In this age of massive data collection, a new challenge has emerged for B2B marketing teams: figuring out what to do with all that information.

"Organizations might have thousands, or even millions, of contacts from tradeshows, partner events, and old website leads," Michelle Boockoff-Bajdek notes in an article at MarketingProfs. "Developing marketing initiatives for an unwieldy database results in wasted budget and resources—and, more important, missed revenue opportunities."

Where you need to focus, Boockoff-Bajdek argues, is on developing a comprehensive view of your prospects and customers and their interactions. "That means starting with a clear understanding of what customer data you have today—from all available sources—and where there are gaps," she explains.

She offers four tips for taming your wild B2B data:

Define your customer. Start by identifying and clarifying important prospect and customer company data. Who is the buyer? Who influences the sale? Who authorizes it? Create a multilevel picture of each company, and fill in any information gaps.

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