Our Head of Data Strategy Matt Hanks contributed to B2B Marketings data best practice guide

1. Best Practice Guide
Published February 2013
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Data

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SECTION 1
Introduction to data
You’ve built a solid proposition you know will resonate with the market.
You have created some fantastic collateral. Your outbound campaigns
are set up and ready to go, and your microsite is primed to be set live.
Your lead generation and sales teams are chomping at the bit to get
started. But how much time have you dedicated to your data?
Data is critical to any marketing activity, but with its ever increasing volume
and the sheer number of communication channels at your fingertips, it
means you need to develop a wide range of expertise and know-how.
1.1 The role of data
It is all too easy to focus on the content, targets and deliverables
when creating campaigns, but real success comes when you consider
your data and its insight before, during and after campaign planning
and implementation. A continuous cycle of data planning, analysis,
management, delivery and reporting should always drive the campaign
process. We’ve all heard it before, but data really is a critical element in
any marketing campaign and plays a hugely significant role in:
Matt Hanks
Head of data
The Marketing Practice
“A continuous cycle of data
planning, analysis,
management, delivery and
reporting should always
drive the campaign process”
• Educating, measuring and driving your marketing strategy.
Ultimately helping you meet business objectives.
• Providing insight into what, when and how you should communicate
to your target audience.
• Shaping communication development.
• Demonstrating your results.
To help you get the most out of your data, here are some questions you
should ask yourself on a daily basis:
• What data have we already got, and how do we make the most
of it?
• If we do need data, what’s the best place/way to get it?
• How can we integrate sales data with marketing data?
• Do we need to apply segmentation? If we do, how should we go
about it?
• What processes do we need to put in place to clean and manage
our data?
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3. SECTION 1 Introduction to data
• What’s the best system to use for campaigning and reporting?
• Can marketing automation play a role here?
• What intelligence are we gathering from campaigns and how can
we put a value on it?
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“Now more than ever before,
the wealth of data available
on any customer or
prospect is immense”
• Where should we focus our marketing efforts for the greatest
chance of success?
• What is the best mix of channel communications?
• What’s the best way to prove the ROI?
This list is by no means exhaustive. The point is, in many ways, data is
your most valuable marketing asset.
1.2 Migration from direct to digital marketing
Now more than ever before, the wealth of data available on any customer
or prospect is immense. Offline media, online behaviour, social media,
events, direct mail, email and telemarketing are all channels through
which data can be collected. And when used in the right way, this data
can educate the campaign strategy. It won’t be as drastic as a complete
migration from direct to digital marketing. It’s more of a mix of traditional,
digital and any new emerging channels that are inevitably just around
the corner.
For data-driven marketers, these digital channels are a great opportunity
to collect more information on prospects and customers. This is a good
thing – the more information you can gather, the more insight you can
provide to help shape, drive and support the planning process and
strategies. The challenge is trying to dissect the data and ask the right
questions to generate actionable insight.
1.2.1 Data collection tools
Collecting the wealth of online information is a tough task. And it’s
even tougher to link it all together to develop truly integrated marketing
programmes. There are many tools that can help you do this, but
knowing which tools suit your requirements and how to apply these is a
real challenge. Trying to keep up with constant technical developments
keeps us on our toes.
There’s a lot of buzz around social automation, CRM and monitoring. It’s
all about using social media channels to promote a business and its
services, while collecting information on prospects and customers to
educate marketing planning and delivery. For marketing it’s another string
to the bow when communicating with prospects and customers. For data
it’s another headache from trying to work out how to collect and make
the most of all this information.
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4. SECTION 1 Introduction to data
The challenge is collecting and disseminating the relevant content and
conversations taking place through social media, and turning it into
actionable insight. It’s the same challenge marketer’s have been facing
for years across all other channels: asking the right questions of the
data, testing strategies, and learning as much as possible.
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“One-to-one marketing is
here and data is the only
way to learn how to deliver it”
1.2.2 Traditional channels
Of course, traditional direct channels still have a large part to play in
an integrated strategy. As less direct mail is distributed, there are
opportunities to get more cut-through and make a bigger impact when
your collateral lands on a prospect’s desk. Some of the most successful
campaigns to date have been thanks to a combination of direct mail,
email and lead generation calling – using the data output and results to
find out which contacts responded to each element of the campaign
and making sure these channels were used throughout the rest of the
nurture programme.
