Data is the driving force behind every successful B2B sales strategy. We need good quality business data to point us towards the best leads and guide our sales outreach.
But the problem with company contact databases is that often they’re out of date and incomplete. In other words, unusable. In fact, it’s been reported that 49% of marketers don’t have confidence in their company’s data quality.
For sales teams, this means more time spent researching leads than actually selling to them.
Tired of losing time due to unusable contact data? There is a solution: Data enrichment, a technique used to improve lead quality and create an actionable database.
In this article, discover data enrichment, its uses, how to enrich B2B data and data enrichment examples.
What is data enrichment?
Data enrichment (or database enhancement) is the process of adding details to existing contact or company information. It’s about filling in the gaps with important insights to create a ‘richer’, more complete profile.
What makes this process so worthwhile?
When you first capture a lead, you get a handful of details such as the name, email address, and company. But it’s usually not enough to qualify a lead or plan a personalized outreach campaign.
By enriching or enhancing lead data, it gives more context to each opportunity. And the more you know about a lead, the better chance of converting them.
With publicly available information, you can enrich data using one of these techniques:
- Automatically extracting web data with a scraping tool like Captain Data, then importing it to a CRM or Google Sheets (the easiest, most flexible method)
- Manually researching a lead on Google or LinkedIn, then adding information to the database
- Using a B2B data enrichment software with its own database of contact information
The benefits of automated data enrichment for sales teams
How to get lead data quickly without losing hours in research? That’s the challenge for sales.
Before contacting a lead, you do your research on Google and LinkedIn. Add the findings to the CRM. Rinse and repeat for each lead. Before you know it, the hours start to clock up.
So when you think about it, it’s not surprising that sales reps only spend one-third of their time actually selling. 🤯
Automated data enrichment saves time because it fetches the information for you.
A data automation platform like Captain Data gives sales teams a way to:
- Scale lead data collection
- Set up repeatable automated workflows for a constant supply of enriched data
- Unlock the data sources that bring value to the business
- Qualify and segment leads
- Gather insights that can lead to a new sale
- Get a complete overview of a target account including location, size, and sector of activity (important for ABM strategies)
- Anticipate a prospect’s needs and connect with them through personalized messaging
- Update existing data to avoid chasing unsuitable opportunities
The data enrichment process
1/ Identifying What Data You're Missing
Start by pinpointing the exact data your database is missing. For instance, if you have names and job titles in your lead database but no email addresses, your priority should be to gather those emails.
2/ Choosing High-Quality Data Sources
The quality of your data sources greatly affects your data enrichment efforts. Opt for sources known for their dependability and completeness to ensure the data you collect is precise.
3/ Manually Combining Data
Manually merging data from various sources can be time-consuming but is crucial for accuracy. This step often requires checking the same information in multiple sources to verify its correctness.
4/ Automating to Boost Efficiency and Growth
Manual data enrichment isn't practical for large databases. Automation tools can significantly speed up the data collection and enrichment process, making it an essential strategy for businesses aiming to expand.
5/ Selecting the Optimal Data Enrichment Method
A. Leverage tools like Captain Data to automate the data extraction and enrichment process from various sources, allowing for easy integration into your CRM or Google Sheets.
B. Consider B2B data enrichment software that includes a vast database of contacts and information for your use.
💡 If you want to learn more about the steps to enrich a database, you can read this article: How to Enrich a Business Database: A Step-by-Step Guide
9 uses for data enrichment
1. Reduce the size of lead gen forms
Capture first, enrich later.
Who’s going to fill out a form with 10 information fields?!
The shorter and simpler the contact form, the higher the conversion rate.
Data enrichment gives you the possibility to keep forms as simple as possible. Only ask for essential details such as the name, email address, and company.
Once you’ve got the lead, enrich the profile with details such as job title, phone number, company address, number of employees, sector of activity, etc.
2. Identify and remove form fields that turn people away
Did you know that asking for a phone number decreases lead gen form conversion by 5%?
Leads are often reluctant to hand over certain information such as turnover, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles, address, etc.
But with data enrichment, you don’t have to force it out of them there and then. You can retrieve it separately.
Simply remove the form fields that have a negative impact on conversion and gain more leads in the process.
3. Segment and structure data
Data enrichment can be used to give messy, badly formatted data an organized structure.
