Even the best email or telemarketing pitch can fail due to unverified contacts and cold leads on the list. As database applications are becoming increasingly intelligent to serve accurate data to users at the right time and place, organizations need to know where they stand.
Databases are expensive. Each contact can cost as high as hundreds of dollars and companies need thousands of them. As a result, database procurement is highly focused on the quality of leads and prospects.
Data decays due to natural events like people changing jobs and finding new interests. Many details like your prospect’s location, latest phone number, and social data keep changing. Without any warning. Updating them is important for a good campaign strategy to actually work. Your results depend significantly on that aspect. Hence, the high thrust on data verification.
As database applications are becoming increasingly intelligent to serve accurate data to users at the right time and place, organizations need to know where they stand with respect to the quality of coordination between teams such as marketing and sales.
Benchmark efficiency can be achieved with a systematic approach to database verification and it can be conducted remotely. Your organization should be able to run campaigns without having to worry about accuracy of data, no matter what category they choose to filter their prospects.
Basic hygiene of your database
Huge volumes of data mean higher risk of errors and typos
A marketing-database inventory includes a huge volume of contacts. Although they come from dependable sources like government records, or mobile and online data, large volumes create the chance of wrong digits and spellings, often owing to user-generated typos and errors. Some fields may also be empty or partly filled.
With regular maintenance, your field values need to be rectified and augmented. With cloud technology, that process has become easier. Multiple sources can be mapped to cross-check the missing values for each person and they can be populated accordingly. Verified databases increase the reach and response rate for your campaigns. There are data vendors who go the extra mile to provide double verified databases, so that chance of hard bounce is near zero.
Why segmentation?
Segmented lists bring more qualified leads from campaigns
A standard enterprise database for B2B marketing needs to reach the communications department in a segmented format. Each segment may be related to industry, purchasing power, browsing history, download history, recent social posts, etc. A segmented list fetches more leads from campaigns. Comprehensive B2B lists contain 15 to 20 fields including the name, title, multiple contact numbers, full mailing address, email address, web address, SIC code, city, state/province, ZIP/Postal codes, country, primary industry, NAICS, number of employees, and sales figures.
Segmenting helps you also to target people in specific industries. Like, perhaps, you would want to target only people in IT Consulting and Services. Similar segmentation is possible for industries like Manufacturing, Banking, Finance, Accounting, Technology and others.
Segmenting can be done also based on the level of executives — like for C-level, VP-level, Director-level or Manager-level. It is also possible to segment the database based on the revenue and the employee count of the organizations. Department level segmentation is also possible — like, Finance, Engineering, IT & IS, Education, Purchasing, Operation, Customer Service, Medical, R & D, Sales and Marketing.
And then you can choose which of these segments to be targeted in each campaign to make it more meaningful.
Your data may be correct, but is it profitable?
Data validation can boost per-data returns from your campaigns
Your data may have been great all these years, but if you haven’t checked on the new potential leads out there, to replace the not-so-interested ones in your database, many of your hundred-dollar email IDs and phone numbers are getting wasted, as of now. Validation of contacts is important, because situations around people keep changing, and so do their requirements. If you regularly check on your lead quality, your teams can eventually boast of a high conversion rate.
Compliance can make or break your brand
Honor people’s right to privacy; or you run the risk of legal action
You have soliciting rights only as long as you solicit only those people who have signed up (or opted in) for campaigns from your brand. If an email or mobile user unsubscribed yesterday, he or she simply opted out. If your campaign manager fetches the old data, you could be facing legal action and heavy fines. A database should be updated ideally in real time, so that people do not receive unwanted emails or calls from your end. Besides reputation, there’s obviously a lot to lose.
A hassle-free marketing experience achieves targets. Even the best email or telemarketing pitch can fail due to unverified contacts and cold leads on the list. Sufficient focus on data quality will give you better visibility and a firmer grip on businesses in the years to come.
