Technographics: what it means and how to use technographic data

Technographics provide key insights into your company’s market to help you target the right customers.

With this knowledge, your team can better meet customer needs and sell more effectively.

In this article, you’ll learn what technographics are, how to gather data and how to use it to boost your marketing and sales efforts.

What is technographics?

Technographics, or technographic data, is a market research methodology that provides insights into the technology stack used by your target audience. It can give you information on the technologies companies use (e.g., apps, tools and software), how they use them and when they acquired them.

Technographics can also help you understand when a business might invest in technology in the future and its budget.

If you sell a tech product or software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution, technographic data provides answers to questions like:

• What solutions are popular with our target audience?

• Which platforms does our audience use to engage customers?

• What common pain points do our customers share?

• Which companies are likely to need an upgrade or replacement?

• Which tools do our competitors use?

• How can our solution fill a gap in the market?

• What new markets or emerging trends can we capitalize on?

When you know your customers’ position, problems and needs, you can better segment them to personalize marketing, qualify leads and close more deals.

Here’s an example of how Paycom uses technographics to target midsize and enterprise businesses.

Paycom taps into the frustrations businesses face when managing payroll and HR data.

By positioning itself as the industry’s only database, Paycom shows its target audience what’s possible when all your tools and data are in one place.

This messaging is possible by understanding how the technographic landscape shapes the market.

How do technographics differ from other customer segmentation strategies?

Technographics is a lexical blend of “technology” and “demographics.”

The name can sometimes get technographics mistaken as part of demographics, firmographics or psychographics. While all three methodologies are valuable in sales and marketing, each has a specific focus.

• Demographic data focuses on individuals’ characteristics, such as age, sex, gender, income, religion, marital status, salary, occupation and life stage. Demographic segmentation mainly serves B2C marketing, but it can be valuable in B2B sales to target specific people within organizations (e.g., marketing or product managers).

• Firmographic data focuses on a company’s size, industry, location and revenue. Firmographics helps you segment businesses based on structure but doesn’t tell you about the hardware and software they use.

• Psychographic data focuses on customers’ lifestyles, beliefs, values, attitudes and interests. It helps you group people based on motivations to reach them with targeted messaging.

• Technographic data focuses on technology use. It helps you drill down into the software, hardware and IT solutions companies use so you can forecast future events and outcomes and tailor your marketing and sales efforts.

Each data type is powerful for enriching marketing strategies and increasing sales, but adding technographics lets you get more granular with customer segmentation.

For example, while firmographic data sets can tell if a company is in an industry that uses your product, technographics can go deeper to tell you if your product is what the people there need.

If you know your audience uses legacy software, you can create marketing campaigns positioning your product as a modern upgrade.

Meanwhile, sales teams can build outreach around features a prospect’s current solution lacks, making pitches more relevant and compelling.

Simply put: if you’re a tech firm, technographics make B2B marketing and sales more effective.

How can you collect technographic data?

There are a few ways to collect technographic data. The method you choose depends on your resources and the amount of data you need.

Customer surveys and interviews

Surveys and interviews are the most direct way to determine what technologies your customers use.

You can do them over the phone or by email, targeting decision-makers or people who know the company’s technology stack, such as:

• Chief Technology Officers (CTOs)

• Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs)

• Purchasing managers

• Sales managers and heads

• IT managers

• Development teams

Questions should focus on a company’s current technology stack, challenges and future needs. Here are some questions you might ask:

• What software tools do you currently use?

• What is your most important software?

• What cloud platforms do you use?

• How often do you review your tech stack?

• What are your biggest technology challenges?

• Do you plan to invest in new technology in the next year?

• What functionality is important to you?

• What do you look for in a software/hardware provider?

Surveys and interviews can give you insightful feedback. However, a lack of response to cold calls or an unwillingness to share data can make it challenging to collect enough data for a good sample size.

Internal data sources

The data you already have on customers can tell you a lot about the technology they use.

Here are some places to look:

• Analyze customer relationship management (CRM) data for sales and customer service interactions that mention current software

• See which tools customers integrate your product with (e.g., a chat tool integrated with a CRM) to find out what’s in their tech stack

• Look at website analytics for insights on which platforms, browsers, operating systems and devices visitors use

Use this data to spot common patterns about your customers’ tech choices and preferences.

Suppose some customers integrate a social media scheduler with your platform, but you offer this as a feature. You can sell your software as a better alternative.

Social media profiles

Research the social profiles of target customers for clues about their technology.

Look for mentions or links to specific tools in their posts and conversations. Connect your CRM to your social profiles to perform personalized monitoring.

