Why targeting is a problem in B2B (and why contact-level insights are the answer).

In B2B marketing, targeting is supposed to be our superpower. It’s what helps us prioritize high-value accounts, personalize messaging, and allocate budgets where they’ll make the most impact. On paper, it sounds like we’ve got it figured out. 

But let’s be honest—how often does your targeting actually result in meaningful engagement? 

You’ve done the research. You’ve built account lists that match your ICP. You’ve launched display ads, nurtured leads with email, and pushed every tool in your tech stack to deliver personalization at scale. And still, engagement stalls. Opportunities go dark. And marketing ends up getting blamed for “bad leads.” 

It’s not for lack of effort. And it’s not for lack of data. The real problem is that most B2B targeting is built on a flawed foundation: we focus too much on the account and not enough on the individuals within it. 

Because here’s the reality—accounts don’t buy. People do. 

So if we want to improve targeting, we need to shift our perspective. Away from account-level assumptions and toward contact-level insights that show us exactly who’s leaning in, what they care about, and when they’re ready to talk. 

Let’s unpack why targeting is broken in B2B—and why contact-level visibility is the fix we’ve been waiting for. 

Why account-based targeting doesn’t go far enough. 

Account-based marketing (ABM) has been the go-to strategy for B2B teams for years. And for good reason: it allows marketers to prioritize high-fit companies, align with sales, and craft messaging tailored to specific industries or verticals. 

But here’s the issue: account-level targeting is only half the equation. 

You can hit the right company with your campaign—but if your message doesn’t reach the right people within that company, it won’t matter. 

Think about it: a typical enterprise deal can typically involve anywhere from 6 to 10 stakeholders. They span departments. They have different priorities. And they’re not all actively looking for a solution at the same time. 

Yet when we build campaigns, we often treat them as one homogeneous audience. We assume job title = buying power. We rely on technographics and firmographics as if they tell the full story. And we over-index on intent signals that don’t differentiate between the intern reading a blog and the VP evaluating vendors. 

The result? Generic messaging. Misaligned outreach. And wasted spend on accounts that look engaged but never convert. 

The limitations of account-level insights.

Let’s get specific. Account-level insights can tell you: 

• That someone from Company X visited your website 
• That your ad impressions are being served to the finance vertical 
• That an account showed intent for “AI-powered solutions” 

That’s helpful—but only up to a point. 

What they can’t tell you is: 

• Who exactly visited your site—and what content they engaged with. 
• Whether that person has any decision-making power. 
• What stage of the buying journey they’re in. 
• How many other contacts from the same account are engaging (or not). 

Without contact-level clarity, you’re left making educated guesses. And in today’s B2B landscape, guesses just don’t cut it. 

Why contact-level insights change everything. 

Contact-level insights bring the missing piece to your targeting strategy: precision. 

Instead of lumping an entire account into one bucket, you get a clear view of the actual people showing interest—by name, by role, by behavior. 

This means you can see: 

• Which individual contacts are researching your product category 
• What specific content they’re consuming—and how often 
• What channels they’re engaging with (email, display, content syndication, etc.) 
• How their behavior aligns with your ideal buyer journey 

Armed with this data, your marketing efforts become sharper. You can: 

• Personalize outreach based on real-time behaviors—not just assumptions 
• Prioritize leads who are actually in-market 
• Align sales and marketing around a shared view of buyer activity 

Contact-level data closes the loop. It turns your campaigns from “spray and pray” into focused, buyer-led journeys. 

Real people. Real behaviors. Real results.

Let’s go back to that high-value Fortune 500 account. Without contact-level insights, you might run a display ad campaign and see some engagement. A few form fills. Maybe a meeting or two. 

But with contact-level insights, you see that: 

• A senior demand gen manager has downloaded two whitepapers in the last week 
• An IT director is regularly visiting your security documentation 
• A marketing ops lead has engaged with your pricing page—twice 

Now, you know exactly who to follow up with, what their priorities are, and how to tailor your messaging. Sales can strike while the interest is high. Marketing can nurture the rest of the committee with role-specific content. And the buying experience feels seamless—not salesy. 

This is what modern B2B targeting should look like. 

It’s not just about data. It’s about timing. 

The magic of contact-level insights isn’t just knowing who to target. It’s knowing when to engage them. 

When someone is actively showing buying signals—consuming content, visiting key pages, opening multiple emails—that’s your moment. Waiting too long means missing the window. Engaging too early means burning a lead before they’re ready. 

Contact-level visibility helps you get the timing right. It allows you to build journeys based on behavior—not just job title or persona. 

And that means more meetings booked, more pipeline generated, and fewer missed opportunities. 

Long story short.

B2B targeting isn’t failing because marketers aren’t working hard enough. It’s failing because we’ve been looking at the wrong layer of the funnel. 

Account-level strategies gave us structure. But contact-level insights give us clarity. 

They show us: 

• Who’s ready to buy 
• What messaging will land 
• And how to turn interest into action 

At the end of the day, every deal starts with a person. Not an account. Not a firmographic profile. A real human with a need, a timeline, and a decision to make. 

So the question becomes: are you targeting accounts? 

Or are you reaching buyers? 

Because only one of those will be guaranteed to move your pipeline forward. 

And with contact-level insights, you can finally do it with confidence.