Have you considered the cleanliness of your data? Only “clean” data is useful data; no matter how many records you have, “dirty” data will harm rather than help your business.
Clean data will ensure that your B2B database is:
- Up to date
- Accurate
- Legally and ethically compliant
In this post, we explain three negative consequences for your business that could arise from using dirty B2B data.
1. Lost revenue
According to an infographic created by Lemonly and Software AG, bad data costs businesses between 10 and 25 per cent of their revenue. Clearly, clean data is a lot better for your bottom line.
Squeaky clean, accurate and pristine data is the bedrock of any B2B marketing campaign. It doesn’t matter how articulate, charming and persuasive your telemarketer is if, when they pick up the phone to introduce a new service to one of your clients, they address them with the wrong name. The fault is laid squarely at the door of your database because the information it yielded was inaccurate.
If you are using dirty data, then you are not targeting the “right” people through your marketing campaigns. For instance, if your records are out of date or inaccurate, then your messages won’t reach their intended recipients. If, on the other hand, your records have been obtained unethically or illegally, then it is highly likely that the people you are focusing on will not be the appropriate audience for your product or service. They may even be very annoyed that you have contacted them at all.
Ultimately, these scenarios result in wasted time and resources as you pursue low-quality and inappropriate leads. This weakens your sales revenue chain and your business as a whole. Financial goals are not met and your marketing efforts result in a poor ROI. Therefore, you end up backpedalling in an attempt to repair the damage.
2. Damaged reputation
Using dirty data on a frequent basis can quickly see your marketing messages viewed as spam. If the wrong people receive your marketing correspondence they will likely view your organisation as a nuisance. Similarly, if someone receives a phone call or letter addressing them as Mr Brown when their name is Mr Smith, they are likely to perceive your company as disorganised and unprofessional. They could pass this viewpoint on to others, or share their poor experience on social media. It goes without saying that this can be very damaging to your brand.
When it comes to email marketing, using dirty data will result in more bounces, a lower open rate, and a lower click-through rate. High numbers of bounces or complaints from recipients can also lead to your ISP address being blacklisted. This can underpin the good reputation of your brand. To quote Philip Kotler from his superb book B2B Brand Management, “Brand reality is defined from the customer’s view”.
3. Breaking the law
In the UK, there are a number of rules in place to protect individuals and businesses
against unsolicited marketing messages. These are outlined in The Privacy and
Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR). They are
derived from European law and sit alongside the Data Protection Act.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) levies significant fines for businesses that break the law. For example, in February 2016, a lead generation firm was fined £350,000 by the ICO after making over 99 million automated nuisance calls. This was the regulator’s largest ever fine.
What to do next
It’s best practice to regularly review your database to check for accuracy and remove any “dead” records, and you should never buy a data list online from a random organisation whose credentials can’t be proven. If you are using a B2B data provider, our post, 5 things to look for in a B2B data provider, provides some useful advice.
So how can you ensure that your business doesn’t suffer the fallout of using dirty data? The key is to only use data that has been obtained from a reputable source, is accurate and up to date. Here at Marketscan, we regularly carry out thorough checks on our own database to ensure it’s as reliable as possible. We can provide you with clean, legally compliant B2B data lists for email marketing, telemarketing or direct mail.
For further information about how to clean your data, why not read our post: 3 simple steps to effective data cleaning.
