TheCompleteDataEnrichmentSurvivalGuideforMarketingandSales

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WhoShouldReadThisGuide?..................................................................4

BeforeYouContactAnyDataProviders....................................................5DetermineYourGoalsandPurposeforDataEnrichment.............................51. GettingNewProspects.........................................................................52. EnrichingExistingProspectData..........................................................53. ValidatingFirstandThird-PartyData...................................................6

DeterminingtheProcessestheDataWillSupport.....................................71. SalesProspectingEfficiency..................................................................72. TactileCampaigns................................................................................73. Segmentation,Scoring,andAttribution...............................................74. ListLoading/ListEnhancement...........................................................85. FormAppend........................................................................................8

DeterminingYourTargetMarket..............................................................91. BusinessorConsumer...........................................................................92. CompanySize.......................................................................................93. Industry................................................................................................94. JobFunction/Department.................................................................105. JobLevel/Seniority............................................................................106. Geography..........................................................................................107. SourceofData....................................................................................10

SelectingDataProviders.........................................................................12SourcingStrategy........................................................................................121. SingleVendororBest-of-Breed..........................................................122. SingleSourceorMulti-Source.............................................................123. CostModel.........................................................................................13

UnderstandingtheDataSupplyChain........................................................14

GDPRCompliance...................................................................................15

AlternativestoPaidServices...................................................................171. LeverageOpenData...........................................................................172. LeverageFreemiumServices..............................................................183. LeverageYourOwnDatabase............................................................19

MatchTest.............................................................................................20SampleSize..................................................................................................20RepresentativeSample...............................................................................20SpecifyYourCriticalDataFields..................................................................20AskVendorsAboutPreparationWork........................................................20

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GetSamplesofFullDataSet.......................................................................21ValidateTheResults....................................................................................22

ImplementationTips...............................................................................23BatchorContinuousProcess.......................................................................23Pre-CleanTheData......................................................................................23ReconcileNewDataImmediately...............................................................24NormalizeandSegmentNewData.............................................................25TheRoleofTechnology...............................................................................25

PartingThoughts....................................................................................27

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WhoShouldReadThisGuide?So,you’vecometotheconclusionthatyouneedhelptoenrichyourmarketingandsalesdata.Dataenrichmentcanbeaconfusingproject.Howdoyoupicktherightvendor?Doyouneedmorethanonevendor?Whattechnologiesdoyouneed?Whatdatadoyouneed?Howdoyoumaximizethereturnonyourinvestment?Thisguidewillcoverthekeytopicsonhowtoensuresuccesswithyourdataenrichmentendeavorsoyoucanmaximizetheimpactofyourbudget.Ifyouaredoingenrichmentforthefirsttime,thisguidewillsaveyoufrommakingsomecommonmistakes.Ifyouhavepurchasedenrichmentservicesbefore,youprobablyalreadyhavewarstories,butcanstillpickupsomeusefultips.

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BeforeYouContactAnyDataProvidersBeforeyoustartGooglingdataprovidersorlookingforcomparisonreportsliketheB2BDataMarketIndustryReportpublishedbyOpenprise,youfirstmustunderstandwhatyourneedsaresothatyoucandeterminethecriteriatoselectandevaluatethird-partyproviders.

DetermineYourGoalsandPurposeforDataEnrichment

Howdoyouexpecttousethethird-partydata?Herearethecommonusecaseswesee,inorderoffrequency:

1. IdentifyingNewProspectsByfarthemostcommonreasonwhyOpenprisecustomersprocurethird-partydataistogetnewprospects,whetherthey’reaccounts,contacts,or“totaladdressablemarket”(thelatestfad).WiththeelevatedinterestinAccountBasedMarketing,there’sanevenstrongerneedtoacquirenewprospectsbasedonsomedefinitionofanidealprospect,developedeitherthroughhumananalysisorpredictiveanalysis.

2. EnrichingExistingProspectDataThesecondmajoruseofathird-partydataserviceistomakeyourdatabetterintermsofcompleteness,accuracy,andrecency.Enrichmentisnolongerjustaboutcontactinformation,asitcanincludethesemajorcategoriesofdata:

● Contacts(peopledata)● Accounts(firmographic)● Technologyused(technographic)● Device● Intent(activity)● Sentiment

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Dataenrichmentisprimarilytheconcernofmarketing,especiallywhendoingitatscale.Sales’enrichmentusagetendstobemanuallydoneone-at-a-timebytheindividualsalesperson.

