If you’ve ever looked at your lead database and thought, “There’s just not enough here to work with,” you’re not alone. Most CRMs are full of half-finished records and vague job titles. If you want your sales and marketing teams to stop guessing and start focusing, you need more context. That’s where enriching lead records with firmographic (company-level details) and technographic (tech stack details) data comes in.
This guide is for hands-on marketers, ops folks, and data-minded sales teams who want to actually do something with their leads—not just drown in more tools. We’ll walk through using Bombora to add useful company and tech info to your leads. I’ll share what matters, what’s fluff, and how to keep from over-complicating things.
Why bother enriching leads with Bombora data?
Enriching your lead records means you’ll spend less time researching and more time reaching out intelligently. Here’s what Bombora brings to the table:
- Firmographic data: Company size, industry, revenue, location, etc.
- Technographic data: What software and tools a company is using (or likely using).
- Intent data: Signals that a company is actively researching topics related to your business.
But—and this is important—don’t expect miracles. No data vendor has perfect coverage. Bombora’s data is pretty good, but you’ll still run into blanks and outdated info. The trick is to use what’s useful, skip what isn’t, and not get bogged down trying to be perfect.
Step 1: Get clear on your actual goals
Before you even touch an API key, figure out what you want to achieve. More data isn’t always better. Ask yourself:
- Are you trying to route leads faster?
- Want to prioritize accounts for sales outreach?
- Need to personalize marketing campaigns?
- Looking to filter out junk leads?
Make a list of the specific fields you need: industry, employee count, tech stack, etc. If your sales team never uses “annual revenue,” skip it. Don’t enrich for the sake of it.
Pro tip: Talk to the people who will actually use this data. What fields do they wish they had in Salesforce or HubSpot? What’s just noise?
Step 2: Set up your Bombora account and access the data
You’ll need a Bombora subscription. If you’re not sure what you have, check with whoever manages your data vendors. Bombora offers data in a few ways:
- Batch files: CSVs or flat files delivered on a schedule.
- API: Real-time or on-demand enrichment.
- Third-party integrations: Some CRMs and enrichment platforms have Bombora connectors.
Honest take: Unless you’ve got a big budget and a dev team, batch files are the easiest place to start. APIs are great for scaling, but only if you have the resources to maintain custom integrations.
What to ask your Bombora rep: - What specific fields/data points can you get? - How often is the data updated? - What’s the match rate for your target accounts? - Is there a minimum record count (some vendors won’t process tiny batches)?
Step 3: Map Bombora’s fields to your CRM
This is where things often go sideways. Bombora’s data fields might not line up exactly with what’s in your CRM. You’ll need to decide:
- Which new fields to create (e.g., “Bombora_Employee_Count”)
- Which existing fields to update (be careful—overwriting can be risky)
- How to handle conflicting data (what if Bombora says 1000 employees, but LinkedIn says 500?)
My advice:
- Never overwrite your original fields unless you’re 100% sure. Use new fields or append “_Enriched” to the field name.
- Document your mapping, even if it’s just in a Google Doc. You’ll thank yourself later.
- If you need to normalize data (e.g., Bombora uses “Information Technology” but your CRM uses “IT Services”), do this before importing.
Step 4: Clean your lead records before enriching
Garbage in, garbage out. Bombora (and every other vendor) matches based on company name, website domain, and sometimes location. If your leads have typos, missing domains, or generic entries (“John Smith, CEO, Gmail.com”), enrichment will fail.
Quick clean-up checklist: - Make sure every record has a valid company name and website. - Standardize company names (“IBM Corp.” = “IBM”). - Remove or flag personal email domains. - Deduplicate records.
If you skip this step: Expect a lot of blanks and mismatches. It’s tedious, but it’s the single biggest thing you can do to improve match rates.
Step 5: Run a test enrichment (don’t do your full list yet)
Don’t dump your whole database into Bombora right away. Start with a small batch—say, 100 to 500 records. This lets you:
- See the match rate for your audience.
- Check for weird field mappings or data errors.
- Get feedback from users (is the data actually useful?).
Look for: - How many records came back with data? - Are there any obvious mismatches or errors? - Does the data line up with what you know about the companies?
Pro tip: Compare Bombora’s results to what you can find for free on LinkedIn or company websites. If there’s a big gap, ask Bombora support to clarify.
Step 6: Import enriched data into your CRM
Once you’re happy with the test batch, it’s time to bring the data into your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.). There are a few common ways to do this:
- Manual import: Download CSV from Bombora, then upload to your CRM. Good for small batches or one-off runs.
- Automated workflow: Use integration tools like Zapier, Tray.io, or native connectors if your CRM supports Bombora.
- Custom scripts: For teams with in-house devs, use the API and automate the whole flow.
What can go wrong: - Field mismatches (e.g., “Industry” in Bombora doesn’t line up with “Industry” in CRM) - Duplicate records - Overwriting valuable existing data
Honest tip: Start with manual imports until you’re sure everything lines up. Automation is great, but only after you’ve ironed out the kinks.
Step 7: Put the data to use (don’t just let it sit there)
Enrichment is pointless if nobody uses the new data. Here’s where enriched Bombora fields actually make a difference:
- Lead scoring/routing: Route big companies to senior reps, or flag leads using competitor tech.
- Personalized outreach: Sales can mention relevant tech or company info in emails.
- Segmentation: Build lists for campaigns (e.g., “All leads in SaaS with over 200 employees”).
- Filtering out junk: Exclude leads with missing or clearly bogus firmographics.
What not to do: Don’t create dozens of new picklists or dashboards nobody uses. Focus on one or two high-impact use cases first. Ask your users what’s working. If they’re not using it, cut it.
Step 8: Monitor, maintain, and iterate
Data gets stale fast. Employees leave, companies merge, tech stacks change. Set a schedule to re-enrich your records—quarterly is a good starting point.
- Keep an eye on match rates: If they drop, check your data hygiene.
- Review which enriched fields actually get used.
- Drop fields that nobody cares about.
Pitfall: Don’t get seduced by “more data.” More fields = more confusion if nobody’s looking at them. Keep things lean.
What’s actually worth it (and what’s not)
Worth it: - Company size, industry, and location—they help you segment and route leads quickly. - Key technographics—knowing a company uses Salesforce or AWS can shape your pitch. - Intent data—IF you have a process for acting on it (otherwise, it’s just noise).
Not worth it: - Hyper-granular data that nobody uses (“Founded Year,” “Number of Office Dogs”) - Enriching leads you’ll never contact (e.g., old webinar lists from 2019) - Paying extra for fields that don’t move the needle for your team
Keep it simple and stay practical
Enriching lead records with Bombora firmographic and technographic data can give your team a real edge—but only if you keep it straightforward. Don’t get caught up in the promise of “total data-driven transformation.” Start small, focus on fields that actually help, and check in with your users often. Iterate, prune what’s not working, and remember: It’s better to have a few useful fields than a data swamp nobody trusts.