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.
Conversational intelligence (CI) is AI technology that analyzes customer conversations to find insights that help sales and support teams improve.
Warm outreach is contacting prospects with whom you have a pre-existing connection, like a mutual contact, making your message more personal and effective.
A Salesforce Administrator is a certified professional who manages and customizes the Salesforce platform to meet a company's specific business needs.
Enrichment is the process of adding third-party data to your existing customer profiles to get a more complete picture of your leads.
Marketing metrics are quantifiable values that marketing teams use to measure and track the performance of their campaigns and efforts.
Average Order Value (AOV) tracks the average dollar amount spent each time a customer places an order on your website or mobile app.
An on-premise CRM is a system hosted on a company's own servers, offering complete control over data, security, and system maintenance.
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.
Objection handling is the process of responding to a prospect's concerns or hesitations about a product or service to move a deal forward.
A sales pitch is a persuasive presentation of a product or service, aimed at convincing a potential customer to make a purchase.
Price optimization is the process of finding the ideal price for a product or service to maximize profitability or other business objectives.
Lead response time is the duration between a potential customer showing interest and your team's first point of contact with them.
Call analytics is the practice of analyzing phone call data to extract insights, track key metrics, and improve overall business performance.
Marketo is a marketing automation platform used by B2B marketers to manage lead generation, nurturing, email marketing, and analytics.
Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) measures the revenue generated by a marketing campaign relative to the cost of that campaign.
Predictive lead scoring uses AI to analyze data and rank leads by their likelihood to convert, helping sales teams prioritize their efforts.
A talk track is a script that guides sales reps during calls. It ensures they cover key points and maintain a consistent message with prospects.
A positioning statement is a concise description of your target market and how your product or service uniquely fills their needs.
Sales and marketing analytics involves measuring and analyzing performance data to maximize effectiveness and optimize return on investment (ROI).
Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a business strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, conversion, and expansion.
Sales objections are reasons or concerns raised by a potential customer as to why they are hesitant or unwilling to make a purchase.
A landing page is a standalone web page created for a marketing campaign. It’s where a visitor “lands” after clicking an ad or email link.
HubSpot is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform with tools for marketing, sales, and service, all aimed at helping businesses grow.
Workflow automation uses rule-based logic to run a sequence of tasks that would otherwise require manual human effort to complete.
SQL (Structured Query Language) is the standard language for managing and querying data within relational databases.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated phone system that uses voice and keypad inputs to interact with callers and route their calls.
The consideration buying stage is where potential customers have defined their problem and are now actively researching and evaluating solutions.
Learn about B2B marketing attribution, including challenges in B2B marketing attribution, & key metrics for effective attribution.
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software application that manages your entire hiring and recruitment process from a single dashboard.
Learn about BANT framework, including implementing BANT in sales strategy, advantages of the BANT methodology, & BANT vs. other qualification models.
A use case is a detailed description of how a user interacts with a system to achieve a specific goal, outlining the steps from start to finish.
Outbound leads are potential customers a business proactively contacts through outreach like cold calls, emails, or social media.
Audience targeting is the process of segmenting consumers into specific groups to deliver more personalized and relevant marketing messages.
Webhooks are automated messages sent by an app when a specific event occurs. They push real-time data to another app's unique URL.
A performance plan is a formal document outlining an employee's goals, expectations, and metrics for success over a specific period.
Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization, motivating them to contribute to the company's success.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal document that outlines a project's needs and invites qualified vendors to submit bids to complete it.
Churn, also known as customer attrition, is the rate at which customers stop doing business with a company over a given period.
Learn about B2B demand generation, including strategies for effective B2B demand generation, & key components of a demand generation program.
Sales Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable metrics used to measure how effectively a sales team is achieving its key objectives.
Account-based advertising is a hyper-focused B2B strategy that targets key accounts with personalized ads across multiple channels.
AI data enrichment uses artificial intelligence to automatically enhance and update raw data, making it more complete, accurate, and valuable.
A nurture campaign is a series of automated messages designed to build relationships with potential customers and guide them toward a purchase.
User interaction is any action a user takes within a digital interface, like clicking a button, scrolling a page, or filling out a form.
Load balancing is the practice of distributing incoming network traffic across a group of backend servers, ensuring no single server is overworked.
Personalization is the practice of using data to tailor products, services, or content to an individual's specific needs and preferences.
A version control system (VCS) tracks changes to files over time, allowing you to recall specific versions and collaborate without conflicts.
Deal closing is the final step in a sales cycle. It's when a prospect signs a contract and officially converts into a paying customer.
A hybrid sales model blends traditional and digital sales methods to engage customers across multiple channels and buying preferences.
A sales plan template is a reusable document that outlines your sales strategy, goals, and tactics, providing a clear roadmap for your team.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are websites that look and feel like native mobile apps, offering features like offline access and push notifications.