3. ValidatingFirstandThird-PartyDataEvenifyourdataiscompleteandaccurate,orissupposedtobecompleteandaccurate,thereisoftentheneedtoverifythedatawithanotherthird-party.Forexample,thedatainyourCRMsystemmaybealittlelonginthetooth,asnoonehasupdateditinthepasttwelvemonths,soit’sagoodideatovalidateifit’sstillaccurate.Ifyou’vejustacquiredalistofprospectsbutdon’thavetheutmostconfidenceinthedatasource,whatcanyoudo?Itmaybeagoodideatovalidatesomeaspectsofthedata,suchasemaildeliverability,beforeloadingitintoyoursystems.Whenitcomestovalidation,you’reinterestedingettingthemostaccuratedata,aswithenrichment;andyoualsowanttoknowifthedataisn’tworkingandwhynot.Thisinformationletsyoumakedispositiondecisionsaswellasassessthequalityofthedatasource.

Yourgoalsandpurposesmayverywellbeacombinationofmorethanoneoftheabove,butit’simportantthatyourankthethreeintermsofusagevolumeandimportance.Asyou’llseelater,yourgoalsandpurposesforthedataarethemostimportantfactorwhenevaluatingadataprovider.

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DeterminingtheProcessestheDataWillSupportOnceyouhaveclarityandprioritiessetforyourhigh-levelgoals,nextdeterminewhichspecificbusinessprocessesthedatawillsupport.It’stemptingtojustsay,“Thedatamustbeperfect.”Thetruthisthattheperfectdatabasedoesn’texist.Dependingonhowtheydevelopandmaintaintheirdatabase,eachdataproviderhasstrengthsandweaknesses.Byunderstandingpreciselywhataspectsofthedataaremostimportanttoyou,youcanmaximizeyoursuccessinfindingthedataproviderthatbestfitsyourneeds.Hereareafewcommonexamples:

1. SalesProspectingEfficiencyNothavingqualitycontactdatacandrasticallyreducetheefficiencyofyoursalesteam.Itcantakeasalesperson30minutestotrytofindaphonenumber,navigatethephonetree,andtalkhiswaypastthegatekeeperbeforeheevenhasachancetoleavea30-secondvoicemail.Ifyourgoalistoimprovetheefficiencyofyoursalesteam,thendirectdialphonenumbersandverifieddeliverableemailsareveryimportanttoyou.

2. TactileCampaigns

Areyouaddingsome“old-fashioned”touchestoyourmarketingcampaignsbygoingtactile?Sendingabottleofnicewineorhavingagiftbasketdeliveredcanbeterriblyexpensiveifyouraddressdataisn’taccurateandthey’rereturned.Ifyou’redoinghighvolumemailing,thenjusthavinganaccuratephysicaladdressmaynotbegoodenough,youmayalsoneedpostalserviceoptimizedaddressdata.Forexample,notjustcitybutUSPSPostalCity.

3. Segmentation,Scoring,andAttribution

Anythingmarketingwantstodothatinvolvesbuyerpersonasandidealcustomerprofileswillrequiredatatosupportdatabasesegmentation.Segmentingatthecontactleveltypicallyinvolvesjobfunction,jobsub-function,andjoblevel.Somedataprovidersonlyprovidejobtitles,whileothersprovidejobfunctionandjoblevelaswell.Ifthethird-partyjobfunctionandjobleveldataisaccurateandmatchesyoursegmentationlogicprecisely,thenthatdatais

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important.However,that’srarelythecase,asthedataproviders’dataisgenericandisn’tlikelytobeaperfectfittoyourgo-to-marketstrategy.Thus,inmostcases,jobtitleistherawdatayouneedforderivingjobfunction,joblevel,andpersona.Areyousegmentingaccountsbycompanysize?Doyoudothisbytheusualreviewofannualrevenueandnumberofemployeesorbymorecustomdimensionssuchasnumberofofficelocations,numberofcountriesoperatingin,sizeofvehiclefleet,numberofopenjobrequisitions,ornumberofrooms/beds?Howaboutsegmentingbyindustryortechnologyused?Knowingyoursegmentationneedscanhelpyouprioritizewhataspectsofthethird-partydataismostimportanttoyou.Datathatisspecifictocertainindustries,suchasthenumberofbedsinahospitalortheaveragecostofahotelroom,typicallywon’tbefoundwithgenericdataproviders,andisusuallysourcedthroughavertical-specificvendor.

4. ListLoading/ListEnhancement

Haveyourfoundthatyoudon’talwaysgetallthedatayouneedfromyourbusinesspartnersthatsendyouleads?Areyoutoooftenmissingjobtitle,phonenumber,oraddress?Or,doyougetmanypersonalemailaddressesbutneedbusinessemailaddresses?DoyougetalotofsocialmediadatalikeTwitterhandlesandFacebooknamesthatneedtobemappedtobusinesscontactdata?Iftheprocessinvolvesfillinginthespecificsetofdatafieldsyou’redeficientin,thenyouneedtofocusonthequalityofthosespecificdatafields.

