Almost three quarters of the records in B2B marketing databases are inaccurate or incomplete, according to a new study by Dun & Bradstreet NetProspex.
For the third annual “State of Marketing Data Benchmark Report” researchers examined 223 million files over the course of 2014 and reviewed their record completeness, email deliverability, phone connectability, and record duplication.
Additional findings showed that 62% of the files analyzed returned email deliverability scores that ranked as questionable or worse; more than 66% of records lacked revenue and industry data, which are critical components of lead scoring, segmentation, and targeting; and 41% of records failed to include a working phone number in the contact information.
“B2B marketing is fundamentally changing, and the ‘new normal’ puts data at the center of much of this activity,” said John Donlon, research director for marketing operations for SiriusDecisions—a B2B research and advisory firm. “This report shows there are still a lot of marketers who need to rethink the critical importance of quality data as a fundamental element of driving engagement and ensuring a rich pipeline of qualified leads. On the bright side, marketers don’t have to do this on their own—a number of best practices and innovations now exist to help them develop a data management strategy and get them on the path to being data-driven organizations.”
The report also showed that marketers who do invest in data management solutions see significant improvements in key metrics for their demand generation programs. Some customer examples include:
- A software-as-a-service company saw a 120% increase in the generation of marketing-qualified leads and a 112% increase in marketing-generated revenue.
- A consumer packaged goods company upped its generation of sales-accepted leads by 71%.
- An HR management provider experienced a 171% increase in open rates on email campaigns.
“[The report] made it clear that marketing data management continues to be a huge problem among organizations,” said Michael Bird, general manager of Dun & Bradstreet NetProspex—a B2B data management and solution provider. “As more organizations lean in to these challenges, we are seeing great results in improving their top-of-funnel and lead development efforts driven by a better data strategy. With this continued focus on efficiency and effectiveness for B2B marketers–largely driven by technology–we are thrilled to have our data services be a critical part of it.”
