Companies use tools and applications that can provide insight into their tech buying habits, how they work, the different challenges they face, and what tech they’ll buy next. Especially for technology providers, technographics is your lens into this world.
Keeping in-the-know of the technology used by different companies is important in this data-driven era we live in right now as it gives you a clear competitive edge.
Understanding Technographics
Let’s start with what exactly Technographics is.
In layman’s terms, ‘technographics’ is a shortened term for ‘technographic segmentation’.
What it does is it analyzes statistical data which is produced by a population of a group based on their ownership and usage of technology. Technographic data is a way of understanding a company’s technology stack such as knowing what hardware and software they’re using, which tools and applications they frequently use, and how they implement and utilize their varying systems and platforms.
Technographics not only keep track of the various technologies employed by businesses but it also maintains a record of the total number of products or services that they own, what percentage is used on a daily basis, and how recent the adoption of the said technology is.
This is why B2B companies can exploit technographic data in order to qualify prospects.
Collecting Technographic Data
Now that we know what technographics are and what they’re used for, let’s move on to knowing how to collect this precious data.
Data Scraping
This is a method where you extract code from websites with a view to identifying key information. However, since only certain types of software leave any traces on websites, it suffers from certain limitations that make it prohibitive down the road.
Phone and/or Email Surveys
Yes, the phone and email strategies are still alive and kicking today, and while it belongs to the more ‘ancient’ ways of acquiring data, it is still a good way to collect your technographic data from.
Buying Technographic Data
There are many reputable providers in the technographic market nowadays. Each of these B2B providers has its own technology install base which provides accurate information on thousands of companies and technologies.
Using Technographics for Lead Generation
By understanding the technology tools you have deployed and the technologies spent by your customers, you’ll be able to see greater success in your outreach targeting which, of course, can lead to more conversions and closed win results. So, let’s look at the different ways of how you use Technographic data for your lead generation and B2B marketing.
Customize content marketing with technographics
Use technographics to tailor your content to fit the technology stack of your prospects. This would make it more relevant to them. For example, you can identify the channels your prospects use, the tech-challenges they might be facing, and even the things that don’t really affect them. All this will help you share more information about how to use the technology and tools they’re using with more insider information to solve their pain points.
Use technographics in ABM
ABM has been on the radar for many B2B organizations in the past few years as it has proven itself as a very effective marketing strategy. Since it has such a highly focused nature, ABM has shown to be quite cost-effective. With an effective ABM strategy in place, you can communicate directly to your prospect on a one-on-one basis, and this is also where technographic data can be an effective tool in order to help you personalize your communication and keep everything relevant and engaging.
Prioritizing leads
As you create a deeper customer profile based on technographic data you are able to prioritize as well as distribute your targeted leads through your marketing and sales teams. Prioritizing leads is where you differentiate qualified leads from those that are unlikely to convert.
Now, if you combine technographic data with your intent data, and you have yourself an automated way to prioritize your leads in a more robust manner. This will help your sales reps who don’t have enough time on their hands to find accounts that have the best opportunities.
Conclusion
Your technographic data is not just an accessory, but rather a necessary component of customer and client engagement in this digital age. When your sales and marketing team gains access to technographic data, their targeting efforts will greatly improve.
This article originally posted at The Savy Marketer.