[GTM glossary](/glossary.md) Company database

Data & Enrichment

# Company database

In short

A company database is a searchable collection of records about businesses. Each record holds attributes such as name, domain, industry, headcount, and location, so you can filter the collection to find companies that match your target profile.

It can be a vendor product you search, a licensed dataset, or the account table inside your own CRM. The difference from a general business directory is that it is built for filtering, export, and integration.

## What to look for in a company database

* **Coverage:** Does it include the regions, sizes, and industries you sell to, including small and private companies?
* **Freshness:** How often are records updated, and are update dates visible?
* **Filter depth:** Can you filter on the fields in your ICP, such as technology or headcount range?
* **Matching keys:** Does each record carry a website domain for clean matching to your CRM?
* **Export and integration:** Can results flow into your CRM or outreach tools?

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## How teams use one

### Build a target account list

Translate your ICP into filters and export the matching companies. Compare the count with your estimated market size to check coverage.

### Find lookalikes

Start from your best customers and search for companies with similar traits.

### Fill gaps in the CRM

Match existing accounts to the database to add missing fields.

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## Company database vs. contact database

A company database holds organizations. A contact database holds people and their details. Teams typically start in the company database to choose accounts, then look up the right people at them.

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## Common mistakes

* **Trusting size over fit:** A bigger record count does not mean better coverage of your market.
* **No sample test:** Check a sample of your own customers against the database before buying.
* **Skipping deduplication:** Importing without matching creates duplicates in the CRM.

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## Company database FAQs

**What is a company database?**

A company database is a searchable collection of business records with attributes such as industry, employee count, location, and technology. GTM teams filter it to build target account lists and enrich the accounts they already have.

**What is the difference between a company database and a contact database?**

A company database stores information about organizations. A contact database stores information about individual people, such as names, titles, and emails. Teams usually choose accounts first and then find the right contacts at them.

**How do you evaluate a company database?**

Test coverage of your target market, check how fresh the records are, confirm you can filter on your ICP fields, and run a sample of your existing customers through it to see how many match and how accurate the fields are.

**Can a CRM be a company database?**

Yes, the account table in a CRM is a company database of your own records. It usually has narrower coverage than a vendor database, so many teams enrich it from an outside source to fill missing fields.

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## More related phrases

* [Lead database](/glossary/lead-database.md)
* [B2B data](/glossary/b2b-data.md)
* [B2B data enrichment](/glossary/b2b-data-enrichment.md)

## Similar phrases

* [B2B database](/glossary/b2b-database.md)  
A B2B database is an organized collection of company and contact records that teams search, filter, and export to build prospect lists and target accounts.
* [Company data](/glossary/company-data.md)  
Company data is information about businesses, such as industry, size, revenue, location, and technology, that sales and marketing teams use to find, segment, and prioritize target accounts.
* [Contact database](/glossary/contact-database.md)  
A contact database is a searchable collection of people records, with titles, work emails, and phone numbers, that sales and marketing teams use to find and reach prospects.
* [Lookalike companies](/glossary/lookalike-companies.md)  
Lookalike companies are accounts that resemble your best customers across firmographic, technographic, and behavioral traits, found by comparing company data.
* [Target account list](/glossary/target-account-list.md)  
A target account list is a defined set of companies that a sales and marketing team has chosen to pursue because they match the ideal customer profile and show strong potential.