by Emma Richardson, Operations Manager, Sales-Link Inc.
Bigger is not always better when it comes to databases. You need clean, verified, precise data; data that can be standardized, and visualized. Most importantly, the prospects in your database should be people who actually have the power to make decisions about purchasing your product, or service. So you must be precise to get the best results.
When building a database for any industry, it’s not uncommon to think that the larger the numbers, the better your chances are of getting a lead. But here’s where quality beats out quantity - though, of course, you want to strive for both. Inarguably, there are costs and time involved in getting the best work done, but a clean database pays off significantly in the long-run.
Maintaining a database the size of ours here at Sales-Link (500,000) takes a team of 17 researchers. We have people to mine data, manage procedures, repeat methods, cleanse, and verify prospects. The cost of cleaning data varies according to the automation-staff ratio used in the process.
Data Mining
Sales-Link uses a data mining tool to help grow our database. The tool helps us to screen the best titles for immediate input, and reserve the less desired ones, for manual inspection at a later time.
Our data mining projects are prioritized to ensure that the more popular titles are processed first, which helps in assigning the work properly to our staff.
Macros and Filtering
A macro has been built to identify less desirable titles and companies. We have found that it has assisted us greatly by preventing prospects and companies that have no value to our company from entering our database. We also use filters and Excel, to help process titles more effectively. This is how automation and quality are balanced. Sales-Link uses macros and filters on most of our processes, including data mining, cleansing, and managing our email campaign tool. Macros are a real time saver, and offers consistency in the processes where it matters the most.
Standardization
Customers want databases that are easy to use. Titles, names of companies, addresses, and specific characterizations (such as a company’s specialty) are important pieces of information that are sought after by our customers. Keeping your data standardized, provides easy access and precise information. If for example, you are searching for CEOs, a system should also include Founders in that category. Sales-Link has a mechanism that matches titles, as they are added to our database, to standardized titles. Standardization of data is challenging, even for smaller databases. The job must be assigned to a specialist who understands the process, is able to predict the unknowns, and knows how to translate and organize the information in your database.
Overall, maintaining the quality of your database, as you keep growing it, is essential, and will pay-off in the end by winning you more viable prospects, which lead to more sales. Good luck, and feel free to make contact with Sales-Link by clicking the “Connect with Us” button below!
Read more about the importance of Quality Data here: SalesLink Offers Customers Quality Data