Over the last few months we have seen a significant increase in the demand for our services around list building, contact discovery, validation and account based mapping. So what is the difference and which is best for you and your company’s needs.
Since the changes in legislation, the way you store, use and manage data has changed. Many companies have purged all legacy data from their systems and have started fresh. Sometimes purchasing new data sets can be tricky because the number of companies and contacts available that have the required GDPR Compliance, are very limited.
There has been a big shift to hand building targeted data sets, this breaks down in to 3 areas or a combination of all 3:
List Build
If all you have is a list of Target Accounts, with a company name and nothing else, then this is the starting point. We will take that list and through web and desk research we will work through the Target Accounts and complete the following:
Confirm the Company still exists
Get new details if changed or merged or part of a group
Populate Head Office Address & Phone
Confirm Industry - Web URL and any other important information
Contact Discovery
If you have a list with all of the company information or we have been through the above list build then we will add the target contacts you require. Once provided with the relevant Job Titles and Job Functions, we then complete the following:
Desk & Web Research to identify relevant contacts and add them to the database
Append the location at which they are based and update address if required
Contact Validation - GDPR Compliance
If you have a list with the companies and the contacts then we can run through a validation process and gain GDPR Compliance, or if we have completed the above then we would complete the following:
Telephone Call - Validate the Contact Information
Add any further contacts that we don't have
Remove any contacts that have left or no longer exist
Confirm Marketing Preferences over the phone and confirm the 'Lawful Basis" under GDPR
If you sell in to niche or unique industries or need more detailed information about your prospective target accounts, then our more in depth Account/Company Profiling is what you need.
How this works depends upon your exact requirements and quite often is a bespoke solution unique to each client. The main aim is to, either build a new specific dataset, add the correct and relevant Contacts based on specific Job Titles or Functions or append and validate a legacy dataset that you may already have. This is completed by a combination of desk research and telephone validation.
As part of the process we can gather or add certain levels of intelligence or information based on exactly what you need to know, this could include:
Types of Products or Solution they already use or have in place.
Contract Renewal Dates
Decision Making Processes
Current Pains/Problems
Any other key business information
The aim is to complete a comprehensive intelligent Dataset that arms you or your sales team with vital information to help them open the door when targeting key accounts. This allows your sales team to be doing what they are good at - Selling!
Our Account Based Mapping solution is Account Profiling in a greater dimension. It delivers a level of detail on your Target Accounts which helps you to truly understand the "Decision Making Tree" across single or multiple regions, or globally.
If you require in-depth knowledge of where and how decisions are made within Enterprise Accounts then Account Based Mapping is something you should strongly consider.
What does a map look like?
The structure and make up of a map is based upon your exact requirements, however we do have some standard products. The process starts with Aptitude working closely with your sales and marketing teams to gain a true understanding of exactly what information you need to maximise your marketing efforts in the future. We then create a brief based upon your needs, research the organisations you wish to build maps for and then confirm price points and map details.