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Navigating the B2B Data Technology Landscape: Vendor Comparison Report

[email protected] | Synthio.com | 888.530.6723 |

The contact data technology landscape is vast and diverse with hundreds of variations of solutions on the market. It’s easy to see how marketers can get lost in the sea of contact data they are trying to manage, the contact data that they have yet to acquire, and the contact data management solutions available from which to select. Every marketer is looking to maximize ROI, but between bad data sources, expiring records due to a transient workforce, and the sheer volume of usable data, many find themselves lost when it comes to choosing a vendor that fits best with their business model.

The Contact Data Technology Landscape

Not to be forgotten are the thousands of other new marketing technologies on the market that solve a plethora of other marketing pain points. Marketing Automation, content management, social media tools, sales enablement, video marketing solutions...the list goes on. How do you know which pain points to address first?

When considering all of the factors that go into a macro campaign, it is important to think of those factors in chronological order to determine priority. With content alone, you are looking at copy writing, research, graphic design, external collaboration, etc., all of which are driven by a well-planned and constructed strategy.

The first step in understanding how to construct an effective strategy is to consider who is being targeted, and why. If you do not have access to the individuals you are targeting nor do you have access to valuable data elements on each individual from which to segment, none of the other factors in your campaign matter. With the most compelling messaging, the most eye-catching design, the most valuable resources, the most genius strategy, none of it matters if it isn’t reaching your target. The content you have so carefully crafted, driven by a well thought strategy, will be ineffective and in turn, a waste.

?

The right contact data and the right contact data elements are the first steps in creating the most effective marketing campaigns.

• Name• Title• Location• Groups• Skills• Certifications• Alma Mater• Validated Email

• Company• Company Revenue• Summary• Headline• Social URL• Industry• HQ Phone #• Employee Count

“Where do I start?”

ChiefMartec.com


Things to Consider When Choosing a Contact Data Technology

Contact data can make or break a campaign. Effectively engaging with the right people is completely dependent on how much you actually know about them; if you lack contact data elements on an individual, you lack the ability to use those elements to isolate those contacts in order to reach them. For that reason, the sources and integrity of your data are among the most important things to consider when choosing a contact data provider...the more you know about your contacts, the better and more creatively you can market to them. Here are the top 5 things to consider:

Filling the Funnel with the RIGHT Leads Like most professionals, marketers think about a plethora of different items in a normal business day, but one thought is always static: MQLs, or marketing qualified leads. How do we get more? What things can we implement on our website to drive more? How can we change our email messaging to get more? More, more, more, right? Well not necessarily - what about better MQLs? Most marketers are so focused on how to get more MQLs, they stop thinking about the quality. When it comes to contact data, we aren’t talking about a list of names, there is actually a huge opportunity to increase the quality of your MQLs just based off of the contact data elements. Mass email campaigns are a thing of the past; new age marketers don’t send the same email campaign to a mass of emails, they do a mass of smaller campaigns to a smaller, targeted list of emails. They do this because they have usable data elements for each contact that they can use to hyper target through segmentation of their marketing database.

Using small pieces of information about a person to then target with specific messaging that is specifically relevant to the recipient, is the key to effective email marketing in 2015. Buying a lead list with names and titles it is like pouring your money, time and resources straight down the drain. Buying an accurate lead list that is enriched with social and firmagraphic data elements on each contact and also contains matched company data will give you a guaranteed return on investment.

M Q L

S Q L

M Q L

S Q L

Shorten MQL Conversions


1.

ROI


Proving ROI Before You BuyWith the massive influx of new and innovative technologies with vast functionalities to analyze and measure, CMOs are under the microscope more than ever before. In 2015 every single penny has to be tracked and with that means that marketers are undergoing more scrutiny and day-to-day changes than ever before as well. All technologies claim that they will take your ROI to the next level, they may even promise the moon and the stars, but the wisest thing a CMO can do before making a marketing technology purchase is to ensure that the vendor can prove ROI before you commit to a spend. Some call it a proof of concept and some call it a trial, but whatever you call it, make sure you can test the product not only on how well it works in a stand alone basis, but how well it works with your team. Even if the product proves huge ROI in a test, can your team handle implementing a new software into their daily process?

