How to track and measure Bombora campaign performance in Salesforce

If you’re running demand gen or marketing ops, you’ve probably heard about Bombora’s intent data. Maybe your sales team is excited. Maybe your CMO expects magic. But turning Bombora insights into real pipeline means actually tracking and measuring campaign results inside Salesforce—not just talking about them.

This guide is for marketers and admins who want no-nonsense, actionable steps to connect Bombora data to Salesforce campaigns and actually see what’s working. No fluff, no vendor sales pitch. Just what you need to get intent data out of spreadsheets and into reports your team will trust.

Step 1: Get Clear on What You’re Tracking (and Why)

Before you dive into configs and integrations, pause and get clear:

  • What is your goal? (More opportunities? Faster sales cycles? Better account targeting?)
  • Which Bombora signals matter? (Topic interest? Surge score? Both?)
  • Who needs to see these results? (Sales? Marketing? Leadership?)

Pro tip: Ignore vague “intent score” dashboards unless you can tie them to real pipeline or revenue. Focus on things you can measure: campaign influence, new opportunities, deal velocity.

Step 2: Set Up Bombora Data in Salesforce

To track anything, you need Bombora data in Salesforce. There are a few ways to do this—some cleaner than others.

Option 1: Native Integrations (If You Have Them)

If you’re using a marketing automation platform (Marketo, HubSpot, Pardot) that already pipes Bombora data into Salesforce, use it. This is usually the least painful setup.

  • Check if Bombora is already mapped to Leads/Accounts.
  • Ask your marketing ops team which fields hold Bombora data (e.g., “Bombora Intent Score,” “Bombora Topics Surged”).
  • Don’t reinvent the wheel if someone set this up already, even if it’s a little ugly.

Option 2: Bombora Salesforce AppExchange Integration

Bombora does offer a Salesforce integration, but honestly, it can be clunky. If you use it, follow their setup guide to:

  • Install the Bombora package from AppExchange.
  • Map Bombora intent fields to your Account (and maybe Lead) objects.
  • Schedule regular data syncs.

Heads up: AppExchange packages can be restrictive. Test in a sandbox. Get IT buy-in before pushing to production.

Option 3: Manual Import via CSV

If you’re early-stage (or skeptical of more integrations), you can start simple:

  • Export Bombora data as CSV.
  • Map columns to Account or Lead IDs.
  • Use Salesforce Data Loader to update records.

This is not scalable for daily use, but it works for a proof of concept or one-off campaigns.

Step 3: Create Campaigns Linked to Bombora Data

Here’s where most teams mess up: they dump intent data into Salesforce but never connect it to real campaigns. Don’t do that. Instead:

  1. Create a Salesforce Campaign for each Bombora-driven effort. Name it clearly (“Q2 Bombora Intent Outreach” or “ABM - Bombora Surge Accounts”).
  2. Add campaign members: Pick the Accounts, Contacts, or Leads that showed Bombora intent signals.
  3. Use a report or list view to filter by your chosen Bombora fields.
  4. Add the right people to the campaign (not just the Account owner—think buying committee).
  5. Set campaign member statuses: Don’t just leave members as “Added.” Update statuses as reps reach out, meetings are booked, etc.

What not to do: Don’t just tag every Account with a “Bombora” field and call it a day. Without Campaigns, you can’t tie results to specific pushes or timeframes.

Step 4: Track Engagement and Pipeline Influence

Now you’ve got Bombora-driven campaigns in Salesforce. Time to measure what happens.

What to Measure

  • Touches: Did sales actually reach out to “surging” accounts?
  • Responses: Are those accounts more likely to reply, book meetings, or move to opportunity?
  • Pipeline: Did new or existing opportunities come from Bombora campaign members?
  • Speed: Do Bombora-influenced deals move faster?

How to Set It Up

  • Use Salesforce Campaign Reports: The “Campaigns with Influenced Opportunities” report is your friend.
  • Track Campaign Member Status Progression: See which intent-driven contacts became real meetings, MQLs, etc.
  • Compare to Baseline: Run the same campaigns without Bombora and compare. That’s the only way to know if intent data is moving the needle.

Warning: Just because an account is in a Bombora campaign and later becomes a customer doesn’t mean intent data caused it. Correlation ≠ causation. Look for patterns, but don’t oversell the impact.

Step 5: Build Dashboards and Share What Matters

Executive teams love dashboards, but most dashboards are noise. Focus on a handful of real metrics:

  • # of Bombora campaign members
  • # of meetings booked from Bombora accounts
  • # of new opportunities created
  • Pipeline sourced or influenced
  • Win rate of Bombora accounts vs. other accounts

How to Build:

  • Use Salesforce’s standard Campaign dashboards to start.
  • Show trends over time, not just snapshots.
  • Keep it simple. If it takes 10 minutes to explain, it’s too complicated.

What to Skip:

  • Don’t obsess over “topic-level” intent unless sales actually uses that info.
  • Don’t show 20 different Bombora fields in your dashboard. Pick the ones that matter to outcomes.

Step 6: Close the Loop and Improve

Once you’ve run a few Bombora-powered campaigns, look back and ask:

  • Did Bombora data help sales prioritize better?
  • Are the “surging” accounts actually more likely to engage or buy?
  • Is the process a mess? Is data accurate and up to date?

If it’s not working, be honest: Maybe your segment is too broad. Maybe sales ignores the signals. Maybe Bombora just isn’t worth the hype for your business. That’s okay. Cut what isn’t working, double down on what is, and keep things simple.

Real-World Tips (From Someone Who’s Been There)

  • Start small: Run a pilot campaign before rolling out org-wide.
  • Talk to sales: If they don’t find the intent data useful, figure out what they would use.
  • Automate where you can: Manual CSVs are fine for a test, but painful at scale.
  • Don’t chase vanity metrics: “Intent score” means nothing if it doesn’t lead to pipeline.
  • Document your process: Future you (and new hires) will thank you.

Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Ignore the Hype

Tracking Bombora campaign performance in Salesforce isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to get lost in the weeds—or worse, buy into the promise that intent data alone will transform your funnel.

Start with clear goals. Set up the basics. Measure what matters. Iterate. And when in doubt, ask: “Is this helping us create real pipeline?”

If not, cut it. If yes, do more of it. Don’t let the shiny tech distract you from what actually works.