Data Services

Whilst the obvious response is that you should always want perfectly accurate data, this is often not practical due to budget constraints or other considerations.

For campaigns aimed at mass market high volume, low transaction value solutions where you are looking to maximise reach, a higher degree of inaccuracy is likely acceptable compared to big ticket solution ABM campaigns aiming at the C-suite in enterprise prospects where any inaccuracy can potentially lead to brand reputational damage. Once we understand your specific requirements we’ll be able to advise on how best to achieve your goals and how accurate you really need to be

Wherever you source your data from always look to work with well-establised sources that have a strong proven track records of success. Look for partners that are accredited members of the DMA, able to demonstrate understanding of the legislative requirements (GDPR and more), and are able to offer advice based on what you need to deliver, not just sell you a database.

The honest answer is it depends. Well-targeted, accurate and compliant data from reputable sources delivers excellent results.

However buying large volumes of cheap data from an unknown provider with no history and credibility and no understanding of your market is often a way to waste all the time and effort you have put in to constructing the perfect campaign.

Typically any contact database degrades at around 30% per year so you should base any cleansing activity on this metric.

If you need high accuracy for regular outreach campaigns, then even annually may not be enough, but if you are only running a single campaign each year then it’s best not to waste money cleaning data you won’t be using for a while. The best time to clean your data is just before you want to use it as this ensures it is as accurate as possible at the time it is needed.

Always deal with reputable sources and providers, and ensure that they are an accredited member of the DMA (the Data & Marketing Association), are registered with the ICO, are willing to indemnify you for compliance in their data collection methodology, offer quality guarantees, and actually understand and can proactively offer advice as to how best to achieve your objectives.

Built data costs more but is always more accurate, and if your ideal prospects are in highly speicifc/hard to find roles, you may struggle to find existing sources to purchase of a sufficient quality. Bought data from good quality existing sources work well when you are trying to reach contacts in more generic roles (C-suite, Heads of standard business functions).

Better than either, however, is a blended approach where possible. Buy good quality data for coverage and build for those hard to find roles or to fill gaps.

This varies massively – high volume televalidated senior decision maker contacts from existing sources can be as low as £650 per 1000, wheras research to build a targeted list of qualified and profiled or highly specific hard to find contacts within the worlds largest organisations may cost significantly more – up to £15 per contact researched.

Data collected by GCL comes from trusted primary sources that are then audited and checked for all compliance requirements and televalidated to ensure highest possible accuracy levels.

Of course – we work with all major CRM and marketing automation platforms.