Demandbase pioneered the account-based marketing category, building one of the largest B2B account databases and helping teams identify and target companies based on company-level data. Today’s ABM landscape includes specialized platforms for account identification, intent data, visitor identification, and campaign orchestration.
Intent data powers modern ABM. It tells you which accounts are actively looking for solutions like yours. But the intent data market is crowded. Bombora is the largest, but competitors like 6sense, Demandbase, and newer players like Abmatic are gaining share.
Intent data is expensive. Bombora starts at $20,000 per year. 6sense starts at $50,000. Demandbase is similar.
6sense has become synonymous with AI-driven account-based marketing, using machine learning to identify accounts in-market and predict buying stage. The platform has grown significantly since its 2013 founding, but alternatives now offer different approaches to intent data, account identification, and predictive intelligence.
In B2B sales, the length of the sales cycle directly impacts your business. A sales cycle that takes six months instead of three means you need twice as many deals in progress to hit the same revenue. It means more resources, more cost, and more uncertainty.
Personalization is increasingly expected in B2B interactions. When you receive an email from a vendor, you expect them to know something about your company. When you visit their website, you expect to see content relevant to your industry or company size.
Most B2B companies have a sales pipeline problem. Not too many leads, but not enough good leads. The leads that do come in are often poor quality, not sales-ready, or misaligned with what the sales team can actually close.
In consumer marketing, ad targeting often focuses on individual demographics and behaviors. Show a coffee ad to coffee drinkers. Show a fashion ad to people interested in fashion.
In B2B sales, timing is everything. The difference between reaching out to a prospect at the beginning of their buying journey versus after they’ve already chosen a competitor can mean the difference between winning a deal and losing it.
Every sales and marketing team has limited resources. You can’t pursue every prospect with equal intensity. You have to make choices about which companies and customers to focus on.
Your website is one of the most valuable assets you have for understanding your market. Every visitor tells a story. They arrive with intent, browse specific pages, and leave signals about what they’re interested in.
In the world of B2B sales and marketing, information is power. The more you know about the accounts you’re targeting, the more effectively you can engage decision-makers, personalize your messaging, and close deals faster.