Impression (CPI) is the price an advertiser pays for each time their ad is displayed to a user, irrespective of clicks.
Customer retention refers to the strategies and activities a company uses to prevent customer churn and encourage them to continue buying.
Learn about buyer intent data, including sourcing and interpreting buyer intent data, & key metrics in buyer intent analysis.
Key accounts are a company's most valuable customers, vital due to their significant revenue contribution and strategic importance for growth.
Data privacy is an individual's right to control their personal information, including how it's collected, processed, stored, and shared.
SQL (Structured Query Language) is the standard language for managing and querying data within relational databases.
CPM, or Cost Per Mille, is a key advertising metric. It's the cost an advertiser pays for one thousand views or impressions of a single ad.
Multi-touch attribution is a marketing analytics method that credits multiple touchpoints on the customer journey for a conversion.
Sales pipeline velocity is a metric that measures how quickly deals move through your sales funnel to generate revenue for your business.
A messaging strategy defines what your brand says, how it says it, and where it says it to connect effectively with your target audience.
Intent data tracks a user's online behavior—like searches and site visits—to identify signals that they are ready to make a purchase.
Demographic segmentation divides a market into groups based on traits like age, gender, and income, allowing for more targeted marketing efforts.
ABM orchestration aligns marketing and sales actions across channels to deliver seamless, personalized experiences to high-value accounts.
A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is a prospect vetted by marketing and sales, deemed ready for a direct sales pitch after showing intent to buy.
Integration testing is a software testing phase where individual modules are combined and tested together to verify their interaction.
Mid-market companies are businesses larger than small businesses but smaller than large enterprises, often defined by revenue or employee size.
Private labeling is when a company rebrands a product made by a third-party manufacturer and sells it as their own.
Sales metrics are quantifiable data points that track and measure a sales team's performance against specific goals and objectives.
Revenue Operations (RevOps) is a business function that aligns a company's sales, marketing, and customer service teams to drive predictable revenue.
Google Analytics is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic, offering insights into user behavior and marketing effectiveness.
Dynamic segments are self-updating lists that group contacts based on real-time data, ensuring your outreach is always timely and relevant.
Analytics platforms are tools that collect and analyze data from various sources, helping businesses track key metrics and make informed decisions.