Getting the right blend of communication channels is the key to success.
Everyone is different, and marketers should acknowledge this by using
data to determine who responds best to which message, when and
through which channel (or mix of channels). One-to-one marketing is here
and data is the only way to learn how to deliver it.
1.3 The impact of legislation
Legislation is a hot topic today thanks to the increasing amount of data
available on individuals – covered in detail in section three. The law may
be more focused on the world of B2C marketing, but B2B marketers need
to be increasingly aware of the rules and regulations surrounding the use
of contact data for marketing.
A successful marketing programme is usually a secure and law abiding
one that takes into account rules and regulations, and applies them
correctly. There are some hefty fines if you fail to store, secure and
manage your data correctly, so it’s important you get it right. Your data
strategy should include a large section on how to adhere to the rules;
how the data is stored, who can access it and how it will be used,
and marketing permissions should be built into the campaign
communication workflow.
In fact, if applied well, these rules and regulations can help refine and
enhance your contact strategy. For example, providing opt-in options
across multiple communication channels enables you to deliver the most
relevant content to the most engaged individuals.
There is also a lot of talk about the introduction of last year’s EU cookie
law and the impact it’s going to have on marketing – particularly for
marketing automation (MA) vendors, some of whom rely on cookie-based
techniques to collect extremely valuable online behavioural data. I have
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5. SECTION 1 Introduction to data
seen a number of applications of the law, ranging from blatant pop-ups
asking for permission to apply a cookie, to small print in the terms and
conditions. As a new piece of legislation, it is open to interpretation and
until the dust has settled we will struggle to know the best application
of it.
1.4 Building a data strategy
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“What is the true size of the
potential market? Where has
the success been to date?
Using tools and statistics
can help you find any gaps
that need to be plugged”
Before you can develop your data strategy, there is a long list of questions
you should be asking yourself. In the meantime, here are some of the
areas, approaches and questions you need to focus on to ensure you
are on the right track:
1.4.1 Research, educate and deliver insight
• Understand the marketplace, business objectives, products,
propositions, competition and marketing requirements.
• Market sizing and opportunity mapping: What is the true size of
the potential market? Where has the success been to date? Using
tools and statistics provided by Forrester or the Office of National
Statistics, for example, can help you find any gaps that need to
be plugged.
• Target audience: What job roles and functions do you need to
target? Who are the decision makers and influencers?
• Current data analysis: How can you exploit your current data asset
to maximise its potential. Review elements such as age, quality,
depth, coverage and content.
• Review your data on customers and prospects – to identify any
gaps in the target market (gap analysis).
• As well as analysing your data population at account level, you
should review the types of contacts you hold. Find out where
you have had traction in the past as this will guide you towards
contacts and accounts with potential for success in the future
(providing your market sizing analysis is not showing saturation in
this area.)
1.4.2 Exploit and enhance your current data asset
• Can your current data set be enhanced with any external data?
Consider matching additional data attributes or appending new,
relevant, updated contacts.
• Review the marketplace for additional data sources – these can
provide the best-fit data.
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6. SECTION 1 Introduction to data
• Test the water: Who can offer what (coverage, quality, niche targets,
target contacts)?
• Suppression screening: How old is the data and does it comply
with data protection regulations?
• Technical sophistication: Where is the data held? What systems
are currently in place? What are the current processes for data and
integrating with sales? How is it all measured?
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“Where is data held? What
systems are currently in
place? What are the current
processes for data and
integrating with sales? How
is it all measured?”
1.4.3 Build a comprehensive marketing database
• Compile a database of accounts and contacts that can fulfil and
deliver to your targeting requirements.
• What’s the best selection of sources to use to ensure a
comprehensive database?
(i) Existing data
(ii) Web research
(iii) Outbound calling
(iv) Consolidated data tools and pre-compiled data suppliers
(v) Social networks
(vi) Website engagers/registrations
• What data elements are needed to support marketing? What data
permissions should we collect to deliver these?
(i) Ensuring that you adhere to data protection along the way
(ii) What information is needed to deliver the mix of communications
(postal address, phone number, email address etc)?
