From Prospecting to Personalization: Using Industry Classification in Marketing

How to Use SIC & NAICS Codes for Audience Targeting

Standardized industry codes turn guesswork into precision. Use SIC and NAICS to define your ICP, build clean segments, and activate consistent audiences across email, SDR, and paid media.

Step 1 — Identify your ICP by code

Start with the industries where you win today. Confirm coverage using the SIC Code Lookup / Directory and the NAICS Code Lookup / Directory. Save a short list of priority codes (3–8 is ideal) plus a few adjacent codes to test.

Map current customers
Export top customers and note their industries. This anchors your initial code list in real revenue.

Check overlap
Use SIC vs NAICS Codes to understand code equivalence and coverage differences.

Document the rationale
Record why each code made the list (use case, margins, ASP, win rate). This keeps testing disciplined.

Step 2 — Build clean, testable segments

Create code-based cohorts. One cohort per industry code; add geo or company-size filters if needed.
Normalize naming. Use a consistent label format (e.g., “NAICS 333318 — Other Commercial & Service Industry Machinery”).
Keep samples balanced. For fair A/B tests, keep list sizes similar across cohorts.

When you’re ready to activate, assemble your audiences and Start Building Your List Now / Build Your Business List to ensure verified coverage before launch.

Step 3 — Activate across channels

Email & SDR: Use identical code labels in your CRM, sequences, and dashboards for clean attribution.
Paid media: Where platforms allow, upload code-based cohorts; otherwise proxy with interest/keyword plus firmographic filters.
Direct mail & ABM: Code cohorts make it easy to tailor offers and creative by industry pain.

Tip: Standardize your campaign taxonomy once, then reuse the same code cohorts everywhere. See How It Works for a quick overview of SICCODE.com’s workflow.

Example: targeting for an industrial SaaS

Cohort	Code	Angle	Primary KPI
Metal fabrication shops	NAICS 3323	Reduce scrap & downtime	Demo rate
Food processing plants	NAICS 311	Compliance reporting automation	Reply rate
Packaging equipment makers	SIC 3565	Predictive maintenance	MQL→SQL

Run the same 3-touch sequence per cohort, compare results, then expand into adjacent codes that resemble the winners.

FAQ

Should we use SIC or NAICS? Both are widely used. Start with the system that best matches your market, then map the other for portability using SIC vs NAICS Codes.

How many codes should we launch with? Three to eight. Enough for learning, few enough to manage.

How often should codes change? Reassess quarterly; keep winning cohorts stable so trends remain comparable.

About SICCODE.com

Targeting teams use SICCODE.com to standardize audience definitions and compare ROI by industry. Our verified SIC and NAICS datasets help marketers ship consistent cohorts across tools and channels—reducing waste and improving conversion. Explore the workflow in How It Works.