Companies today are building more and more complex tech stacks to execute and integrate all the parts of their business., and technographic data refers to knowledge about the different systems a company uses — like ERP, CRM, MRP, POS, management tools, collaboration and communication software — and the technology used to integrate those systems with one another for more seamless business operations. The term also includes insight about the preferred applications within a company and the adoption rate of those applications. When technographic data is used effectively, it can help companies align customer insights, product development, product offerings, marketing, messaging, selling, and feedback. This type of alignment harnesses customer insight and leverages it for digital transformation.
Technographic data is used for both operational improvements and sales. The creation of relationship maps that illustrate which systems are used for which purposes, how systems are integrated to one another, what data the systems share, and how users use the systems for work and for insights can provide strategic insight into opportunities for improvement, greater alignment, better product development, and stronger messaging. When evaluating technographic data for one's own companies this insight is invaluable as a continuous improvement tool. Technographic data can also be used to expose opportunities for selling to B2B targets.
The best way to gather technographic data for internal use is to create visual maps and have your employees weigh in on the maps from each of their departmental and user perspectives.
Gathering technographic data for target companies is more challenging. Purchasing third-party data and doing website scraping will provide some insights, but it will be limited in each case (plus, if you purchase third-party data, do your due diligence to ensure data quality and verify that the data was ethically sourced.
Use of technographic data can be very useful for improving operational effectiveness and sales & marketing insights. It can also be a powerful part of an ABM selling strategy.
