What is Data Enrichment?
Data enrichment, also known as data appending, is the process of adding new or more accurate information to the data a company already has. This data can include customer contact data, demographic and employment data, business firmographic data, financial and revenue data, and more. For sales, marketing, and customer service teams, this information is often stored in a centralized internal database, known as a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Data enrichment is a key initiative for any business, as it helps ensure that a company is working with the best intelligence possible. If a business has data entries that are incomplete, out-of-date, inaccurate, or duplicated, it slows processes down and can lead to inefficient or ineffective work.
Data enrichment addresses these concerns so teams at all levels of the enterprise can make better decisions and produce faster, more efficient, and more profitable outcomes.
Data enrichment benefits
Data enrichment has many different applications across an organization. It is often used by sales and marketing teams, especially for customer acquisition and retention, but it can have wide-ranging applications at all levels of an enterprise.
More accurate lead targeting and evaluation
With more accurate data, businesses can better define their ideal customer profile (ICP) and target those leads specifically, instead of using time and resources on lower priority prospects. Companies can customize their marketing efforts to speak more directly to leads and their exact pain points/needs, leading to improved customer acquisition rates.
Successful business onboarding and verification
Know Your Business (KYB) onboarding is the crucial process of confirming that small business clients and prospective clients are exactly who they say they are. With the right data, companies can verify the legitimacy of their customer base with more speed, accuracy, and success. This better protects them from potential financial liability, and allows them to more accurately determine risk factors and adjust their service levels and credit approvals as needed.
Personalized customer experiences
Beyond customized outreach for prospective leads, businesses also need to present an intuitive, responsive, and personalized client service experience for established customers at all touchpoints. The more information a business has about its clients, the more it can craft experiences that connect with them — helping the business distinguish itself from its competition.
Best practices for data enrichment
- Successful, lasting data enrichment strategies require a coordinated, company-wide approach. Common best practices include:
- Having clearly defined goals for the data enrichment program, including established timelines for implementation and measurable data targets.
- Implementing a repeatable, ongoing enrichment strategy to enhance data at regular intervals.
- Conducting a full data audit to evaluate the starting data quality and identify the areas for improvement.
- Possessing intuitive data enrichment tools, such as software or data providers, to assist with and automate the process