By focusing on the data that’s most relevant to the business, putting an emphasis on data quality.
With Captain Data you can choose whichever data points and sources you want to pull information from.
Once you’ve got the data, separate leads into segments based on shared characteristics.
Use the segments to create email lists and target audiences for ads. And with that, you’re all set up to run targeted outreach campaigns 🚀
4. Better personalization
Personalized email messages have a 46% higher open rate than generic messages.
Enriched business data gives you the knowledge and insights to personalize email outreach. Grab a prospect’s attention by speaking directly to their needs.
Let’s say you’re selling employee onboarding software to HR teams. With data enrichment you can check hiring sites like Indeed to see which companies are recruiting, since onboarding is more likely to be a pain point for companies doing large-scale recruitment.
Use this type of insight to make your email outreach more personalized and relevant.
5. Create a lead scoring system
Lead scoring is the process of classifying leads according to their value and level of engagement.
Scores are assigned to leads according to:
- Behavior and interactions with your brand such as page views, email clicks, downloaded content, etc. This is usually done with a marketing automation tool.
- Company information (size, department, function, address, industry, turnover, etc)
It’s only ever a small portion of leads that are actually sales-ready. In most cases, the lead who just downloaded your ebook needs warming up.
This is where database enhancement comes in handy.
Armed with additional insights on each lead, you’ll be able to implement an effective lead scoring system. Use this scoring system to guide your lead nurturing and qualification process.
6. Monitor and pick up on business signals
A business signal is any type of activity indicating it’s a good time for a lead to buy from you.
It’s usually time-sensitive, news-driven data you learn about from a company’s social profiles or other media outlets. It could be anything from fundraising to changes in management, recruitment drives, or opening a new office location.
You can use data enrichment to pull this type of information from the internet directly to your contact database. Not only does it help time your pitch, it gives an opportunity to further personalize your outreach.
7. Give lost leads a new lease of life
It’s time to wipe the dust off your ‘Lost Leads’ file.
Budget, needs, decision-makers—all these things change with time. Just because a lead wasn’t interested or ready back then, doesn’t mean it’ll always be the case.
An old prospect list still has value. Data enrichment methods can help bring it back to life by adding fresh data and insights. It’s the perfect way to highlight new opportunities 💡
8. Identify your ideal target customer
There are dozens of data points you can use to enrich your B2B database: address, phone number, Sales Navigator profile, customer reviews—the possibilities are endless.
But which data is the most relevant to your business? After all, having a ton of data is useless unless you actually use it for something.
With data enrichment you can focus on the most useful data points and ignore the rest.
To do this, you need to start by defining your Ideal Customer Profile. This will help you figure out which data to extract.
Let’s say you have a list of CMOs but your ideal target is a CMO at a SaaS startup with less than 50 people. In this case you’ll enrich your lead list with the sector of activity and number of company employees.
This approach makes it easier to identify and qualify your target. Plus, it helps build a database of relevant, organized data.
9. Diffuse enriched data to all your different tools
One of the most common issues with business data is that it doesn’t get distributed properly. A prime example is when sales teams start sourcing data with plug and play tools, creating siloed data within an enterprise.
Ideally, data needs to be synchronized and integrated across the organization. In other words, each system should be updated with the same lead and customer information. This way everybody benefits from up to date internal data.
At Captain Data, we’re all about making data accessible and actionable across the organization. We’ll help you synchronize enriched data across all your different tools using APIs, without code.
Book a meeting with us to discuss your data project together. 💻
How does data enrichment work? 3 methods you can use
Ok, so now you know what data enrichment can do, but how do you actually enrich data?
Essentially, there are three methods you can use to enrich B2B data:
- Web scraping
- Manual research
- Data enrichment tools or services
Let’s take a look at each.
1. Web scraping
Web scraping is the process of automatically extracting large quantities of data from the web.
It’s an affordable, scalable way to enrich a B2B database. Use it to import publicly available web data into a CRM or spreadsheet.
Good news: You no longer need to be a programmer or write your own scripts to set up web scraping. No code scraping tools like Captain Data make it easy to extract data from websites, no technical knowledge required.
Start a free trial with Captain Data
The go-to tactic for gathering lead data fast, scraping is ideal for enriching a prospect list. Why? Because you have complete flexibility in choosing which data to extract.
