A B2B data provider can help you transform your marketing efforts – and your business. By using high-quality, targeted data, you can connect with more of the right people, achieving higher numbers of leads and cutting costs in the process. On the other hand, using the wrong data can see your marketing campaigns failing to gain traction, with negative consequences for your organisation.
Why b2b data lists will improve your marketing campaigns
Data is integral to the success of your B2B marketing campaigns. Whether you are a start-up or a large multinational corporation, detailed information about your target audience is the key to generating leads and driving sales. If you’re going to buy B2B marketing data, make sure you buy the right B2B marketing data. The right data can be used to invigorate your marketing efforts, ensuring that you reach more of the right people.
The Importance of b2b data
Marketing has changed dramatically in recent years. The Internet has changed buyer behaviour – now, people usually carry out thorough research before committing to a purchase. On average, B2B buyers are typically 60 per cent of the way through the buyer’s journey before they even think about talking to a salesperson. Additionally, individuals don’t want (or expect) to be contacted out of the blue by organisations who can’t solve their problems or alleviate their pain.
Good data vs bad data
Not all data is the same – and, accordingly, not all data providers are the same. Some data providers do act unlawfully and unethically. As such, whether you need postal addresses, phone numbers, email addresses – or a combination of the three – it’s vital to purchase high-quality information from a verified and trustworthy provider.
If you were to buy data from an irresponsible supplier you could:
- Ruin your reputation
- Break the law
- Decrease response rates
- Annoy your potential customers
- Waste your time and resources
Therefore, choosing a B2B data provider is an important decision. You need to be certain that the partner you decide to work with has the credentials and ability to deliver the results that you seek.
Five criteria to look for when choosing a b2b data provider
1. VERIFIABLE DATA SOURCES
Can your provider tell you exactly how they get the data they are selling to you? And do their sources stand up to scrutiny? If the answer to either of these questions is no, alarm bells should ring. In this scenario it’s time to look elsewhere – it’s simply not worth putting your money and reputation on the line.
Once you have proof that the data is from a credible source, it’s a good idea to find out how often it is updated. B2B data is a constantly evolving entity and it decays very quickly, at a rate of around 35 per cent a year. Therefore, data lists need to be constantly cleaned and refreshed. Otherwise, you won’t achieve the excellent results you expect.
2. THE RIGHT ACCREDITATIONS
Your data provider should be registered with the Data Protection Act. All data providers in the UK are obligated to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and to collect data both fairly and lawfully.
It’s a good idea to review the provider’s own website in a more general sense. Most importantly, do they provide valid contact information, such as a phone number and postal address? A shady provider may hide behind their website, selling you data lists and then becoming uncontactable thereafter.
3. THOROUGH, TARGETED DATA RECORDS
The best providers will work closely with you to source the data that best aligns with your marketing and wider business goals. They will carry out “profiling” or “penetration analysis”, which involves analysing your current customers to find out what drives them and what they have in common. This information can then be used to acquire similar prospects from the provider’s own database, to help boost your sales.
4. DELIVERABILITY GUARANTEES
It’s vital that your B2B data provider can verify that your marketing messages will get to the people you are targeting the majority of the time. Of course, a 100 per cent deliverability guarantee is unrealistic as there are so many variables that can affect the outcome.
5. TPS AND CTPS SUPPRESSION
When it comes to telemarketing, you should not contact anyone whose number is listed on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) or Corporate TPS (CTPS) – unless they have specified otherwise. Therefore, it’s imperative that the telephone numbers your provider sources for you are regularly suppressed against the TPS and CTPS. If you breach these rules, you could end up with a large fine.
Once you’ve got your data, how should it influence your marketing decisions?
Your B2B marketing decisions shouldn’t be made in a vacuum. When you’re spending time crafting and honing campaigns, you want to ensure they hit their mark – and deliver you the leads and customers you’re hoping for.
The best way to achieve this is to allow your B2B data to influence your marketing decisions. Your data is a highly valuable resource that will help you to know who to target, when, and in what way.
The right people, the right way, the right time
This is an important marketing tripod: it is just as ineffective to aim your marketing campaigns at the wrong people, as it is to target the right people in an inappropriate way. To construct each leg of this tripod, the best place to start is with your current B2B database.
By examining your contacts, you can work out who your best customers are, where they’re coming from and what they have in common. You can then target similar prospects, in order to win more sales. For instance, you might find that people who hold a particular position within an organisation are the most responsive to your campaigns; or that contacting prospects in the middle of the week leads to better results than doing so at the start or end of the week.
You can also look at which mediums work best – whether email, telemarketing, direct mail, or a combination of the three. Of course, different segments of your audience may produce different results in this area.
Your content
It’s not just who you target – and how and when – but what you say too. Successful marketing is dependent on providing value to your audience; in showing them that you are the organisation that can solve their problems and alleviate their pain.
Writing for HubSpot, Rachel Sprung says: “One of the most important parts of blogging is figuring out which content performs well and which doesn’t – so you can avoid writing content that doesn’t. To figure out what works on your blog, it’s helpful to understand not only how many visits you get to an individual blog post, but how many leads that blog post generates.” You can achieve this by looking at how many people click-through to a landing page from each of your posts.
Similarly, with emails, you can track how many people respond to each message that you send out and you can also implement A/B testing, whereby you send out two versions of the same email to see which one performs best.
It may simply be a case of trial and error to figure out what works best for your business. But figuring out what types of content deliver the highest ROI will pay dividends for your company
Your data can tell you a lot about the people best suited to do business with your organisation. Of course, carrying out this level of analysis on a regular basis can take up a lot of your time.
B2B data can transform your marketing campaigns
Whether you decide to implement these practices internally, or partner with a B2B data consultancy, who can help you to make the most of your records, your data should be a driving force in your marketing decisions.
If you are looking to buy b2b data online in the UK, contact us today to speak to a member of our experienced team.
