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A new study evaluating several sources of business-to-business data has a seemingly simple question at its heart: Which source is best?
There's a second question lurking in the background, however. How do B-to-B marketers use data from outside sources?
The first question has a quick enough answer: It depends. Among five data firms examined, InfoGroup had the highest counts of U.S. entities within six of 10 industries, with Dun & Bradstreet's Selectory reporting top quantities in the remaining four categories. The number of records returned by three other data suppliers - Demandbase, Jigsaw and NetProspex - trailed those two by wide margins.
But when the study's authors - Bernice Grossman, president of DMRS Group Inc., and consultant Ruth P. Stevens - looked at total contact counts at 10 major companies, Demandbase and Jigsaw most often provided the highest quantities.
Marketers' needs vary widely, both in their general business rules and within specific campaigns. For some, a massive number of names suffice. Others require firmagraphics - company demographics such as the number of trucks in its fleet, or Mac computers, or physical locations.
"If I have a million of what I...