5. FormAppend

Doyouwanttokeepyoursign-upformsasshortaspossibleandminimizeuserfatigueorinputerrors?Thebestapproachistodeterminetheminimumsetofdatafieldsneededfromyourprospectandpartnersfillingoutaform.Then,considerwhichadditionaldatafieldscanreliablybeappendedfromeitheropendataorthird-partydata.

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DeterminingYourTargetMarketAttheriskofsoundinglikeabrokenrecord,we’llkeeponrepeatingthatthereisnooneperfectdatabasegoodforeverycompany.Thisisperhapsthemostimportantthingtounderstand,asit’sthemostcriticalfactorindeterminingthesuccessorfailureofyourdataenrichmentproject.Agoodfirststepisidentifyingthedataproviderswhosedatabasehasgoodcoverageforyourcustomerprofiles.Therefore,beforeyoucanevaluatedataproviders,youmustfirsthaveadeepunderstandingofyourcustomersandidealprospects.Herearethekeydimensionsyoumustpreciselydefine:

1. BusinessorConsumer

Thisoneisthemostobvious,butalsothemostimportant.Dependingonwhetheryou’reaB2BorB2Ccompany,there’sacompletelydifferentsetofdataproviderswhoserveyourneeds.B2Bdataincludesfirmographic,technographic,andcontactdata.B2Cdataisoftenreferredtoasconsumerdataoraudiencedata.

2. CompanySize

Doyouselltolargeenterprise,mid-sizeenterprise,orsmallbusinesses?Someprovidersspecializeinlargeenterpriseandothersfocusonthesmallercompanies.It’snotsufficienttojustuseagenericlabellikethosementionedearlier.Beveryspecificinyourdefinitionofcompanysizeandquantifyit.Forexample,amid-sizeenterpriseis200to500employees;annualrevenueis$100millionto$1billion,orpropertieswithover1,000beds.Wehaven’tseenadataproviderthathasequallygooddataonFortune500companiessuchasAppleandExxonandsmallmomandpopbusinesseslikethecafeandnailsaloninyourlocalstripmall.

3. IndustryIfyouhaveastrategicfocussellingintospecificsectors,youmustincludethisinyourdataproviderselectioncriteria.Someindustrydataisonlyavailablefromspecializeddataproviders,andnotfrom

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general-purposedataproviders.Forexample,dataaboutthenumberofbedsinahospitalortheaverageoccupancyrateofahotelpropertyisnotavailableinmostgeneral-purposedatabases.

4. JobFunction/Department

Whatdepartmentsdoyousellinto:IT,HR,Finance,orMarketing?ManydatabaseproviderswhofocusonlargeenterprisesalsofocusheavilyonITbuyers,socoverageinotherdepartmentsmaybethin.

5. JobLevel/SeniorityDeterminetheprospect’sjoblevelwithinthecompany.AretheyC-level,executive,director,manager,oranindividualcontributor?Manydataprovidersfocusondecisionmakersandbudgetowners,sothedataqualityandcoverageforseniorpeoplemaybemuchbetterthanotherjoblevels.However,ifyousellaSaaSproducttodevelopersandheavilyrelyonfreemiumandfreetrialforleadgeneration,eventhelargeenterpriseIT-focuseddatabaseprovidersmaynothavethedatayouneedtoreachprogrammersandsystemadministrators.

6. GeographyMostdataprovidershaveverygoodcoveragefortheUnitedStatesandCanada.ThecoverageisoftennotasgoodinWesternEurope,andcanbeevenworseinAsia,Australia,SouthAmerica,EasternEurope,andtheMiddleEast.Tosolvethisissue,thereareregionaldataprovidersthatexcelinspecificregionsoutsideofNorthAmericaandWesternEurope.Thisisoneofthemostcommonreasonswhyyoumayneedmultipledataproviders.AfterGDPR(GeneralDataProtectionRegulation)goesineffectinMay2018,expectEuropeandatatobehardertoobtainandyouwilllikelyhavetoengagewithcountry-specificprovidersintheEuropeanUnion.MoreontheimpactofGDPRbelow.

7. SourceofDataDataprovidersuseamultitudeofmethods,channels,andtechnologiestoacquiretheirdata.Someofthemostcommonmeansare:

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● Purchasedorswappedfromotherdataproviders● Crawlingtheweb,specificallysocialmediaandforumsites● Acquiringsubscriberdatabasefrommagazine,newspaper,and

othermediapublishers● Crawlinggovernmentopen-datasites,specificallyforsecretary

ofstatefilings● Crowdsourcingviamanualentry,addressbookscraping,email

scraping,orbusinesscardscanning● Manualresearch

Dependingonyouridealcustomerprofile,someofthesemethodswouldyieldbetterresultsthanothers.

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SelectingDataProvidersNowthatyou’reclearonyourowngoalsandneeds,youmustdecideonyourpreferredconsumptionmodel.Herearethefactorsyouneedtoconsider.

