If I asked you to meet a big marketing or sales goal and then gave you a list of contacts with 30 to 70 percent of the information missing or wrong, you would probably think my expectations were unrealistic—and you would be right. It’s like asking someone to create a great meal using spoiled ingredients. You might be able to make something, but it’s likely to turn out badly.
What’s surprising is that many B2B companies are doing something similar by only updating their databases once in a while—or even just once a year. According to Gartner, about 30 percent of customer data becomes outdated every year. Salesforce puts that number even higher, saying that 70 percent of stored data becomes useless after one year. Gartner also reports that poor data quality costs companies an average of $9.7 million per year. IBM estimates that poor data costs U.S. businesses $3.1 trillion annually. That’s money that could be put to better use—like improving your data or investing in something that actually brings results.
Data Enrichment Is Essential for Your Success
Data enrichment takes the information your company collects (also called first-party data) and adds new, updated information from a much larger external source, such as a third-party provider like Endato.com, Zoominfo or Apollo.io. This process is usually automated and helps your sales and marketing teams work with more complete, accurate, and dependable information. It also increases the number of contacts you have and, with some enrichment tools, even shows how your list compares to your full market potential. This allows you to set better goals and actually reach them—because you’ve chosen to put high-quality data first.
Why Should You Regularly Enrich Your Data?
Adding extra information is helpful, but data enrichment also cleans your existing information. As it compares your records with third-party sources, it can automatically remove duplicates, correct errors like job title changes or typos, and update contact details like phone numbers and email addresses. In short, it not only adds more data—it also makes sure your current data is accurate, up-to-date, and ready to use.
5 Important Benefits of Data Enrichment
Your data is what fuels the results you get from your sales and marketing efforts. Improving that data is always a smart move. Here are five key benefits of data enrichment you can start using today:
1. Data Enrichment Improves Your Personalization Strategy
To send the right message to the right person at the right time, you need the correct contact information. Enriching your data ensures you have that and more. It allows you to connect with your customers and leads in a more meaningful way by sharing content that fits their profile. With better data, your sales and marketing teams can use geographic, business, and behavioral insights to create targeted messages that speak directly to a customer’s needs and where they are in the sales process.
2. Data Enrichment Gives You Better Customer Insights
One of the biggest benefits of enrichment is having more complete customer records. This helps your teams understand individual buyers and business accounts better. With more insights, you can:
- Target more effectively
- Segment smarter
- Nurture leads more successfully
- Improve your conversion rates
- Increase opportunities
This is also key to turning interested prospects into loyal customers. When someone signs up for a newsletter, downloads a resource, or tries a product, enriched data allows you to create a personalized experience. When customers feel recognized and understood, they’re more likely to return and do business with you again.
3. Data Enrichment Helps You Focus on High-Value Customers
According to the 80/20 rule, 80 percent of your profits come from just 20 percent of your customers. Imagine what you could do if you had better data about that top 20 percent. Enriched data helps you recognize which customers or prospects have the most value.
With this knowledge, you can give them a more tailored experience and guide them more quickly through the sales process. This benefits both your business and your customers.
4. Data Enrichment Improves Campaign Results
Enriched data helps your marketing campaigns in several important ways:
It Helps You Reach New Audiences
You can build niche customer segments based on shared characteristics. Adding fresh data to your contact list also helps you discover and target new markets.
It Protects Your Reputation
Outdated or wrong information leads to bounced emails, unsubscribes, and even getting marked as spam. No one wants their company blacklisted from sending future emails. Data enrichment lowers these risks by checking and confirming contact details before you send out a campaign, increasing your chances of reaching the right audience.
It Helps Prevent Fraud
Knowing your customers are real and trustworthy is important. Data enrichment helps you confirm identities without asking too many personal questions. For example, just an email address can provide a lot of useful details. This makes things smoother for users and lowers your company’s risk.
5. Data Enrichment Supports Better Decision Making
Having more complete and reliable information helps you make smarter decisions based on facts rather than guesses or outdated views. Enriched data helps reveal patterns, fresh insights, and new trends that are vital to staying competitive and up to date.
People change roles, phone numbers, email addresses, and even companies. Customer behavior changes too. The best way to keep up with these changes is by making sure your data is regularly enriched and always ready to support your business goals.