Then it’s just a case of setting up automated workflows to run over and over, so your team always has enriched data available.
Just remember, the web is a huge source of information and not all of it is accurate. You’ll still need to validate scraped data before using it in outreach campaigns (e.g. by using an email verification tool).
2. Manual research
As mentioned, another option is to enrich leads through manual research. This means looking up leads on Google, LinkedIn, or company websites, then adding that information to a spreadsheet or database.
Fine for small amounts of data but extremely inefficient for enriching a file with hundreds of prospects.
3. Data enrichment tools
A data enrichment tool (or data enrichment service) does three things:
- Gathers third-party data from the internet
- Organizes, cleans, and formats the data
- Aggregates data from different sources
Clearbit, Dropcontact, Zoominfo are examples of data enrichment tools.
These services all work well but one disadvantage is that you're limited to what’s available in their database. Compared to scraping you don’t have the same freedom when it comes to choosing data points and data sources.
Where to find the data to enrich a lead list
The web is jam-packed with company data, whether it be from Google, social networks, media outlets, review sites, directories, or elsewhere.
Again, it’s a case of identifying the most relevant data sources that correspond to your Ideal Customer Profile.
If you’re targeting small service-based businesses, Google is your best friend. For C-level executives in large enterprises, it’s LinkedIn.
Typically, the most useful sources for B2B data include:
- The company website: Get contact details, links to social media profiles, and other contextual information.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: A goldmine for B2B, if your lead has an active profile on LinkedIn. Use the filter to carry out targeted searches.
- Google Maps: Great for small businesses (shops, tradespeople). Local searches usually include an address, phone number, and website.
- Yellow Pages and industry directories: Useful when targeting companies in a specific niche, just make sure the information is up to date first.
Benefits of Using Data Enrichment Tool
Data enrichment tools bring a slew of advantages to businesses, revolutionizing how they manage and interact with data. These tools significantly enhance data quality by cleaning, standardizing, and updating information, ensuring accuracy and reducing errors. This improvement allows organizations to make more informed decisions.
For sales and marketing teams, data enrichment is particularly beneficial. It enriches lead information with additional details like job titles and company size, facilitating better lead scoring and segmentation. This targeted approach improves conversion rates and shortens sales cycles. Moreover, enriched data supports personalized marketing efforts, allowing for campaigns that resonate more deeply with the target audience.
In sales, data enrichment tools provide detailed lead profiles, enabling reps to tailor their pitches effectively and close deals more efficiently. For account-based marketing (ABM), these tools offer in-depth insights into target accounts, leading to more personalized and successful strategies.
Beyond sales and marketing, data enrichment enhances customer relationships by providing a comprehensive view of customer preferences and history, improving service and support. It also supports data-driven decision-making across various organizational aspects, from product development to market expansion, by offering accurate and up-to-date data.
Furthermore, data enrichment tools give businesses a competitive edge by keeping them abreast of market trends and opportunities, alongside automating data management processes to save time and reduce costs. They also ensure compliance with data protection regulations, securing data handling and maintaining customer trust.
In summary, data enrichment tools are invaluable for businesses seeking to improve data quality, streamline sales and marketing processes, enhance customer relationships, and make informed decisions, all while ensuring data security and compliance.
Most Popular Data Enrichment Tools
Data enrichment tools come in a variety of shapes and sizes, each designed to boost your data's value in unique ways. Here's a simplified guide to some of the best tools out there:
Dataflows Automation Platforms
These tools are all about automating your data workflows. They're fantastic at pulling in data from different online sources and integrating it into your business smoothly. If you're looking to automate data management and improve efficiency, these platforms are worth a look.
Captain Data: A standout for its ability to integrate with platforms like Google, LinkedIn, and more, Captain Data excels in pulling live data from the web. It's known for its wide range of pre-built and custom workflows, making it perfect for businesses of any size wanting to up their data game.
B2B Database with Automated Sequences
These tools offer rich B2B databases along with automated outreach sequences, streamlining your sales and marketing efforts. They're key for anyone looking to boost their lead generation and nurturing processes with minimal fuss.
Hunter.io: Great for finding email addresses, especially useful for large companies. It's user-friendly and comes with handy features like cold emailing templates.