SourcingStrategy

Manyfactorscaninfluencehowyoubuyandwhomyoubuyfrom.Alltheinternalrequirementswediscussedaboveplayanimportantpartinyoursourcingstrategy,butthereareothertacticalconsiderationsaswell.

1. SingleVendororBest-of-BreedWhetheryou’relookingforonlycontactdataorcomprehensivedatathatincludesfirmographic,contact,social,technographic,andintent,you’llbefacedwiththechoiceofusingonlyasinglevendorthatgivesyouthewidestcoverageorassemblingacollectionofbest-of-breedvendors.Theadvantagesofasinglevendorinclude:

• Lowercost• Fewerintegrationandautomationrequirements• Lessconfusionforusers• Fewerdatastandardizationissues

Thebenefitsofthebest-of-breedapproachare:

• Highestpossibledataquality,depth,andcoverage• Crossvalidation

2. SingleSourceorMulti-Source

Matchratefordataproviderscanrangefromunder10%toover70%.We’veseenmostmatchratestendtofallbetween30%and50%.So,ifyourpreferredproviderdoesn’tfindamatchorreturnsalowconfidencematch,wouldyouliketotryanotherprovider?Anothercommonreasonformulti-sourcingthesamedataistogetthenecessarygeography,vertical,orcompanysizecoverage.

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3. CostModel

Dataprovidersusedifferentpricingschemes.Allelsebeingequal,thebest-fitcostmodelcanhelpyoumaximizetheROIofyourdatainvestment.Herearethemostcommonmodelsandwhentheymakethemostsense:

● Credits/A-La-Carte-Youbuyabasketofcreditsandthose

creditscanbeusedfordifferentlevelsofservices.Forexample,emailvalidationusuallycoststhefewestcredits,appendingexistingleadscostsmore,acquiringanewleadcostsevenmore,andacquiringadditionaldatalikedirectdialphonenumbersandsocialdatamaycostthemost.Thebenefitofthismodelisthatyoucanmaximizeyourbudgetgivenyourdesiredmixofdataneeds.However,trackingusageandbudgetingcangettricky.

● PerRecord-Youpayonceforeachrecordyoureceive.You

don’tpayagainifyousendinthesamerecordagain.Thebenefitsherearesimplicityandthatyouwillneverpaymorethanonceforthesamerecord.Thismakesitsimplewhenitcomestoimplementingtheprocessandtechnologythatwillusethisservice,becauseyoudon’thavetoworryaboutcoordination.

● PerRequest/APICall-Youpayeverytimeyoumakean

inquiry,soifyousendinanenrichmentrequestforthesamepersonthreemonthsinarow,youpayforthatrecordthreetimes.Thismakesthemostsensewhenyouaredoingbatchbulkenrichment.Itmakesthecosttrackingverysimpleifyoudon’thavemultiplerequestchannels.

● All-You-Can-Eat-Yourenttheentiredatabaseorasubsetof

thedatabaseandcangetasmanyleadsandmakeasmanyinquiriesasyouwant.Thisisthebestoptionifyouwantto

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keepyourrecordsabsolutelyup-to-dateusingautomationtoolslikeOpenprise.

UnderstandingtheDataSupplyChain

Itisaverycommonpracticewithinthedatabusinesstosourcedatafromotherdataproviders.Infact,themajorityofdataprovidersdon’thaveoriginaldatatheyproducethemselves—theyaggregateotherproviders’datainstead.Evenproviderswhodohaveoriginaldataoftensourcethird-partydatatoproduceamorecomprehensiveoffering.Herearesomeexamplesofsuch:

● IfthedatacontainsaDUNSNumber,itisguaranteedthattheproviderhassourcedfirmographicdatafromDun&Bradstreet(D&B)

● Salesforce’sData.com’sfirmographicdataisD&Bdata● Manyprovider’stechnographicdataissourcedfromthefirmHG

Data● SocialmediadataareoftensourcedfromSYNTHioandFullContact● EmailvalidationisoftensourcedfromBriteVerifyandFreshAddress

Whetheryou’regoingwithasingleproviderorbest-of-breedapproach,youshouldalwaysaskproviderswhichthird-partydatathey’vesourced.It’simportanttounderstandwhattheoriginaldatasourcesarebecause:

● Youshouldn’tunknowinglypayforthesamedatamultipletimes.● Ifyou’reusingamulti-sourcingstrategytoachieveamore

comprehensivecoverage,youmaynotgetthecoverageyouweretargeting.

● ThishasgreatimplicationwhenitcomestoGDPRcompliance,whichwewilldiscussshortly.

Eachoneofthesesourcingrelationshipsislikelyunique.TheprovidercansourceanywherefromjustonedatafieldliketheDUNSnumber,ortheentiredataset.So,asknotonlywhichthirdpartiestheysourcedatafrom,butwhichdatafieldsaresourcedfromwhom.