Be prepared to do some work on your end as well; most vendors need some action taken on the client side before they can effectively prove ROI. Also be prepared to rope in a few folks from outside of your department to have them provide insight on areas where the new technology might affect them. For example, if a CMO chose the Synthio technology for list appends based on a proven ROI from a proof of concept, that CMO should also have their Sales Manager look at the solution and the proof of concept results and determine if their sales team will be able to handle the amount of projected net-new MQLs.


2.

a. Compiled Data: Data that comes from a variety of sources and is compiled together to make one record. The sources for compiled data could include anything from public sources like telephone directories, auto registrations, warranty cards, sweepstakes, or surveys. Compiled data types can consist of demographic, lifestyle, psycho-graphic, and credit information. (Equifax)

Problem: Contact data is not a democracy. Information volunteered by a crowd of users about another person lacks accuracy in nature simply due to the original source being so far removed from the equation. You are relying on other people to provide accurate and up to date information about other people that they likely do not know. Additionally, the point/reward system ultimately leads to inaccuracy because of others trying to elevate their overall points.

Problem: When data is gathered from more than one source, the risk of inaccuracy is very high, and on more than one front. For example, it is very possible that two sources are claiming two different things about the same person OR it could be that there are two different people with the same name causing confusion both on the user end as well as the provider end.

b. Crowd Sourced Data: Data that is gathered from a crowd of people who volunteer their knowledge about someone or something. There is typically a point or reward system involved to drive more users to validate or append others’ contact information.


Sources:Never trust the accuracy of contact data if you are not familiar with the source from which it originated. Knowing the source of purchased contact data is an absolute must. Becoming closely familiar with the source of the data is a given when it comes to purchasing data, and it cannot stop at simply asking your vendor where his/her organization sources their data. There are 3 main sources of traditional data:

5

3.


Problem: B2B social profiles tend to be very accurate simply due to the nature of the site, but when drawing data from B2C profiles, like facebook or twitter accounts owned by non-working individuals or individuals operating an account separate from business, the accuracy of the data can decrease because of the nature of the user.

c. Social Sourced Data: Data that is gathered from a social profile where information posted is not only publicly available but also self-reported by the actual user themselves. The data could come from statuses and updates but predominantly comes from the data points that make up the framework profile, like name, titles, groups,

Self-reported by the contacts themselves, social data is blazing a trail in keeping up with the valuable contact data elements. The depth of these elements, similar to that of Social 123’s data, are giving marketers insights into their contacts that they’ve never had before, enabling them to hyper-

segment lists for targeted campaigns that actually reach their audience.

Sources:


The more a marketer knows about a contact, the better they can market to them. Using valuable information about a contact like what groups they belong to, their current title, or their certifications is a very effective way to better understand your contacts so that you can deliver relevant messaging to them. However, if those same data elements are inaccurate and/or out of date, it is no longer an effective way to understand them, as they may have a new title, or left a certain group or added a certain skill. Having various data elements for your contacts is valuable, but ONLY if they are accurate and up to date.


Aging:On average, purchased contact lists are 15 months old at the point of sale, at best - and they continue to deteriorate over time at the rate of about 25% per year (SiriusDecisions). Working with clean data is a challenge for most marketers, but a vital necessity in running effective and successful campaigns. It is important to note that contact data decays faster than any other kind of data due to bad list buys, bad original sources of data, and a workforce that is more transient than ever before. Furthermore, the natural decay creates a strong need for frequent and consistent database refreshes that entail more than re-purchasing the same list and then hoping that it is accurately updated. A vendor must provide details as to when exactly it was refreshed, how it was refreshed, how many records were refreshed, and which new sources were involved with the refresh, if at all.

The Average Purchased List is 15 Months Old at

the Point of Sale


4.


Contact Data Refreshes: Let’s redefine what it means to refresh contact data; as previously mentioned, a data refresh cannot simply be the process of going back to the same data provider, re-purchasing the same list and keeping your fingers crossed that it is actually updated. That isn’t good enough. Imagine having the ability to know the exact moment someone in your database changes jobs? Or who filled their shoes?

A true refresh lets you know when there are major changes in your database, how they were addressed and a count of everything that was changed and why. It isn’t just about having valuable data elements, it’s about having those data elements at the moment that they are accurate and having confidence in the vendor who provided them. Within just a few weeks 2%-3% of a database has already expired, so the window of opportunity from a refresh grows with each day that passes and more data expires.

recommends refreshing your marketing contact database at a very minimum of once per quarter.


