Comparing B2B Online Data Sources - New Research

At last year's MarketingProfs B2B Forum, I met Ruth Stevens, consultant, author, columnist, educator and B2B guru. Ruth was planning an analysis of online data providers and was considering some options for structuring the approach.

Just this past week, Ruth and co-author Bernice Grossman, president of DMRS Group, a marketing consultancy, released an interesting study of major online sources of B-to-B data (Thanks to Ruth for acknowledging in the appendix my modest contribution).

As discussed in this comparative analysis of B2B data providers, the Internet has spawned new competitors like Jigsaw and Zoominfo and enabled self-service list procurement and instant download.

Ruth and Bernice asked fifteen compiled list providers to participate in the analysis and ten responded. The list providers were requested to provide counts across a variety of industries and asked to match data to ten real-world contacts that shared their contact information.

The ten providers included: Demandbase, idExec, Jigsaw, Lead411, NetProspex, OneSource, SalesGenie, Selectory, Zapdata and ZoomInfo.

Ruth and Bernice provided some observations and recommendations:

• The data quantity and quality varied widely, even between providers that were subsidiaries of the same parent.
• Run a test by providing a file to a number of vendors for data append.
• Be aware that some vendors may be strong in some industries but weak in others.

We have experienced first-hand the differences between data providers. My organization, Direct Impact Marketing, maintains a strict privacy policy: no lists are shared between clients, so we often rent lists and then conduct lead generation programs.

I would like to share some insight that we have on working with data providers:

• A breakthrough on minimum order sizes - With the advent of online data providers, B2B marketers can now order small quantities without penalty.
• The temptation of batch-and-blast email - Just because you can now order or append email addresses, doesn't imply that you will be well-served by blasting out emails to prospects. Most of our clients are disappointed with this tactic. A more rewarding approach is to call the prospect and then send a 1to1 sales-style email that is personalized to the prospect.
• One size rarely fits all - We have found that it is difficult to find one list provider that meets all of our client needs. Sometimes one data provider can provide very accurate information at the account level but the number of contacts is sparse. This is especially true when we try and target mid-level contacts. We often will merge two lists to get the best of both worlds.
• Centralized vs. decentralized authority - A critical consideration is whether you are targeting centralized locations (i.e. headquarters) versus decentralized locations (i.e. branches). Should you wish to focus on decentralized locations, a response or subscription list may be a better choice, given the demonstrated affinity or interests of the contacts.
• Watch out for list hustlers - If the price sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Check out the scoop on this data provider.
• Just say no - Rental lists can be highly addictive. I have spoken with many marketers who would rather rent than invest the time in their house file. Once your list is of a reasonable size, you will be best served by focusing on marketing to your house file and growing that list organically.
• Size vs. list criteria - Sometimes larger lists will offer fewer selection criteria. Make sure that you have prioritized your selection criteria to ensure that you get a list that fits your needs. It may make sense to pay for more selection criteria and fewer records if the list is a better match to your target market.
  
• Ask your data provider to stop using the term 'sales leads' - A data provider is in the business of selling suspect records, accounts or contacts but not leads. For a data provider to refer to the data as 'sales leads' is mis-using a key B2B term and over promising on their product. A sales-ready, qualified lead is very different than an unqualified name on a list.