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GDPRComplianceIfyou’renotyetawareofGeneralDataProtectionRegulation(GDPR)fromtheEuropeanUnionthat’sgoingintoeffectMay25,2018andtheimpactthatitwillhaveonyourmarketingoperations,youneedto.TheimpactofGDPRiswideandsevere;don’tunderestimateit.Itwilltakeyou6to12monthstogetreadyforit,sodon’tprocrastinateeither.Theclockisalreadyticking.LearnmoreaboutGDPRnow.IfyouhaveEuropeanUnioncitizendatainyourmarketingandsalesdatabase,you’resubjecttoGDPRcompliance,andGDPRcanseverelylimityourchoiceofdataenrichmentproviders.InGDPRterminology,anydataprovideryouuseisa“DataProcessor”.InordertosendanyEUcitizendatatoanyDataProcessorforanypurpose,includingenrichment,youmusthaveaDataProcessingAgreement/Addendum(DPA)signedwiththevendor.Here’sanexamplefromSalesforce:https://www.salesforce.com/assets/pdf/misc/data-processing-addendum.pdfIt’sworthclarifyingthatGDPRdoesn’tjustapplytoEUcompaniesorcompanieswithEUbusinessunitsandphysicalpresence,butitappliestoanycompanyworldwidethatholdsEUcitizendata.AcompliantDPAmustcontainEU’sModelContract/Clause,whichrequirestheDataProcessortofollowasetofstandardsecurityandprivacyprotocols.Whatitboilsdowntoisyoucan’tsendanyEUcitizendatatoanypartnerandvendorunlessyouhaveacompliantDPAinplace,andnotalldataproviderswillsignaDPA.So,ifyouhaveanon-trivialamountofEUdataandyou’dliketoincludetheminyourenrichmentandprospectingeffort,youmustpickadataproviderthat’swillingtosignaDPA.It’salsoworthclarifyingwhatconstitutesatransferofdatatoadataprovider.Itincludesalltheseconsumptionchannels:

● Sendingaspreadsheetorflatfiletoadataproviderforbulkmatch.

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● Gettingper-recordenrichmentusinganyvendor-providedplug-inforyoursalesautomationormarketingautomationplatform.

● Any“inquiry”thatrequiressendinganypersonalinformationtothevendorformatchpurpose,includinganyAPIcall,isadatatransferevent.

● Thisalsoincludesany“smartform”technologythatdoesdynamiclookupastheprospectfillsoutaform.

Sincemanydataproviderssourcedatafromotherthird-partyproviders,GDPRmandatestheentiredatasupplychaintobesecuredandcompliant.OnceaDPAissignedwithaDataProcessor,theliabilityisfurthershareddownthesupplychain.Inotherwords,ifanyofthedataprovidersisnotGDPRcompliantandisnotwillingtosignaDPA,thenthedataproviderwhoissourcedatafromthemalsocannotbeGDPRcompliant.ThisdominoeffectwithinanindustrythathascomplicatedsourcingrelationshipscanmakeGDPRcomplianceextremelychallenging.Yes,it’sbadandpainful,butit’sthenewrealityofdataenrichment.

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AlternativestoPaidServicesMoreoftenthannot,theissuewithdataqualityisnotthecompleteabsenceofdata,butjustincomplete,non-uniform,andunstructureddata.Forexample:

● Incompletedata○ AddresscontainsZIPcodebutnocityandstate○ Addresscontainsstatebutnocountry○ Phonenumberismissingcountrycode

● Non-uniformdata○ Statecontains:California,CA,andCalif○ Countrycontains:UnitedStates,US,USA,andU.S.A.○ PuertoRicoissometimesacountryandsometimesastate

● Unstructureddata○ Hasjobtitle,butnojobfunctionorjoblevel○ Toomanyvariationsonindustrydata○ Annualrevenueandemployeecountaresometimesnumbers

andsometimesrangesandtherangesarealldifferentdependingonthedatasource

Mostofthesedataqualityproblemscanberesolvedwithoutpayingathird-partyprovider.Youshouldreserveyourpreciousenrichmentbudgettoacquiremissingdataorvalidatedata.Herearesomemethodsyoucanusetoimproveyourdataqualitywithoutspendingmoneywithadataprovider.Wewilldiscusslaterthatthereisgreatbenefitto“pre-clean”yourdatabeforesendingthemtoanenrichmentprovider.

