How to choose a B2B data provider – 3 key things you should know

Business data providers can only meet a clients need if they understand the specific requirements of their B2B marketing targets and goals.

There are so many providers of B2B data on the market at the moment, each claiming to be the best or largest. Where do you begin to find the best supplier for you?

More Than Words Marketing is a data broker and direct marketing agency serving businesses all over the UK.

Our experience suggests that a really thorough search of data providers should include the following:

1. Conduct Your Research

Make sure to do your research before speaking with a sales rep, to allow you to enter sales conversations equipped with useful questions.

Research is also essential to eliminating any B2B data supplier that isn’t a good fit, saving time and effort.

Consider these factors when evaluating a potential B2B data supplier:

it thoroughly understands and follows any specific data protection and privacy regulations (such as GDPR),
it uses reputable and not dubious data sources and adheres to responsible and legal data collection methods,
whether your company’s target markets, industries and audiences are well represented in their data offering,
which features and integrations are included in different plans, as well as which data fields are available, and
why you should invest in its B2B data list over what you already have.

When dealing with any data supplier, always look for transparency – it also pays to find out if there are any hidden terms and conditions in their contracts.

2. Verify data accuracy

The accuracy of any B2B marketing database you purchase should be your primary concern.

If your company’s sales team are given bad contact data, they could waste valuable time contacting prospects who have changed jobs, or have left the company altogether.

Alternatively, you could lose business to your competitors.

However, fresh data helps you speed up your pipeline, narrow down your potential customers and create improved lead generation.

Providers should be able to tell you where they get their data from, and any leading B2B data provider will be confident when talking about data origins.

Make sure you also know how often your provider updates its B2B database.

Changes in the workplace are inevitable – your team shouldn’t be sending email marketing to ex-employees of target businesses, or using the wrong name to greet someone who has recently inherited a role-specific email address.

3. Ask about packages and add-ons

If you are looking for a B2B data provider, you probably want a solution rather than one specific product.

As you consider your own needs, we recommend researching what special features and product add-ons each provider offers.

Be sure to find out if your B2B data provider offers additional services, such as data enrichment, marketing and outreach campaigns, list segmentation, and so on.

Weighing up what you get for the price is important, as well as comparing which features are of most importance to your business.

As an example, a provider may offer a solution that meets your data need, but doesn’t have a telemarketing service, or you might find that one provider has valuable additional services you haven’t even considered yet.

A good B2B data provider should be able to handle your B2B prospecting and lead generation campaign needs so that you have one company managing all aspects instead of working and coordinating multiple companies who only provide one of the services you require.

Here’s how you can order marketing data

Our marketing team has decades of experience with direct marketing campaigns – including sourcing marketing data lists of businesses, schools and public sector organisations, creating and implementing campaigns that drive sales and leads for clients.

You can find out more about what we do by calling 0330 010 8300.