• Do you need to verify your current data set, as well as build
newcontacts?
• Technical considerations: How will you maintain the quality and
accuracy of your database? What’s the best technical solution for
integrating marketing and sales, and meeting the communications
requirements? Could marketing automation play a role here? What
is the customer journey and how will it be delivered, capturing the
key elements of data along the way? How will you measure and
report ROI?
1.4.4 Profile your key target accounts and contacts
• Multiple messages and contact strategies require different levels of
information aimed at each audience.
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7. SECTION 1 Introduction to data
• Profiling a specific account or contact can help build a more personal,
in-depth view, allowing for a more personalised approach tailored to
individuals’ interests, achievements, roles and past affiliations.
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“The right technology and
proper planning can
significantly reduce the
1.4.5 Apply the right platform
challenge of increasing
To support your strategy, you need a solid platform on which to store
your data. You might use legacy tools, an off-the-shelf CRM system,
something you’ve built internally or additional tools that can be integrated
to enhance what you already have. Software such as Salesforce and
Microsoft Dynamics provide such platforms at reasonable prices, giving
users the ability to update, maintain and access data in real-time and
have extensive reporting and integration options.
customer and prospect views”
When creating your data strategy this is definitely something you should
keep in mind. Many CRM solutions have been adapted in order to implement
the single customer view (SCV) from within, using increasingly intelligent
data-gathering and integration techniques. Software such as Salesforce is
widely used and is continually evolving to integrate with new data collection
channels and digital data (Radian6 and Eloqua are now fairly simple to
integrate technically). We know that getting to a true SCV is, and always
will be, challenging, but these tools are extremely useful in getting as close
as possible. The right technology and proper planning can significantly
reduce the challenge of increasing customer and prospect views. We may
never achieve a complete single view but we’ll get pretty close if we make
use of all the tools and data at our fingertips.
1.5 Categorisation of data
Traditional and digital channels provide lots of ways to engage with prospects
and customers. Using analytics to find the right mix for each campaign or
data segment is a must, as is making sure you can build in the required
contact data and permissions. There are obvious links to budget and what
can be achieved in terms of delivery channels. Email is seen as the cheaper
option, but in this day and age it’s an essential part of the mix. Using email in
isolation is dangerous, but when driven by data insight, it’s invaluable.
When building up your data asset, make sure you understand the origins
of the data and its associated permissions. I’ve come across a number of
challenges in the past where we have been handed thousands of email
addresses, phone numbers and postal addresses, but the permission to
use these for marketing has not been collected, making them useless.
There are ways to address this under the data protection laws, such as
one-off communications with options to opt-in to marketing programmes,
but it all costs time and money. It’s much more appropriate and beneficial
to collect these permissions when the contact is being engaged for
the first time. If you are ever unsure, it is always advisable to seek out
guidance from organisations such as the Direct Marketing Association,
as the implications can be damaging.
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8. SECTION 1 Introduction to data
1.6 Data quality and standards
When building and maintaining a data asset it is important to ensure you
get it right from the start and then invest in keeping it up-to-date. It makes
no sense to invest in building a clean data set that will be 20 per cent
out-of-date in six months. Apart from the obvious cost of marketing to
contacts that have left the company (there’s an argument that someone
will have replaced them so it may not be wasted), it can also damage
your brand.
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“Data quality can decay at
the rate of three per cent
per month, so ensure you
have a process to
continually refresh and
maintain your data”
1.6.1 Get it right from the start
Getting your data right from the outset can make success more achievable
over the lifetime of any programme, particularly in the B2B space. Data
quality can decay at the rate of three per cent per month. So building
a process to get your data asset in the best place possible before you
get into live campaigning and ensure you have a process to continually
refresh and maintain your data, is crucial.
A programme of continuous campaigning and nurturing ensures your
key accounts and contacts are kept up-to-date and reduces the risk of
waste, while making sure the right intelligence is being collected. The
B2B world moves at an incredible pace, so you need a regular process of
updating your contacts and applying suppressions (CTPS, MPS, contact
permissions etc.) to adhere to data protection laws.