1. LeverageOpenDataManydatafieldsarerelated,especiallyaddress,phonenumber,email,andwebsitedata.Themissingdatafieldscanoftenbefilledineasilyifyouhavetherightreferencedata.Herearesomeexamples:

• Ifstate=California,countrycanbeinferredasUS

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• Ifcountry=USandZIPcode=94403,cityandstatecanbeinferredasSanMateo,CA

• Ifcountry=Ireland,thenthecountrycodecanbeinferredas+353• Ifareacode=510,thenthemetroareacanbeinferredasSan

FranciscoBayArea

Thistypeofinferenceandfillingintheblankscanbedonewithacombinationofautomationtechnologyandopendata.AutomationtechnologycanbeassimpleasExcel’sVLOOKUPformula,orsomethingmoreadvancedlikeOpenpriseDataOrchestrationsolution.Foropendata,checkouttheMarketingOpenDataProjectathttp://marketingopendata.org.It’sagreatsourceforthevariouslistsyou’llneed,suchascity,state,county,country,areacode,postalcode,stocktickersymbols,domainsuffix,freeanddisposableemailprovider,andurbanandmetroarea.

2. LeverageFreemiumServices

Thereareplentyoffreeresourcesonthewebthatcanbeleveragedtoimproveyourdataquality.GoogleMapsisagreatexample.WeprobablyallhaveusedGoogleMapsandknowhowpowerfultheserviceis.Itcan:

• Providegeolocationdata,givenanaddress• Returncompleteaddress,givenpartialaddress

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• Returnbusinessname,businesstype,andphonenumber• Standardizeanyaddresstexttoastandardformatandbreakit

downintocomponentparts

ManyoftheGoogleServices,suchasGoogleMaps/Places,GoogleSearch,andGoogleTranslateareavailableasAPIandcomeswithafreeusagetier.So,ifyouhavetherightautomationsolution,youcanleveragethesefreeservicesandtakeadvantageofyourfreedailyquota.

3. LeverageYourOwnDatabaseInmanyorganizations,accountandcontactdata(usingSalesforceterminologyhere)isofmuchhigherqualitythanleaddata.Accountandcontactdatahavebeenscrutinizedbythesalesteamandoftencontainsvaluabledatafrommanualinformationgatheringandresearchprocesses.Youcaneasilyimproveyourleaddatabyfindingtherightmatchtoyouraccountandcontactdatausinganynumberofmatchingschemes.Forexample,ifaleadrecordonlycontainsthecompanynameandstate,ifthatcanbematchedtoanaccountorcontactrecordthathasthefulladdress,thenthelead’saddressdatacanbefilledout.

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MatchTestOnceyouhaveyourrequirementsclearlydefinedandhaveassembledashortlistofdataproviderstoevaluate,it’stimetorunamatchtest.Herearesomerecommendationsandtipsonhowtorunanefficientandeffectivemulti-vendormatchtest.

SampleSize

Thematchtestshouldberunona“representative”sampleofyourdatabasethatissubstantialenoughtoyieldmeaningfulresults.Werecommendthesamplesizetobeatleast10%ofyourdatabaseor10,000records.

RepresentativeSample

A“representative”sampleisn’tjustarandomsampleofyourentiredatabase,itshouldbearandomsampleofthepartofthedatabasethatyoumostdesperatelywanttoimproveaccordingtotheprocessyouwanttosupport,asdiscussedpreviously.Thisusuallymeansit’stheworstpartofyourdatabase.Forexample,ifyou’relookingtoenrichleadsduringthelistloadingprocessandyouwouldliketospendmoneytoenrichonlyleadsthataremissingphonenumberandjobtitle,thenthatscopeshouldbethebaselineforyour“representativesample”.Youshouldhavepulledasampleofleadsthathavenophonenumberandnojobtitle.Thisisimportantasitcorrectlyevaluatedthevendor’sperformanceforthepartofthedatabasethatyouwanttoenrich.

SpecifyYourCriticalDataFields

Makesureyoutellthevendorwhichdatafieldsarecriticaltoyourevaluation.Whetherit’sdirectdialphonenumber,email,jobtitle,companysize,industry,orDUNSnumber.Askthevendortoprovidematchratestatisticsonthesefieldsexplicitly.

AskVendorsAboutPreparationWork

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Eachvendor’smatchingalgorithmworksdifferentlyanditsperformancecanvarydrasticallybasedonhowtheinputdataisformattedandstructured.Thereisnothingwrongwithavendordoingmanualpreparationworkonyourdatabeforetheyattemptthematch,butyoushouldaskthevendorwhatpreparationworktheyhaveperformedtoachievethematchresult.Thisisimportantbecauseinordertoachievecomparablematchratetheyquotedyouduringthetest,you’llneedtodothesamepreparationworkinyourproductionenvironment.Herearesomeexampleswehaveseenfromthematchtestswehaverunforourcustomers:

● Matchrateismuchbetterusingseparatefirstandlastnamedatafieldscomparedtousingasingle,fullnamefield.

