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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,[email protected]@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!