Pipedrive offers many integrations with social media apps. An app like Surfe, for instance, lets you import LinkedIn contacts, auto-sync chats and manage your pipeline.

You can use Surfe to track relevant customers and learn more about the software they use.

Many companies also use social media to share job opportunities. These posts can provide valuable insights about technology stacks.

For example, Panduit’s Product Marketing Manager LinkedIn job post lists familiarity with tools including Canva, Tableau, Loom and Adobe Illustrator as desired attributes.

The job description also mentions familiarity with “similar software” as a plus in relation to marketing and design tools. If you offer a product in this market, it positions Panduit as a potential customer.

Web scraping

Web scraping involves using a data mining tool to extract information about a company’s software and apps from its website.

Scraping tools use bots to pull data from things like scripts or cookies that websites use to run specific tools. This way, you get useful results without having to manually source information.

Because not all software leaves a trace on a website, data may be limited. Scrapers also risk mining outdated or no longer in-use code.

While web scraping is legal, there are ethical concerns around data protection and unauthorized access. So, it’s important to invest in a reputable tool or service.

Third-party data providers

The easiest way to gather technographic data is to buy it from a data collection provider.

Providers gather data from thousands of companies and technologies via SaaS, PaaS or IaaS models they use in their technology stacks, then make it available for purchase.

While third-party data is protected and anonymized to ensure data compliance, it gives you a comprehensive view of technology usage in your target market.

Access can be expensive. Plus, as providers collect data over a certain period, there’s no guarantee that what you purchase is up to date.

When purchasing third-party technographic data, look for a provider that:

• Provides accurate information on your target market’s current technology landscape

• Offers historical data on market trends

• Allows you to scale your data needs as your business grows

• Collects data in compliance with privacy regulations such as CCPA and GDPR.

How to use technographic data in your sales and marketing efforts

Once you have your technographic data, you can segment customers for better targeting, improving your marketing and sales effectiveness.

Here are six ways to use technographics effectively.

1. Refine ideal customer profiles for better targeting

Ideal customer profiles (ICPs) help you understand who your best customers are so that you can attract and retain them.

Adding technographic data to an ICP built on demographics, firmographics and psychographics data gives you an accurate view of companies likely to buy your product based on:

• Technology spending and budget

• Technology purchase behavior

• Technology preferences and specialized needs

• Use of legacy software

• Upgrade needs and timing

These metrics can hone your ICP (and buyer personas), helping you focus your marketing and sales initiatives on your most profitable accounts.

Say you offer a cloud-based design tool for growing marketing agencies. Firmographic segmentation can help you focus your ICPs on fast-scaling companies.

Incorporating technographics can refine your ICP to include companies struggling with desktop-based software, so you target them at the right stage of their tech growth.

The result is highly relevant marketing and better conversion rates.

Review your ICPs periodically to keep them relevant and ensure they include up-to-date technographics.

If you see a dip in sales and marketing performance, it might be a good time to revisit your ICP and assess your technographic data.

Download Pipedrive’s ideal customer profile template to help your marketing and sales teams reach the right prospects.

2. Run effective account-based marketing (ABM) campaigns

Account-based marketing (ABM) flips the traditional marketing funnel upside down to hone in on your best-fit accounts and target them with personalized buyer experiences.

Here’s what the ABM funnel stages are:

1. Identification
2. Engagement
3. Purchase
4. Advocacy

ABM is an effective way to increase leads and sales.

Research by Momentum ITSMA and ABMLA Leadership Alliance shows that companies investing in ABM get better engagement, pipeline and revenue growth, ROI and marketing and sales alignment. Here are some statistics about ABM’s business impact:

• 90% active engagement with selected accounts

• 84% pipeline growth

• 77% revenue growth

• 72% ROI delivered

• 66% improvement in marketing and sales alignment

To get these results, ABM must reach the correct customers with the correct information.

Use technographics to target accounts that complement your product.

For example, if your product integrates with Pipedrive, companies that use Pipedrive are more likely to benefit from it. Your ICP will help you identify your most promising accounts.

Once you know who to target, create personalized campaigns that solve problems at every buyer journey stage.

For instance, if you know your customers use a CRM, you can personalize emails or ads to highlight how your product integrates with their software to improve efficiency.

Later in the customer journey, you might share a webinar that shows prospects how to get the most out of your product.

As they move closer to purchase, you can offer a tailored sales demo focusing on the most desired features.

Effective ABM relies heavily on marketing and sales alignment to turn prospects into customers. Ensure technographic data points are readily available for both teams and promote collaboration so campaigns are relevant and timely at every stage.