● Websitedatamustbeginwith“www”orelseitwon’tmatch.● Emailsyntaxerrorandinvalidsuffixmustbecorrectedbefore

matching,forexample,jdoe@acme.conmustbecorrectedtojdoe@acme.com.

● Phonenumberdatacannotcontainanyletters.Forexample“(800)Flowers”,“650.555.1212(FAX)”,“4155551212ext1234”won’tmatch

● Multiplevaluesinonedatafieldwon’tmatch,suchas“(415)555-1212,(650)555-1212”.

● Usefewerfieldsformatchingcanproducebetterresults.● Certaindatafieldsareabsolutelyrequired,suchasabusinessemail

address.

GetSamplesofFullDataSet

It’sneitherrealisticnorfairtoexpectthevendortoreturnthefulldatasetforallyourmatchedrecords.Afterall,whenyougotoCostcoandtastethesamples,youdon’texpectthemtogiveyouthewholebagorbottle,doyou?Expecttogetbackareporton:

● Howmanyrecordsweresuccessfullymatched● Howmanymatchedrecordscontainthecriticaldatafieldsyou

specified● Whenwerethematchedrecordslastupdated● Matchconfidencescore

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Inadditiontothereport,it’sfairtorequestthatasmallsampleofrecordsenrichedsoyoucanseewhatthedatalookslikeanddoyourownqualityvalidation.Whateachvendorwillagreetohighlydependsonthesizeofyourpotentialcontract.ValidatetheResults

So,evenifadataprovidertellsyouamatchisfound,itsimplymeanstheyhavearecord.Itdoesn’tmeantherecordisanygood.Ifyouhavespentanytimetalkingtodataproviders,youhavenodoubtheardthequalityvs.quantityargument.Vendorswhosematchrateislowerthantheothersalmostalwaysclaimtheothershavelowerqualitydata.Theonlywaytogaugeadataprovider’squalityistovalidateityourself.Includealistofcontactsfromyourowncompany,yourcustomers,andyourfriends—datawhereyouknowwhatisaccurateandwhatisnot.Thisdoesn’thavetobealargesetofdata,100recordswoulddojustfine.Usethissampledatasettoevaluatethequalityofthematchedrecords.

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ImplementationTipsNowthatyouhavepickedthebestdataprovidersforyourneeds,you’rereadytoputtheservicesintoproduction.Herearesometipsandthingstoconsiderwhendeployinganenrichmentdataserviceintoproduction.

BatchorContinuousProcess

Youcanimplementenrichmenteitherasabatchprocessoracontinuousprocess.Batchprocessisquickertoimplementsinceit’susuallyamanualprocess.Thistypicallyinvolvessimplyextractingafileofdatatosendtoyourdataproviderforenrichment.Thehardpartisthemanualprocessofincorporatingtheresultsbackintoyourdatabase.Mostpeoplejustdumpthedataintocustomdatafields,whichwedonotrecommend.Acontinuousprocessmeanseitheranautomated,standaloneenrichment,orhavingtheenrichmentstepsincorporatedintootherautomatedprocesseslikelistloading,leadrouting,orsegmentation.ThismeansutilizingdataorchestrationtechnologieslikeOpenprise.Acombinationofthesemaybethemostpracticalapproach.Integratingenrichmentstepsintootherautomatedprocessesmakessurethebestdataisavailabletosupportthoseprocesseswhenneeded,thusoptimizingtheperformanceofthoseprocesses.Havingastandaloneprocesstomaintainotherwiseinactiverecordsmaybeagoodpracticetoensurethatnorecordsgostaleforalongperiodoftime.Ifyouchoosetodoabatchprocess,makesureyourunthebatchprocessinshortenoughintervalstobalancedataqualityvs.availablebudgetvs.resourceavailability.Rememberthatthelongeryougobetweenbatches,thebiggerthereconciliationjobgets.

Pre-CleantheData

It’shighlyrecommendedthatyoupre-cleanthedatabeforesendingitoutforenrichment.Pre-cleaningthedatacandrasticallyimprovethematchrate,thusmaximizingtheeffectivenessandROIofyourdataenrichmentinvestment.Pre-cleaninginvolves:

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● Correctingobviousmistakeslikeemailsyntaxerrorsandinvaliddomainsuffixes.

● Fillingintheblanksthatcanbeinferredfromotherpiecesofdata.Forexample,fillingincityandstateifzipcodedataisavailable.

● Transformingtoadatastandardthatyourdataproviderprefersinordertomaximizematchrate.

● Cleaningupformattinginfieldslikephonenumber,zipcode,andaddress.

Somedataprovidersofferprofessionalservicestocleanthedatafirstbeforeenrichment.Thisisaviableoptionforbatchprocess.Forcontinuousprocess,thepre-cleaningneedstobeautomatedwithtechnology.Adataprovider’sabilitytousedirtydataas-isvaries,soit’sbesttonotleavethistochanceanddoyourownpre-cleaning.