5.

The Future of Contact Data for Marketers

Self Service Portals:Since most marketers tend to prefer having control, self service portals have become increasingly more popular. Despite the ever advancing technologies and all of the tracking and analytics tools that marketers are now bound by, marketers are still creative beings by nature. A self service portal to search, append and segment marketing data allows marketers to channel their creativity through something other than the traditional avenues of writing and design. With so many new tools available, successful marketers cannot fit into the traditional marketing role anymore, they have to be creative in other ways using new resources, like self service portals.

Quality Over QuantityTraditionally it has been thought that the more people that you reach, the better the odds are of getting more leads and, in turn, more closed deals. However, that is no longer the case for the future of marketing. It is not wise to purchase large contact lists and it certainly is not wise to send email campaigns to large contact lists either. Buy less contacts, and convert more of them by being very, very, very targeted with your search parameters upon purchasing a list. Marketers should only be reaching contacts that share similar characteristics with their defined buyer persona. Smaller, heavily segmented and highly targeted lists with content strategically aimed at them is the most effective way to plan and manage an email campaign. Don’t grow your database in numbers, grow your database in enriched fields and valuable data elements.

Sirius Decisions recently published a field guide highlighting the top 10 leading B2B contact data providers, including Synthio. This report brought light to some emerging trends that are beginning to shift marketers’ perspectives on B2B contact data.


The Future of Contact Data for Marketers

The Age of the CustomerMarketers are now in what most are referring to as, “The Age of the Customer” where the customers hold not only the buying power but the entire buying process. Today’s buyers are as sophisticated as ever; they are connected, resourceful and in control of how they go through the process of purchasing. In order to satisfy and respond to this new transfer of power, marketers have to know as much as possible about their audience and make educated, hyper-targeted decisions on how to reach them and with what content. It isn’t just about knowing who your audience is, but what they do, what sites they peruse, what content they download and their overall online and offline behavior. It is critical to think about these factors when choosing a vendor to provide contact data and/or supplemental data elements on your existing database.

A New, Customer-Centric Era

Takeaway

Contact data and contact data elements are the very first steps in creating a successful marketing campaign. The time, resources, money and energy that go into creating content and messaging is fruitless if it isn’t reaching your audience. The depth of insight on your marketing data is the basis for segmenting and targeting for game-changing campaign results. Data-driven marketers will succeed in today’s digital era and those who neglect to invest in contact data and contact data elements will be left behind.


Capability Description

Data Health Check

Ability for organizations to have their contacts evaluated for accuracy, and analysis of contact completion.

Contact Acquisition

Ability to supply contact names and other related information based on parameters supplied by the organization.

OngoingMaintenance

A process by which the organization can receive updates to all or part of its contact database.

Technology Integration

The contact database connects to an organization;s marketing automation platform in order to segment marketing campaigns.

Specialized Research Services

Ability to perform research on a specific set of contacts requested by the organization in order to ensure the accuracy of the information or provide additional data.

AnalyticsAnalysis of account, contact and customer data either as a service or self-service option.

De-DuplicationAbility to compare new records to existing records in the database and remove duplicates.

Native MAP Integration

Ability to seamlessly and easily connect with at least one marketing automation platform

Self-Service Portal

Customers can securely log-in to and search contacts based on specific fields

API’s Provides API’s of systems and tools it is not natively integrated with.

B2B Contact Data Vendor Comparison

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SiriusDecisions, 2015

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About Synthio


CONTACT:

888.530.6723

[email protected]

linkedin.com/company/synthio

@Synthio_

facebook.com/synthio

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this resource guide are those of Synthio with the exception of a few sited sources. None of the material in this guide is legally binding to Synthio, its clients, or its partners. No duplication of this document is permitted.

Synthio is a leading data solution provider offering the largest and most accurate B2B contact database available. It is the only data provider that gathers global information in real-time. The robust Synthio search engine allows customers to originate net new targeted leads using 26 fields of custom search criteria. With the appending process that adds 40+ fields of social data, customers can strategically augment their existing databases and segment their campaigns much deeper. The total package allows for diminished bounce rates, higher engagement, and more conversions due to real-time data refreshes. With our built-in, proprietary email validation software, deliverability will be effortless.

Synthio has served over 1,500 customers since its inception in 2011 and was recently named the #194 fastest growing private company in the US by Inc.500.

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