Demandbase raises $10M for B2B marketing

The company's Real-Time ID Service identifies businesses who visit marketers' websites

Demandbase, a B2B marketing performance solutions company, announced Thursday morning that it has secured $10 million in a round of funding led by Sutter Hill Ventures, with participation from previous investors Sigma Partners, Altos Ventures, and Adobe Systems.

Founded in 2006, Demandbase is best known for its Real-Time ID Service, which identifies the companies that visit a business marketer’s website. The service allows marketers to customize content by the company’s size or industry and tune analytics to assess behavior by industry or a specific account. But before you go screaming about cookies (you big drama queen), the service doesn’t use them. Rather, the Real-Time ID Service utilizes the company’s Business Resolution Platform, a cloud-based business data network that maps over one billion IP addresses to identify businesses without tracking them.

Result: higher ROI and conversion rates because marketers know who they’re marketing to. Demandbase currently serves more than 1,000 companies.

“Demandbase is creating what we believe will be the foundation for the next generation of business to business marketing and personalization on the web,” said Greg Sands of Sutter Hill Ventures in a statement. “Their proprietary technology which has created a unique global database that grows though a network effect, and a variety of high ROI applications useful to companies from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses, sets the stage for a very significant market opportunity.”

To date, the company has raised a total of $27 million. In 2008, Demandbase raised an $8 million round of financing from Sigma Partners, Altos Ventures, and Adobe Systems.

The company plans to use the new funds to drive usage of its Real-Time ID Service, which has been in the market for a year now and "proven" in various customer implementations, according to the company. Demandbase also plans to accelerate adoption by large enterprises and partners through sales and marketing, as well as to further expand the global reach of its network.

“Businesses are engaging online more than ever before and the vast majority of B2B sales start with, end, or continue due to some type of online interaction. Customers are relying on us to transform their static websites to real-time engagement and conversion platforms,” said Chris Golec, CEO of Demandbase, in a statement. “The investment from Sutter Hill and our existing investors will help make this shared vision a reality.”

Image source: Demandbase.com