ReconcileNewDataImmediately

Perhapsthebiggestmistakewhenitcomestodataenrichmentisnotreconcilingthenewdataintoyourprimarydatafieldsimmediatelyafterdataacquisition.Mostpeoplesimplykeepthenewdataincustomdatafields.Thisisawasteofmoneybecause:

● Yoursalesteamwon’tbelookingatthisdataunlesstheprimarydatafieldsarenotworking.

● Yourmarketingautomationplatformorothermarketingtechnologywon’tbeabletoleveragethesecustomdatafields.

● You’llendupwithmultiplesetsofinformationthatmaybedifferentanditwillbecomeimpossibletoreconcilelateroncethecontextislostanddataofdifferentvintageismixedtogether.

Simplyput,ifyoudon’treconcileyournewdataimmediately,you’rejustthrowingyourmoneyaway.Comeupwiththeappropriatereconciliationlogicaboutwhichdatafieldstokeep,whichonestothrowaway,andwhentooverwrite.Reconcilethe

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newdataintoyourprimarydatafields.Noreconciliationlogicwilleverberight100%ofthetime,buthavingonethatis85%rightismuchbetterthannotreconcilingatall.Onceagain,forbatchprocessing,thisreconciliationtaskcanbedonemanually.Foracontinuousprocess,thisneedstobeautomated.

NormalizeandSegmentNewData

Dependingonyourdataprovider’sflexibilityindeliveryoptions,thedatayougetbackmayrequirefurtherprocessingtomeetyourdatastandards.Commonexamplesofthesetasksinclude:

● Thedatayougetbackmaynotbeintherightformat,soyou’llhavetotransformit.Forexample,newdatasaysalead’scountryis“USA”butyourstandardis“UnitedStates”.

● Insteadofreceivingthedatainyourpreferredstandard,youmayjustgetallthedifferentversions,suchas“US”,“USA”,and“UnitedStates”,soyouneedtopicktheversionyouwant.

● Datafieldslikeindustry,numberofemployees,andannualrevenuearegenericallysetbythedataprovider,whichmaynotbethesamewayyousegmentyourdata.Forexample,thenumberofemployeesdatafromthedataprovidermaybe“50-100”,butyoursegmentsare“1-25”,”26-200”,“201-1000”,etc.Youneedtomapthegenericsegmentstoyourspecificsegments.

● Datafieldslikejobfunctionandjoblevelarealsogenericsegmentsthatmaynotmatchyourneeds.Youmayneedtodoyourownsegmentationbaseonotherdatafieldslikejobtitle.

TheRoleofTechnology

AutomationtechnologyliketheOpenpriseDataOrchestrationPlatformshouldbepartofyourdataenrichmentstrategy,especiallyifyourdatabaseislargeorifyouenrichfrequentlyorcontinuously.Automationtechnologyimprovestheoutcomeofyourenrichmentprocessby:

● Pre-cleaningdatabeforeitissentforenrichment.

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● Processingthenewdata,postenrichment,toensurecompliancetoyourdatastandardsandsegmentation.

● Reconcilingnewdataintoprimarydatafields.● Integratingnewdataintoyoursalesautomation,marketing

automation,support,orotherdatabases.● Integratingdataenrichmentin-lineofprocessessuchaslistloading

andleadrouting.Separateyourdataproviderfromyourautomationtechnology.Changingdataprovidersiseasy,butchangingautomationtechnologiesishard.Don’tendupbeingstuckwithadataprovideryounolongerfeelisthebestfit,butcan’tswapout,becauseit’stheonly oneavailablewithyourautomationtechnology.

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PartingThoughtsWehopeyoufoundthiswhitepaperhelpful.Dataenrichment,whendoneright,canaddtremendousvaluetoyouraccountandcontactdatabase.Herearesomeofthekeypointsworthreiterating:

● It’srarethatonedataprovidercanmeetallyourdataneeds.Consideramulti-sourcingenrichmentstrategy.

● Understandingyourownneedsandrequirementsisthekeytoselectingtherightdataprovidersforyou.

● Enrichmentshouldbeacontinuousprocessandcanbeautomated.Theextratimeandeffortinvolvedinautomatingtheprocesswilleasilypayforitselfwithinayear.

● Reconcilenewdataimmediately.Dataisnotlikeredwine.Itdoesn’tgetbetterwithage.It’smorelikeripeavocadosthatstarttogobadthemomentyouacquireit.

● Thereareawidevarietyofdataprovidersoutthereandaffordableautomationtechnologiesarereadilyavailable,sotherereallyisnoneedtocompromise,whateveryourbudgetis.

Ifyoulikedthiswhitepaper,youmayalsolikeourSurvivalGuideforDeduplication.Happyenriching!