Account lists and segments help you organize and target accounts in Demandbase. Account lists identify which accounts to focus on, while segments categorize accounts into groups based on shared characteristics.
You can use account lists and segments together to refine your targeting, analyze performance, and deliver personalized marketing experiences.
Account Lists
Account lists represent subsets of your total addressable market (TAM). They help you identify and prioritize accounts that align with your business objectives.
Common use cases include:
- Group accounts owned by a specific sales representative.
- Target accounts by tier, industry, region, or company size.
- Serve advertising campaigns to specific accounts.
Accounts can belong to multiple account lists. You can create and refine lists to identify which groups of accounts deliver the best results.
Once you've identified your target accounts, you can use segments to further categorize them based on criteria relevant to your products or services.
See Account Lists: Foundation of Your ABM Strategy.
Segments
Segments categorize accounts into mutually exclusive groups based on selector criteria. Unlike account lists, an account can belong to only one group within a segment. However, an account can belong to multiple segments.
For example, Account A can belong to:
- Industry segment: Financial Services group
- State segment: California group
If you use these segments in advertising campaigns, you can deliver ads tailored to accounts in the Financial Services industry and accounts located in California.
This allows you to personalize marketing experiences based on specific account characteristics.
Segments Create Fields
When you create a segment, Demandbase automatically creates a corresponding field. Unlike account lists, segments generate fields that identify which group each account belongs to.
Demandbase appends (segment) to the field name to distinguish it from other fields.
For example, creating an Industry segment generates a field named Industry (segment).
See Understanding Fields.
How Segments and Account Lists Differ
The following table summarizes the key differences between account lists and segments.
Feature |
Account Lists |
Segments |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Identify and target specific accounts. | Categorize accounts based on shared characteristics. |
| Membership | Accounts can belong to multiple lists. | Accounts belong to only one group within each segment. |
| Organization | Group accounts into lists. | Organize accounts into segments and groups. |
| Fields | Do not create fields. | Automatically create fields. |
| Common Uses | Account targeting, advertising campaigns, and account prioritization. | Data analysis, reporting, filtering, and personalization. |