What is firmographics?
Firmographics are the descriptive attributes of a company — industry, employee count, annual revenue, location, and founding year — the company-level equivalent of demographics for people, used to define the account side of an ideal customer profile.
Firmographics describe organisations the way demographics describe people. Industry, headcount, revenue, location, and age tell you what kind of company you're looking at, and together they form the account half of any targeting strategy. They answer the first question of B2B prospecting: which companies are even worth approaching?
In a contact database, firmographics are filters. Industry, company_size, country, and annual_revenue define the firms you want; role and seniority then define the people inside them. The account side and the contact side combine to produce a list of the right people at the right companies — which is the only kind of list worth sending.
Different firmographics carry different weight depending on what you sell. A tool priced per seat lives and dies by company size; a compliance product keys off industry and geography; an investment service cares about revenue. Knowing which firmographic actually predicts fit for your product is half of building a good ICP.
Firmographic data is more stable than contact data but not static. Companies grow, get acquired, change industries, and relocate. The fields move more slowly than a person's job title, but they still need refreshing — which is where enrichment against a current dataset keeps your segmentation honest.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between firmographics and demographics?
Demographics describe people (age, role, income); firmographics describe organisations (industry, size, revenue, location). B2B targeting uses both together — firmographics for the account, demographics-style attributes for the buyer.
Which firmographic matters most?
It depends on what you sell. Seat-priced tools key off company size; regulated products key off industry and geography; high-ticket services key off revenue. Identify the firmographic that predicts fit for your product and lead your ICP with it.