Lusha: Though its effectiveness varies by country and it's not GDPR compliant, Lusha is praised for its accurate contact info and integration with LinkedIn, making it ideal for small to medium-sized businesses.
Apollo.io: A rising star, Apollo.io provides a vast database for lead generation and sales engagement, making it a go-to for small sales teams.
ZoomInfo: Known for its extensive B2B contact database in the US, ZoomInfo is the choice for larger businesses focused on lead generation and cold calling.
Contact Information Enrichment
These tools are all about adding valuable contact details to your databases, ensuring your communication strategies are as personalized and effective as possible. They're especially useful for marketing and sales teams.
Clearbit: Once a market leader, Clearbit remains a top choice for lead scoring, offering real-time data updates and seamless integration with platforms like HubSpot.
Dropcontact: GDPR compliant and praised for its data cleaning and enrichment capabilities, Dropcontact is a must-have for marketers in Europe.
Datagma: Specializes in improving data accuracy and relevance, making it a top pick for finding phone numbers in Europe.
FullContact: Offers a suite of tools for contact management and enrichment, ideal for medium to large businesses looking for detailed profiling and management across various platforms.
RocketReach: A favorite in lead generation and contact information enrichment, particularly among HR professionals, for its ease of use and verified contact details.
SocieteInfo: Focused on the French market, SocieteInfo is unmatched in providing detailed company data, making it perfect for sales prospecting in France.
Each of these tools offers something unique for enhancing your data. Whether you're looking to automate data workflows, enrich contact information, or streamline your lead generation process, there's a tool out there that can help.
💡 Feel free to explore our detailed review of the data enrichment tools available in 2024, which we've carefully put together for you: Best Data Enrichment Tools for 2024
How Captain Data can help with Data Enrichment
Imagine having a superhero for your data needs. That's Captain Data for you in the world of data enrichment. It's like having a powerful sidekick that goes beyond what ordinary tools do, bringing advanced automation features that make handling data a breeze.
Let's break it down: Captain Data is not your average tool. It's like the Swiss Army knife for data handling, offering everything from grabbing data from the web to making it richer, integrating it seamlessly into your systems, and even automating your workflows from start to finish. Whether you need custom setups or prefer something ready to go, Captain Data has your back, ensuring your database is always filled with fresh, accurate information, including smooth CRM integration.
Now, you might wonder, "What makes Captain Data stand out?" It's all about the smart features – like switching accounts to keep the data flowing without hitting those annoying daily limits, and managing those accounts wisely to stay under the radar and avoid bans. Plus, with real-time automation and connections to major platforms like Make and N8N, Captain Data is all about keeping your operations running smoothly without a hitch.
While other tools might be okay for the odd job here and there, Captain Data is the superhero team you want for the big leagues. It's perfect for businesses that need to automate their data processes fully, from gathering leads to enriching and reaching out to them. Especially for those using LinkedIn and Sales Navigator, Captain Data ensures your lead database is always fresh and up-to-date.
Here are some examples of the type of data used to enrich a B2B database with Captain Data:
- Contact details from a company website or Google My Business profile
- Search results
- Company social media profiles
- Employee profiles on LinkedIn (then find a valid emails with an email finder)
- Social media followers
- Customer reviews from Yelp or TripAdvisor
Here’s an example of data enrichment workflow with Captain Data, starting with a list of company domains:
- Upload a list of domain names
- Visit the websites to find social URLs
- Enrich the initial domain name with additional data, depending on the platform you want to extract data from
- Push that data into a CRM
💡 If you want to deep dive into how you can automate your CRM Enrichment with Captain Data to maximize your lead qualification, click here.
In essence, Captain Data is your go-to solution if you're serious about unlocking the full potential of your data assets. It's about making data enrichment easy, efficient, and scalable, letting you focus on what truly matters – growing your business. So, if you're looking to turn your data processes from good to great, Captain Data is the hero you need.
Get started with automated data enrichment
So you see, data enrichment not only improves efficiency and data quality but also boosts sales performance! The use cases explored in this article are only a handful of what’s possible.
By now we hope you’ve got a solid understanding of what is data enrichment. Ready to try it out for yourself? Start your 14-day free trial of Captain Data and launch your own lead gen machine today!
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