1. Keep the dirty dragon out of your Tech databaseSay Yes to Data ManagementA whitepaper for direct marketers By B2BDataPartners

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Whitepaper Table of ContentThe dirty dragon in your database - An Introduction ..................................3Data Management - A definition .................................................................3For your Eyes Only.....................................................................................4Customer Database ...................................................................................5Data appending ..........................................................................................5Essential part of Data Management..................................................................................5Email Append Process......................................................................................................6Why permission mail.........................................................................................................6Algorithm...........................................................................................................................6What Next...................................................................................................7Data verification..........................................................................................7How it works .....................................................................................................................7Caution .......................................................................................................8The dragon might be back - Summary .......................................................8About B2BDataPartners .............................................................................8 www.b2bdatapartners.com800-382-4081info@b2bdatapartners.com 3. WhitepaperTHE DIRTY DRAGON IN YOUR DATABASE- AN INTRODUCTIONThe success of every direct marketing effort depends crucially on the data quality. Marketersespecially targeting technology users and IT decision makers understand very well that thecustomer information stored in their database decays every month. This leaves them mining formore and more data for their campaigns. Out of the various information stored, email addressesare the most perishable ones and die soon. Similarly, postal addresses and phone numbers alsotend to decay soon, especially when people tend to change, sell, rent and shift to some otherhouses. All this demands constant updation of your database by throwing those dirty dragons out.This whitepaper is an attempt to provide preventive measures and steps on how to clean andupdate your database and why it is important.DATA MANAGEMENT A DEFINITIONData management is a process by whicha database is verified, cleansed andupdated by removing all the dirty, inactive,dead dragons. The process demandsthorough checking of data. The majorsteps include Cleaning, De-duping, Dataappending, Va l i d a t i o n , andSegmentation. This whitepaper talks indetail about data appending especiallyemail appending. Not that the other stepsare less important, they are equallyrequired. Considering each one of theseneeds detail description, which is not inscope of a single whitepaper. www.b2bdatapartners.com800-382-4081info@b2bdatapartners.com 4. WhitepaperFOR YOUR EYES ONLYA recent report from an analyst firmhas predicted that by 2014companies in US will spend overmore than 1.1 billion on emailmarketing.The count for email users across USis going to reach 1.6 billion by 2011,as predicted by Top Email marketingCentre.US Data decay facts says 8,600people move house and nearly1400+ people die daily.There are firms who understands the importance of data managementEmail address typos and misspell are down from 5% to 3% and address errors halved from2% to 1%. www.b2bdatapartners.com800-382-4081info@b2bdatapartners.com 5. WhitepaperCUSTOMER DATABASEUsually a customer database has these following essential elements: Name, Postal address, emailaddress, phone number, fax number. Other details include SIC code, no. of employees, annualrevenue.DATA APPENDINGEssential part of Data ManagementAs the name suggests, data appending is a process of adding missing contact pieces to yourcustomer database. It includes Phone append, fax append, email address append, postal addressappend and any other details requested by the client. All these append processes require legalcompliance and a right way of doing it. For example, CAN-SPAM Act 2003 stresses on permission-based email marketing only and considers unsolicited email campaigns as unlawful and spam. Thismeans while adding the email addresses of your customers/prospects, it is necessary to take theirpermission by informing that they will be receiving emails from brand name on topic. Permissionis required not just because law says so, todays customers are also very cautious about who andwhat kind of emails are coming to their inbox. A slight doubt triggers them to report spam even for anauthentic mail. www.b2bdatapartners.com800-382-4081 info@b2bdatapartners.com 6. WhitepaperEmail Append ProcessB2BDataPartners Email appending process involves the following steps.Similarly, for other details like postal address, phone or fax number different append processes areperformed.Why permission mailEmail addresses added to your database should not be used for unsolicited purpose. It is must totake their permission and consent before sending promotional emails to them. Permission mail isthe first mail that goes from your side to your new prospects. Keep the message informative bymentioning who you are; how you got the email address; how you are going to use it and what willbe the topic of your messages. Give an unsubscribe link in the mail, people who dont want toreceive your mails can opt out. Remove or suppress the names who showed their disinterest inyour mail. Another thing is sending permission mail to your prospects gives a first-hand proof thatthe addresses are valid.AlgorithmEach data appending service provider follows an algorithm while matching File X with their in-house append database. It is these logics that decide how better File Y is for your next campaignwith better open rate, less bounce backs and spam complaints, etc. Marketers coming to a dataappenders should enquire about the algorithm or also can mention if they have some specificationin mind.www.b2bdatapartners.com800-382-4081 info@b2bdatapartners.com 7. WhitepaperWHATS NEXTMost of the times, append match rates are between 14 and 21%. Sometimes it can be higher thanthis or can be lower as well. The match rate depends on many factors like how old is File X, whenwas the last time you updated the postal addresses. It also depends upon the industry your targetprospects/customers belong to. Once the appending is done, permission mail send and opt outrequests processed by removing their names, the file (File Y) is ready for your campaigns.DATA VERIFICATIONAnother very important part of data management is data validation. You have compiled your listfrom different source and have all the details like postal address, email address, SIC code, phoneand fax number etc. You, however, are not very sure how authentic is your data. Opt for datavalidation. Another reason to go for this is your previous campaign responses were bad andbrought spam complaints, etc. Running a campaign with dirty dragons sitting inside it is a bigmistake. Data verification ensures that the contact records in your database are correct, fresh andactive.How it worksB2BDataPartners follows 2 methods to verify and validate your data. Email Verification The Automatic Method We send out email messages to all the contacts in the database, giving them 2 options:Opt-in and agree to receive relevant emails in futureOpt-out and disagree to receive further emails Telephone Verification The Manual Method We engage more than 200 telecommunication professionals to call up each contact on the list, giving them 2 options:Opt-in and agree to receive relevant calls in futureOpt-out and join the Do Not Call listwww.b2bdatapartners.com 800-382-4081 info@b2bdatapartners.com 8. WhitepaperCAUTIONIn online marketing, obviously you dont prefer to walk behind your competitors. There are certaintimes, however, you have to slow down your speed. Sending mails to new prospects is one suchoccasion. After data management your list not only is accurate but grows also. Your emailmessages should be different for the new appended prospects than the regular ones. These newrecipients are not used to your emails. To gain their attention and make yourself more trustworthyand valuable, provide details like who you are, how your services can help them, how you get theiremail addresses. Keeping such minor things in mind while sending a campaign helps a lot inboosting the campaign response.THE DRAGON MIGHT BE BACK CONCLUSIONOften marketers assume that data management is a one-time job, which is not. Research shows 6-7% of data decays every month, especially Technology lists. The dirty dragon appears time andagain and you have to be upfront to kill the dragons with data management. It is always advisable togo for data cleansing and verification every month.About B2BDataPartnersB2Bdatapartners is a business cycle management company with clients across the world.B2Bdatapartners have transformed the way businesses work with cutting-edge technology andbusiness management skills. We pride at offering customized solutions based on the clientsrequirements and business scope.B2Bdatapartners offers services that will help clients with their complete business cycle. Thisincludes sales, marketing and customer service. For a business to work smoothly all the threewings have to work hand in hand. This is what B2Bdatapartners seek to do. With our services andapplications, we help our clients bring all their business processes together and make their jobseasier.www.b2bdatapartners.com800-382-4081 info@b2bdatapartners.com