A drip campaign is a series of automated messages sent to prospects or customers over time to nurture leads and drive engagement.
Data visualization is the practice of translating information into a visual context, like a map or graph, to make data easier to understand.
Learn about bottom of the funnel, including maximizing conversions at the funnel's end, & strategies for nurturing bottom-funnel leads.
An enterprise is a large-scale organization, often a corporation, defined by its complex structure and substantial number of employees.
Digital analytics is the analysis of data from digital channels to understand user behavior and optimize online experiences for business goals.
The open rate is the percentage of recipients who opened an email. It's a primary indicator of a subject line's effectiveness.
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.
Revenue forecasting is the process of estimating a company's future revenue, using historical data and market trends to guide strategic planning.
A digital strategy outlines how your business will use online channels, data, and technology to achieve its goals and connect with customers.
Outbound sales is when reps proactively contact potential customers through cold calls or emails to generate leads and build a sales pipeline.
Cross-selling is a sales tactic of encouraging customers to purchase products or services that are related to what they're already buying.
Performance monitoring involves collecting and analyzing data to track a system's operational health and efficiency, ensuring it meets set standards.
Lead enrichment tools are platforms that automatically add missing data to your leads, like contact info, firmographics, and buying signals.
CRM hygiene involves regularly cleaning and updating your customer data to ensure your CRM system remains a powerful and reliable tool.
On-Target Earnings (OTE) is a salesperson's total potential pay, combining base salary and commission for hitting their sales quota.
Cold calling is a sales technique where reps contact potential customers who have had no prior interaction with their company or product.
Territory management is the process of segmenting customers into groups by geography or other factors to optimize sales efforts and resources.
Mobile optimization adapts your website to ensure visitors on smartphones and tablets have a seamless, user-friendly experience.
Digital advertising is the practice of delivering promotional content to users through various online and digital channels like social media or search engines.
A sales bundle groups multiple products or services into a single offering, often at a discounted price to provide greater value to customers.
Funnel analysis is a method for understanding the steps users take to complete a goal, revealing where they drop off in the conversion process.
Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in code, allowing developers to collaborate and manage project history effectively.
Opportunity management is the process of tracking potential sales from first contact to a closed deal, helping teams prioritize and win more.
An early adopter is a user who embraces a new product or technology before the majority, helping to validate and popularize the innovation.
An Account Development Representative (ADR) identifies and qualifies new business opportunities, creating a pipeline for account executives.
Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) measures the mean annual growth of an investment over a specified period of time longer than one year.
Edge locations are globally distributed data centers that cache content close to users, reducing latency and delivering web content much faster.
Sales Engineers blend deep technical knowledge with sales acumen, demonstrating a product's value and solving customer problems to drive revenue.
A warm email is a message sent to a prospect with whom you have a pre-existing connection, like a mutual contact or a prior interaction.
CRM data is the information businesses use to manage customer relationships. It covers contact details, purchase history, and communication logs.
Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) is a query language used to search your organization's Salesforce data for specific information.
Multi-threading allows a single CPU core to run multiple independent threads (or tasks) at the same time, boosting efficiency and performance.
Pipeline management is the process of tracking and managing potential customers as they move through the different stages of your sales process.
A Request for Quotation (RFQ) is a document that a company sends to one or more suppliers to get a quote for specific products or services.
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.
Average Revenue per Account (ARPA) is the average revenue generated from each customer account, usually measured on a monthly or annual basis.
“No Spam” is a commitment to sending only relevant, solicited messages. It means avoiding bulk, unwanted emails to respect the recipient's inbox.
A sales kickoff (SKO) is an annual event for a sales team to celebrate wins, align on goals, and get motivated for the upcoming year.
Warm outbound is a sales strategy for contacting prospects who've shown interest in your brand through prior engagement, like website visits.
Lead enrichment software adds crucial data to your leads, like contact info and firmographics, to help you better understand and engage them.
A Statement of Work (SoW) is a document that outlines a project's scope, deliverables, and timeline. It acts as a contract between parties.
Dynamic territories are fluid sales assignments that adjust based on real-time data, ensuring reps can focus on the highest-value accounts.
Learn about B2B buyer intent data, including sources and types of buyer intent data, & key benefits of leveraging buyer intent data.
Customer Retention Rate (CRR) is the metric that measures the percentage of customers a company has kept over a specific period of time.
A sales sequence is a series of automated touchpoints sent to prospects over time to guide them through the sales funnel.
Low-hanging fruit are the most obvious and easy-to-tackle tasks or goals that provide a quick, valuable return for minimal effort.
A value chain is the series of business activities required to create and deliver a product or service, from conception to the final customer.
Closed Won is a CRM status for a sales deal that has been successfully concluded, resulting in a signed contract and a new customer.
Learn about branded keywords, including identifying your branded keywords, & strategies for optimizing branded keywords.