The tools and techniques applied in the consumer world are sometimes
seen as being more advanced than in the B2B space. I agree the sheer
volume of data in the consumer world means you need to be clever with
your data strategy, but that doesn’t mean it’s more advanced. In the B2B
environment, we face different challenges and managing data becomes
more complex.
Complex company structures and changing contacts responsible for
multiple areas of a business makes getting to the right decision maker or
influencer very tricky. Techniques such as the single customer or prospect
view (which the consumer market does very well) can create group,
company, department and influencer views that can all be linked, to deliver
a valuable data set that can help educate and influence. But this is often
difficult, with numerous data sets being held disparately. For example,
marketing, finance, and sales all have their own data, which causes
fragmentation – a big problem if you want to develop a truly integrated
data and marketing strategy that has the best chance of generating leads.
Your approach to building a high-quality data asset may vary depending
on elements such as your current data holding and access to it and how
old your data is and when was it last touched (either through a campaign
or cleaned). In my experience, it’s always best to approach this with an
open mind and consider all of the options available. Treat each problem
as a new fresh challenge and look to do some of the following:
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9. SECTION 1 Introduction to data
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• Source new data. Review the marketplace for third-party data
suppliers that can complement any data holding, or build it if no
data currently exists – what sectors and contacts is the business
targeting and where can you find the best data to match this?
Using a mix of data suppliers can often be just as beneficial as
having a partnership with one in terms of quality, but maybe not
budget, another element to throw into the mix.
“Using a mix of data
• Enhance your data by gathering information from third-party
suppliers. You can often obtain new appropriate contacts for your
targeting as well as enhance account level information such as
sector, turnover, size and growth or decline of businesses, all of
which will help your communication segmentation and targeting.
to throw into the mix”
suppliers can often be just
as beneficial as having a
partnership with one in
terms of quality, but maybe
not budget, another element
• Implement telemarketing. You can use desk-based research and
tools such as LinkedIn to find and validate contacts, but the best
form of validation and data building is always going to be over the
phone. If you have budget and can facilitate telemarketing then it’s
a valuable process – especially if your campaign includes high-value
direct mail or lead generation time. It pays to validate your contacts
by putting in a quick call before any activity.
• Profiling and modelling can focus your segmentation. If you don’t
have access to inhouse analysis expertise, there are a number of
data agencies that specialise in profiling existing databases and
can drive the acquisition of new ‘best fit’ accounts (based on actual
data or by modelling look-a-like businesses). This will help highlight
low-hanging fruit and gain immediate traction, in the same way
maintaining your data, analysing and modelling your customers
on a regular basis ensures that you pick up new opportunities
throughout a campaign lifecycle.
1.7 ata and the sales team
D
What role could data play in aligning marketing and sales? This is a key
consideration, as both departments complement each other and are
intrinsically linked by driving success. There have certainly been times when
sales didn’t really care what marketing were doing and saw their work as a
waste of valuable budget – but, luckily, this seems to be a thing of the past.
1.7.1 Early action
When it comes to developing a data strategy, especially as part of the
targeting, engaging with sales is one of the most important discussions
at the outset. They are the frontline troops and can provide extremely
valuable insight that can help shape the data requirements. I’ve already
mentioned the elements required for developing a data strategy in
section 1.4. Where better to gain this information than from the people
who are working the market on a daily basis? It makes sense that in
order to deliver the leads the sales team needs, we should first find
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10. SECTION 1 Introduction to data
out what they need and then make sure the data strategy is aligned.
Getting buy-in from sales and determining what constitutes a good (or
poor lead) is key. Keeping sales happy and engaged will help deliver
successful campaigns.
1.8 Summary
To be in B2B marketing as a data expert is fast paced, challenging and
difficult, with an ever increasing focus on using data to prove ROI and
deliver results. But it is exciting, forward-thinking and offers a great
opportunity to be increasingly intelligent with data strategies across
more channels and levels of integration than ever before. Now is your
chance to demonstrate ROI, deliver results and prove the unquestionable
value of data as both a marketing and business asset. The use of data
has never been so involved or as important as it is today.
Best Practice: Data © B2B Marketing 2013
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“Now is your chance to
demonstrate ROI, deliver
results and prove the
unquestionable value of data
as both a marketing and
business asset”
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