Download Pipedrive’s sales and marketing alignment ebook to keep your teams on the same page.

3. Personalize messaging to grab attention and convert leads

Personalized messaging uses technographic data (and other customer segmentation data) to create targeted content that references things relevant to your customers. For example, products related to their tech stack or tips for completing a specific task.

Humanizing emails, blog posts, product recommendations and landing pages helps form connections and build lasting relationships.

Studies show that buyers who receive personalized communications are more likely to purchase, recommend and repurchase.

For impactful personalization, craft marketing messages that resonate with your customer segments.

Here’s an example use case.

Say you offer a design tool for small-to-medium e-commerce businesses. Technographic data can help identify three customer segments:

• A. Customers using outdated software

• B. Customers using competitor software

• C. Customers using complementary content creation tools

You can use a tool like Campaigns by Pipedrive to send tailored emails and track performance for each segment.

Here’s what emails for each segment might focus on:

• Segment A. Showcase how your tool includes features that increase efficiency, backed by customer success stories from current users.

• Segment B. Highlight unique features of your tool with a side-by-side product comparison.

• Segment C. Explain how your product integrates with the customer’s tech stack and how great design increases engagement.

The results of your email campaigns can shape future interactions. For instance, if a customer in Segment B has engaged with your emails, you might target them with a migration guide or product demo.

Meeting customer needs at every stage in their journey boosts lead generation, bringing you qualified leads that are easier to convert.

4. Improve sales conversations to build relationships

The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to engage them. In the same way that technographic data helps personalize messaging, it arms sales reps with the knowledge to address specific needs when customers want to buy.

Share technographic data with sales teams to help them understand the tech customers use and their needs and challenges.

With the right data, salespeople can:

• Target high-quality leads and avoid wasting time on unqualified companies

• Position themselves as someone who’s done their homework

• Focus conversations on pain points and problem-solving

• Offer valuable advice rather than take the hard-sell approach

Technographics can also help you engage in more timely follow-up conversations to increase engagement.

Using the example of a design tool for e-commerce businesses, data can help you spot that a company has recently invested in content creation tools. Its purchases suggest more focus on content marketing.

Knowing this, a sales rep can reach out to discuss how your design tool makes it easy to create professional images while streamlining the creation process.

The result is consultative selling that builds stronger long-term relationships and gives you a better chance of closing deals.

5. Identify market gaps to strengthen your brand

Analyzing technographic data helps you spot gaps in the market. Filling those gaps can increase relevance and profitability.

Technographic data can show where a competitor isn’t addressing a specific customer need, allowing you to position yourself as a better alternative.

It can also help you challenge more established competitors.

For example, Slack launched as a communication tool that integrates with popular project management tools to connect people to the information they need.

By focusing on real-time messaging and collaboration features and marketing itself around these strengths, Slack filled a gap left by email and traditional messaging tools like Skype that lack integrations. Almost 80% of Fortune 100 companies now use the tool.

Use technographic data to perform a competitor SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).

Look at their product and service offers to identify areas where they’re underperforming and not meeting customer needs. These gaps allow you to step in and meet demands to strengthen your market position.

6. Increase upselling opportunities to increase sales

When you understand your customers’ technographic profile, you can offer upgrades to boost retention and profit margins.

For example, if a customer on your basic subscription plan has recently upgraded their tech stack, you might offer a higher-tier plan with add-ons that integrate with their new software to improve workflows.

Give yourself the best chance of closing a deal by upselling when customers are ready to spend.

Use technographic segmentation to group customers based on their tech needs, usage, adoption and potential gaps.

Here are some examples of groups to target with upselling strategies:

• Early adopters willing to try new products and features

• Users on older or outdated software versions

• Smaller plan users outgrowing their needs

• Users approaching usage limits (e.g., storage or users)

• Core platform users that haven’t explored premium features

• Customers using third-party tools available on your platform

Centralize your customer data in a CRM system, so you have easy access to critical information.

Pipedrive, for instance, allows sales and marketing teams to access previous customer interactions, purchase history and preferences to tailor their upsell approach and make sales more likely.

Pipedrive also lets you manage your sales pipeline to track upsell deals.

This seamless pipeline visibility lets you identify which strategies work best and which to improve.

Final thoughts

Technographic data is valuable for honing your marketing and sales strategies and increasing sales revenue. Used alongside other customer insights, it enables data-driven decisions toward personalized campaigns that engage your audience throughout their journey.

A dedicated sales CRM like Pipedrive helps you interpret and apply data across your marketing and sales process, ensuring the right message reaches the right prospects at the right time.