If you’re trying to reach the right B2B prospects, you already know how much of a slog audience segmentation can be. Over-hyped “AI” tools, endless data sources, and filters that sound good on paper but don’t match your sales team’s reality — it’s enough to make you want to send postcards instead. This guide is for marketers, SDRs, and anyone who wants to actually use their B2B data, not just talk about “unlocking” it.
Let’s get into a step-by-step way to segment B2B audiences using filters in Rb2b—and, more importantly, how to avoid spinning your wheels.
Step 1: Get Clear On Your Real Target
Before you even touch a filter, figure out who you’re really after. Not your boss’s fantasy list, not the personas from last year’s deck—the actual people and companies that buy from you.
What to clarify:
- Company size: Are you after startups, mid-market, or big enterprises? Don’t pick “all of the above.” Be ruthless.
- Industry: “Tech” is not an industry. Be specific. If you’re not sure, look at your current customer list.
- Geography: Unless you’re truly global, focus in. Shipping, regulations, and language trip people up fast.
- Job titles or functions: Who actually signs the check? Who starts the conversation? Sometimes it’s not who you think.
Pro tip:
If you don’t have this mapped out, take 30 minutes to dig into your best 10 customers. Pattern-matching here saves hours later.
Step 2: Audit Your Data Sources (and Your Gaps)
Rb2b is only as good as the data you feed it. It can tap into a lot—firmographics, technographics, intent data—but don’t assume it’s magic.
Check:
- Do you have clean, up-to-date company info?
- Are job titles normalized, or a mess of “VP BizDev,” “v.p. business dev,” and “Vice President, Business Development”?
- Is contact data actually accurate, or is it scraped junk?
- Are you set up to sync with your CRM, or do you need to export/import manually?
If you’re missing critical data (like industry codes or employee counts), fix that now. Running filters on bad data is a waste.
Step 3: Build Your First Rb2b Filter
Now, the fun part. Rb2b’s filters are genuinely powerful, but only if you keep things simple.
Start broad, then narrow
- Begin with the basics:
- Industry
- Company size
-
Location
-
Add role-based filters:
- Seniority (e.g., Manager and up)
-
Department (e.g., Marketing, IT, Finance)
-
Layer in extras if you need:
- Tech stack (do they use Salesforce? HubSpot? AWS?)
- Recent funding rounds
- Hiring activity
- Website keywords
What works:
- Layering 2-4 filters at first.
- Focusing on “must-haves” instead of “nice-to-haves.”
- Checking sample results as you go (Rb2b gives you previews—use them).
What doesn’t:
- Over-filtering. If you narrow too much, you’ll get a list of 12 companies, half of which are your competitors.
- Chasing shiny data points like “intent” if your product is niche or your volume is low. Use intent as a bonus, not a requirement.
Step 4: Test and Refine (Don’t Trust the Numbers Blindly)
Once you’ve built a segment, don’t just export the list and start blasting. Take a hard look at what came back.
Gut check:
- Does this segment actually match your target?
- Are there weird outliers (e.g., a dental office in your SaaS segment)?
- Is the contact info real, or will you get a bounce-back nightmare?
How to test:
- Spot-check 10-20 results manually
- Send a pilot campaign (email, LinkedIn, whatever) to a small sample
- Get feedback from sales — “Are these the right companies and people?”
What works:
Iterative testing. Every time you tweak a filter, check if your results get better or just smaller.
What to ignore:
Platform-reported “match rates” and vanity stats. If your replies are junk, your segment is junk.
Step 5: Use Exclusion Filters to Clean Up
This is where most people get lazy, but it pays off.
Use Rb2b’s exclusion filters to:
- Remove competitors
- Remove current customers
- Exclude companies you know are a poor fit (e.g., government agencies, tiny firms, etc.)
It’s easier to remove junk now than to explain it to your sales team later. Save yourself the headache.
Step 6: Save and Document Your Segments
Rb2b lets you save segments, but it won’t remember why you set them up that way. Add a note or keep a doc on:
- What filters you used
- Why you made those choices
- Who approved the segment (if anyone)
This sounds boring, but it saves you from repeating mistakes or reinventing the wheel every quarter.
Step 7: Sync, Export, or Automate—But Don’t Automate Too Soon
You’ve got a solid segment. Now what?
- Sync to CRM if integrations are clean. Double-check field mapping (nothing ruins a campaign faster than “First Name: null”).
- Export as CSV if you need to, but watch out for stale data.
- Automate only after you’ve proven the segment works with real outreach.
Caution:
Don’t set up automated cadences or ad campaigns on an untested segment. You’ll burn through budget and annoy prospects.
Step 8: Review, Rinse, Repeat
The truth: segmentation is never “done.” Markets shift, titles change, companies get acquired, your product evolves. Set a calendar reminder to review your segments every month or quarter.
- Prune dead leads
- Add new ideal-fit targets
- Adjust filters as you learn
Honest Takes: What Works, What Doesn’t, What to Ignore
What Actually Works
- Starting simple. It’s better to have a segment that’s 80% right and running than a “perfect” audience you never use.
- Collaboration with sales. If they wouldn’t call the people you’re finding, you’re wasting everyone’s time.
- Documenting filters. Seriously, this keeps you sane when someone asks, “Why are we targeting insurance brokers in Idaho?”
What Doesn’t Work
- Chasing every new data point. “Intent data” and “AI signals” can be great, but only if they’re relevant and accurate for your market.
- Over-segmentation. If your list is too small, your cost per lead goes through the roof and you lose real-world feedback.
- Blind trust in software. Rb2b is good, but no tool is perfect. Garbage in, garbage out.
What to Ignore
- Hype about “hyper-personalization at scale.” Most prospects want relevance, not a creepy email about their favorite coffee shop.
- Features you don’t need right now. Stick to basics until you’ve got results.
Keep It Simple—and Keep Iterating
Segmentation isn’t a one-time project. Start with clear targets, use Rb2b’s filters to build practical segments, test, and keep tuning. Don’t get distracted by shiny features or overthink it. The teams that win are the ones who keep it simple, document what they’re doing, and actually talk to their prospects. That’s it. Go build something useful.