The Top 10 Pitfalls to Avoid When Sourcing New Prospect Data

The Top 10 Pitfalls to
Avoid When Sourcing
New Prospect Data
Brought to you by JigsawThe Top 10 Pitfalls to Avoid When Sourcing New Prospect Data
What do you do if the list of business data you've purchased is "a lemon?" No matter how hard you squeeze, you can't bring outdated contacts back from the graveyard. Or target a dierent role within an organization. Or get yourself o a company's spam-blocking black list. If you start with lemons, you're not going to get the qualied leads you're looking for. And the lemonade? At least you've learned an important lesson: Next time, buy a better list.
What are the characteristics of high-quality business data? This article will explain the key dierences in the way vendors of business data produce their lists. We'll show you how to spot freshness and avoid list fatigue. The issue of permissions is vital when you're buying an email list, so we'll discuss the red ags that can warn you away from hidden perils. We'll show how proper targeting and ltering can make a big dierence. And you'll learn what questions to ask-whether you're working with a list broker or checking out resources online.
By starting with better business data, you'll end up with the kind of results you've always wanted: More quali-ed leads, better conversion rates, and a quicker, more ecient process. You'll be more productive, and-most importantly-more protable.
Here are the 10 pitfalls and some practical alternatives:
1. The stale list syndrome.
Depending on how the data is assembled, the list you're buying could be well past its expiration date. Firms using old technology have to access data from published records such as government reports, phone listings and credit data. Typically, that means a time lag of six months to a year-or more. Given the pace of change in today's job market, that's a pretty serious handicap.
Other rms use technology to speed the process of updating contact information. Basically, web crawlers scour the Internet, accessing corporate sites and online press releases and then automatically update the contact data. Again, there are issues with this approach. How quickly do employers actually update their websites? Unless there's a new CEO coming on board, companies probably won't make updating the website a top priority. That leads to the next question: How deep is the roster of employees? Most companies' websites only identify the senior executive team and board members. That's not very helpful if you need to reach the person responsible for ordering IT equipment. Finally, there's the issue of accuracy. Everyone knows there's a lot of outdated and inaccurate information on the web. How do you know the web crawler is accessing the best, most recent data?
Crowdsourcing is one of the most innovative-and eective-of the new technologies available for collecting business data that's accurate and up to date. Wikipedia is probably the best-known example of crowdsourcing, relying on voluntary contributions from millions of individuals to create an online encyclopedia. Crowdsourcing works even better for collecting business data. Individuals voluntarily provide their contact information in exchange for access to information about their peers who also contribute to the database. There's no question about accuracy, and people are motivated to update their records quickly in order to stay in touch with the network. Business data providers using this technique are able to oer leads that are fresh, "self-cleaning," and accurate.
2. List fatigue.
A tired, worn-out list simply won't produce results. List fatigue occurs when a business data vendor sells the exact same list repeatedly to dierent organizations that operate in the same space. Contacts start to feel inundated; they build up their defenses, making it harder for messages to get through.
P.2The Top 10 Pitfalls to Avoid When Sourcing New Prospect Data
Of course, competition is a fact of life. But there are several things business marketers can do to avoid list fatigue. The rst step is to use a list that is as customized as possible. If the business data provider can provide sophisticated ltering capabilities, you'll be better able to target the right individuals.
The second step is to create strong messages that speak to the specic needs of the target audience. The critical point is how closely the two steps ... [download for more]