Key takeaways
- Firmographics describe the company; demographics describe the person.
- Industry, headcount and location are where most teams start.
- They tell you whether an account could buy, not whether it wants to buy now.
- Pair them with technographics and timing triggers for a sharper target list.
What are examples of firmographic data
Common examples of firmographic data are industry, employee headcount, headquarters location, the countries a company operates in, its age and its ownership structure. Each one is a fact about the organisation that stays true whoever you happen to speak to there.
Headcount is often more useful than revenue, because it is easier to find and it changes in plain sight when a company hires.
- Industry or sector, such as logistics, fintech or higher education.
- Headcount band, such as 11 to 50 or 201 to 500 employees.
- Headquarters country, region or city.
- Revenue band, where it is published or can be estimated.
- Ownership: private, public, family owned, investor backed or part of a group.
- Stage, such as founder-led, scaling or long established.
What is the difference between firmographics and demographics
Demographics describe individual people, such as age, income or education, while firmographics describe organisations. In B2B selling the person-level layer is usually role and seniority rather than age or income.
You need both levels. The company must fit, and the person must be someone who can act. A head of operations at the right logistics firm is a strong lead; the same title at a firm far outside your size range usually is not.
How is firmographic segmentation used
Firmographic segmentation splits a market into groups of companies that share traits, so each group gets its own list, message and priority. As an illustration, a payroll software seller might split UK prospects into retailers of 50 to 250 staff, hospitality firms of the same size and larger multi-site groups, because each has different payroll headaches.
Keep segments few and large enough to learn from. Ten segments with a handful of accounts each tell you nothing about which message works.
What can firmographics not tell you
Firmographics cannot tell you whether a company needs your product now. Two firms with the same industry, size and location may be in very different places: one has just raised money and is hiring, the other is cutting costs.
That is why teams add other layers. Technographics show the tools a company runs, and triggers such as a new leader, an office opening or a product launch hint at timing. Reading the company's own pages fills in the rest.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsDescribe your ideal customer and your assistant finds matching companies by keyword, headquarters country or region, industry and headcount, up to 50 a search. Find fresh leads then looks for people at up to ten of them, with optional seniority, industry and company size filters.
- CapabilityResearch & analysisBefore outreach, an assistant can research a shortlisted company from its public pages and answer with numbered citations, which covers the questions firmographics leave open.
Common questions
Is firmographic data the same as an ideal customer profile?
No. An ideal customer profile describes the companies you sell to best, and firmographics are its main ingredients. The profile adds the reasoning, such as why that size or industry tends to buy.
Where does firmographic data come from?
From company websites, public registers and filings, job listings, press releases and B2B data providers. Check how recent the records are, because headcount and location change.
What is the difference between firmographics and technographics?
Firmographics describe what a company is, such as its industry and size. Technographics describe the software it uses, which matters when your product replaces or connects to a specific tool.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
