The Downside of Data

In the past few years, TSL Marketing (formerly Technology Sales Leads) has been speaking with a number of people regarding data. What we have found, is that the majority of our clients, partners, or prospects are consistently having a problem with lists. Whether this issue is related to list acquisition, list development, or even list accuracy, the same issue has consistently been brought to our attention: What can I possibly do to make my data more accurate and drive better results?

Before discussing HOW to obtain better data, we first wanted to look at the issue at hand. Why is obtaining the right data so important and what impact does it have when your data is partially flawed.

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Bad data will result in a bad campaign. The term “on time, on budget” tends to be forgotten when new data plays an integral role in campaign delivery. We find more and more individuals who spend the majority of their time getting a campaign out “on time” before they think about how bad data will result in limited results. When a list is purchased from a 3rd party vendor or developed from online sources, the accuracy becomes less tangible than if the data was custom built or continuously updated. For example, the average tenure of a CFO (according to CFO magazine) is no more than 4.3 years. The average tenure of a CIO is only 3.6 years (according to CIO-midmarket.com). Although many of these online sites mention that data is updated “monthly” or “annually” we have found quite the contrary.

TSL Marketing has spent the past year researching current 3rd party vendors and online sites to determine the accuracy of their lists. What we have found is that many of these list brokers do not sell what they offer:

1. The bounce rates are always higher than what is guaranteed. With one broker in particular, the contract promised at least 70% of the emails would be accurate… the reality was that only 40% were accurate emails and the other 60% bounced. While they were willing to give a “discount” on the next campaign, this did not help our campaign launch.
   
2. The list, when accurate, includes inaccurate data. When we tested several purchased lists, we found names with titles that had not been updated in over 10 years. For example, contacts who were once in Operations had moved to finance, and were no longer viable prospects for the lists that were purchased. We even had the embarrassing call from time to time where we had to explain why we were calling someone who had been deceased for over 5 – 10 years. Therefore, even when the emails aren’t bouncing, they are still being sent to the wrong person.

What does all this mean?

1. The time to develop a well groomed list can be 2-3 weeks minimum. This time is crucial, however, to receiving the most accurate data that can be effectively used by your sales and marketing team. Be sure to plan accordingly.
   
2. Sometimes the “fastest” turnaround time will produce the worst results. Don’t spend your time trying to be “on time,” rather than this, delay the campaign (regardless of it being an email, Webinar, or even planned seminar) to assure you are reaching the right target market.

Dedicated Data Team

Based on this research, TSL Marketing decided it was time to take this matter into our own hands by building our own dedicated data research team. Our team is comprised of data experts ranging from program managers, research developers, and data specialists all purely focused on building, maintaining, and providing data that is not only accurate, but also beneficial to your companies overall marketing effectiveness.

Contact us to learn more about our data services and learn how less bounces will provide more impact.