If you're tired of chasing leads who don't care, or you're just drowning in noisy data, this guide is for you. We'll walk through how to actually use Bombora's company surge reports to find companies showing real buying intent—without wasting your time on looky-loos or burning budget on fancy dashboards you'll never check again. This isn't a sales pitch or a copy-paste from Bombora's help docs. It's the setup guide I wish I'd had when I started with intent data.
What is a Company Surge Report (and Why Bother)?
Bombora is all about "intent data," which is just a fancy way of saying they track when companies are researching topics related to what you sell. A "company surge report" is Bombora's way of telling you, "Hey, these companies are suddenly reading a lot about your stuff—maybe you should reach out."
Here's the honest truth:
- Surge reports can help you focus your outreach on companies that might actually care.
- They're not magic. Sometimes the data is noisy, or the companies "surging" aren't a fit.
- You need to set them up right, or you'll waste time.
Let's get into how to actually set up these reports so they're useful, not just another spreadsheet you ignore.
Step 1: Get Access (and the Right Subscription)
First, make sure you have access to Bombora's "Company Surge" product. Not all Bombora subscriptions include surge reports, and some CRMs or marketing platforms have Bombora data built-in (but usually with less control).
You need: - Direct Bombora login (ask your admin if you’re not sure) - The Company Surge module/feature enabled
Pro tip: If you're using a CRM integration (like Salesforce or HubSpot), check if it supports custom surge reports or just dumps generic data. Direct access gives you more control.
Step 2: Define Your Target Audience
Don’t just throw in every company on earth. The more focused you are, the less noise you'll get.
- Start with a list: Who do you actually want to sell to? Use criteria like industry, company size, region, tech stack, or specific account lists (ABM).
- Upload your list: Most Bombora setups let you upload a CSV of target accounts, or you can filter by firmographics in the tool.
What works:
- Uploading your ABM target list.
- Filtering by practical criteria (e.g., U.S. tech companies, 200+ employees).
What doesn't:
- Going too broad. You'll get a ton of junk “surges” from companies you’d never sell to.
- Relying only on Bombora’s out-of-the-box filters—they’re generic.
Step 3: Pick the Right Topics
This is where most people mess up. Bombora tracks thousands of topics, but only a handful matter to your business.
- Start with 5–15 topics. More than that and you’ll just get noise.
- Don’t pick “cute” or tangential topics. Stick to what your real buyers would actually research before buying.
How to Choose Topics:
- Check your sales calls or win/loss notes: What problems or keywords come up again and again?
- Ask your best reps: What topics do your buyers care about right before they talk to you?
- Look at Bombora’s suggested topics—but double-check them. Some are too broad (“cloud computing”), others too vague.
Ignore:
- Topics you wish buyers cared about.
- Buzzwords your marketing team likes but buyers don’t use.
Pro tip:
Test a few runs with different topic sets. See which ones actually surface good companies, not just more data.
Step 4: Set Surge Thresholds (Don’t Just Use the Default)
Surge reports use a scoring system (usually 0–100) to say how “hot” a company is for a topic. The default threshold (often 60+) is just that—a default.
- Start with a threshold of 70+ for your first runs. Lower scores tend to be noisy.
- Adjust down only if you’re not getting enough results.
- Don’t chase every little blip. A surge score of 55 isn’t worth your BDR’s time.
What works:
- Focusing on higher surges for true buying intent.
- Reviewing sample companies to see if they look legit.
What doesn’t:
- Letting the tool flood you with “maybe” surges just to pad your pipeline.
Step 5: Schedule and Automate Your Reports
Bombora will let you set up recurring reports (weekly, biweekly, monthly). Don’t overthink it:
- Weekly is plenty for most teams. Daily is overkill and just clutters your inbox.
- Have the report sent to the people who’ll actually act on it (usually sales or marketing ops).
- Export as CSV or push to your CRM, but have a plan: If nobody checks the report, it’s pointless.
Pro tip:
Set up a recurring 15-minute meeting to review new surges with your team. If nobody’s acting on them, change the process or stop wasting time.
Step 6: Integrate with Your Workflow (Or You’ll Ignore It)
If your sales team lives in Salesforce, don’t make them log into Bombora every week to download a spreadsheet.
- Push surge data into your CRM, marketing automation, or sales tools.
- Bombora integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, and a few others.
- At minimum, upload the CSV and flag surging accounts.
- Tag companies as “surging” with topic and score so reps can see at a glance.
- Build simple alerts or views: E.g., “Show me all my target accounts surging on X topic this week.”
Ignore:
- Fancy dashboards nobody uses.
- Manual processes that require 4 steps to get the data in front of reps.
Step 7: Train Your Team (and Set Realistic Expectations)
Bombora data is a signal, not a silver bullet. If your team treats every surging account as a guaranteed deal, they’ll burn out fast.
What to cover: - What a surge actually means: “This company is researching X topic more than usual, not ‘they want to buy today.’” - How to use the data: As a conversation starter, not a hard pitch. - When to ignore surges: If the company isn’t a fit, or the topic doesn’t make sense, move on.
What works:
- Using surge as a reason to reach out: “Noticed your company’s been checking out [topic] lately…”
- Combining surge with other signals (website visits, event attendance, etc.)
What doesn’t:
- Blindly calling every surging company and reading a script.
Step 8: Review, Tweak, and Don’t Be Afraid to Kill Bad Reports
After a month, check: Are you getting better leads? Or just more noise?
- Look at the outcomes: Did any surging accounts actually move down your funnel?
- Tweak topics and thresholds: Drop what isn’t working, add new topics if your market shifts.
- Kill reports nobody uses. More data isn’t always better.
Pro tip:
It’s normal to need a few rounds of tuning. If you’re not getting value after a couple months, rethink your sources—or your process.
Honest Pros, Cons, and Real-World Advice
Where surge reports help: - Surfacing companies you’d never have noticed otherwise. - Warming up cold outreach with a relevant angle.
Where they fall flat: - If your market is tiny or your solution is super niche, surges may be too rare to matter. - False positives happen: Some companies “surge” just because an intern wrote a paper.
Don’t bother if: - You’re not ready to act on the data. - Your ICP is so tight that intent signals just add noise.
Keep It Simple (and Iterate)
You don’t need perfect data or a 10-step automation flow. Start with a clear audience, a handful of topics, and one good report. See if it helps your team have better conversations. If it does, keep refining. If not, don’t be afraid to ditch it and try something else.
Surge reports can cut through the noise—and find real intent—if you set them up right and use them as one piece of your lead generation puzzle. Don’t expect miracles, but do expect fewer wasted dials.