High-quality data is table stakes for revenue teams. The real challenge is keeping it actionable as your market changes daily.
Most GTM teams sit on data that decays faster than they can act on it. ZoomInfo solves this by making data activation automatic so sales and marketing focus on engaging prospects, not hunting for information.
What Is Data Activation?
Data activation makes B2B data instantly usable inside the systems revenue teams work in daily. Instead of manually exporting lists or hunting for contact information, data flows automatically into your CRM, sales engagement platform, and marketing automation tools.
The core problem most GTM teams face:
Data sits in silos and decays quickly
Reps waste time hunting for contact information
Marketing pulls stale lists from disconnected sources
RevOps can't trust CRM data for accurate forecasting
Signs your data isn't activated:
Reps research manually: Sellers spend time hunting for contact info instead of selling
CRM records decay: Contacts change jobs, companies change tech stacks, but your data doesn't update
Teams work from different lists: Sales, marketing, and ops pull from disconnected sources
Why Data Activation Matters for GTM Teams
High-quality data is table stakes. Making it actionable is what separates teams that hit quota from teams that scramble.
Accelerate Pipeline Generation
Activated data shortens the path from ICP definition to qualified pipeline. Instead of manually building lists, teams auto-discover accounts matching ideal criteria and push them directly into CRM or marketing automation.
Manual prospecting creates inconsistent, incomplete datasets because no two reps research the same way. Automated systems pull from multiple sources, match records, and deliver clean data without the effort.
Example: Set up an automated stream that surfaces new accounts meeting criteria like headquartered in the UK, uses HubSpot, or has a sales team larger than 500 people. Records flow into Salesforce automatically.
Improve Win Rates
Activated data helps reps prioritize engaged accounts, personalize outreach with accurate firmographics and technographics, and respond to buying signals faster than competitors.
Complex B2B deals now involve 11-20 stakeholders compared to five a decade ago. In uncertain economies, those deals take longer and require more approvals.
Data activation maps buying committees automatically so reps spend less time researching and more time building relationships across decision-maker networks.
How Data Activation Works
Data activation follows a three-step process: collect and unify account data, enrich it with intelligence, then activate it in the systems your teams use daily.
Collect and Unify Account Data
The first step is centralizing data from multiple sources like CRM, website activity, and third-party providers into a single view. This creates a foundation of account records and contact data that can be enriched and activated.
Enrich with Firmographics and Intent
Raw account data becomes actionable through enrichment with company intelligence and buying signals. This includes firmographics, technographics, and intent data that reveal which accounts are ready to buy.
Types of enrichment:
Firmographics: Company size, revenue, industry, location
Technographics: Tech stack, tools in use, recent implementations
Intent signals: Topic research, competitive evaluations, buying committee activity
Activate in GTM Systems
Enriched data flows into CRM, sales engagement, and marketing automation tools where teams can act immediately. Once you identify a target contact, you can pull related records and automatically build complete account profiles.
For example, if you're working with a VP of Sales, you can quickly map the full buying committee:
Financial Buyer: Chief Financial Officer
Influencer: Chief Marketing Officer
User: Sales Analyst
This complete view lets reps engage each stakeholder with relevant messaging instead of guessing who matters.
Data Activation Use Cases by Team
Different GTM teams use activated data in different ways. Sales prioritizes prospecting and deal signals. Marketing focuses on targeting and personalization. RevOps ensures the entire system runs clean.
For Sales Teams
Sales reps spend only a third of their day actually selling. The rest goes to manual prospecting and hunting for contact information across disconnected sources.
Data activation eliminates research time with these plays:
ICP-based prospecting: Auto-discover accounts matching ideal criteria
Buying committee mapping: Identify all stakeholders involved in a purchase
Trigger-based outreach: Act immediately on funding, hiring, or tech changes
Automated alerts notify reps the moment critical changes happen at target accounts. When a prospect makes a key executive hire or closes a funding round, your team can act immediately with relevant messaging instead of learning about it days later.
For Marketing Teams
Activated data enables marketing to target the right accounts with the right message at the right time. Key marketing activation plays:
ABM list building: Target accounts showing active buying signals
Campaign personalization: Segment by firmographics and technographics
Lead enrichment: Score and route inbound leads with complete data
For Revenue Operations
RevOps ensures data activation benefits both sales and marketing by automating hygiene, optimizing routing, and maintaining reporting accuracy. Key plays:
Automated enrichment: Keep CRM records current without manual updates
Routing optimization: Assign leads and accounts based on accurate, complete data
Standardized definitions: Align sales and marketing on ICP and account criteria
What to Look for in a Data Activation Platform
Three criteria separate enterprise-grade data activation platforms from point tools:
Data accuracy and coverage
Native CRM and marketing automation integrations
Unified account views
Data Accuracy and Coverage
Bad data wastes rep time, damages brand, and skews reporting. Comprehensive coverage is necessary for enterprise buyers with global or multi-vertical TAMs. Look for platforms that verify contact data continuously and provide broad company coverage across industries and geographies.
Native CRM and MAP Integrations
Activation requires bi-directional sync with the systems teams use daily. Data must flow without manual exports or IT involvement. Look for native integrations with platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, Outreach, and Salesloft.
Unified Account Views
Seeing all contacts, intent signals, and company intelligence in one place accelerates buying committee mapping and relationship intelligence. Unified views eliminate the need to toggle between multiple tools to understand an account.
Activate Your GTM Data with ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo delivers the data accuracy, enrichment depth, and native integrations revenue teams need to activate GTM data automatically. From automated prospecting to buying committee mapping to real-time alerts, your teams stay ahead of market shifts, competitive moves, and executive changes at target accounts.
Talk to Sales to see how ZoomInfo activates your data.