Data enrichment, also known as data appending or database enrichment, is the practice of adding third-party data (data from a trusted outside source) to an existing internal customer database. Brands enrich their data to make more informed business decisions.
Marketing is one of the most prevalent and lucrative applications of data enrichment because it solves long-standing challenges in illuminating missing knowledge about current customers and identifying new audiences that are likely to become high-value customers. This empowers specific, efficient targeted campaigns.
Data enrichment services transform a business’s basic customer data (i.e. names, addresses, and phone numbers) into a more complete picture of demographic, geographic, psychographic, and/or purchasing behaviors.
To accomplish this, brands hire a third-party data vendor to add raw consumer data to their existing data management platform (DMP). Not all third-party data vendors/DMP partners are created equal.
For maximum benefits, it’s important to work with a DMP partner with a large data repository, clean data devoid of duplicates, or falsified information, that can provide ongoing assistance and analysis.
Customer data enrichment is not a one-and-done process. Information like incomes, locations, preferences, and marital statuses change over time.
By working with a strong data enrichment partner, customer profiles can be consistently updated to ensure customer data stays clean, relevant, and useful. Marketers and data analysts can build more complete consumer profiles that evolve as the customer does.
Data enrichment leads to a better understanding of existing customers, which promotes improved customer satisfaction and increased profits. If a company meets the needs of buyers, they’re more likely to gain new customers through referrals as well as repeat business.
The strongest marketing campaigns are those that reach the right person at the right time on the right platform. Serving ads to the wrong audience, no matter how good the creative is, leads to wasted spend and effort.
Through data enrichment, companies gain more information on existing or potential customers, making it easier to target the right audience with effective ad placements and stronger messaging.
Effective targeting results in better media buying, stronger campaign results, and ultimately, increased returns on marketing investments.
Learn More: Why Consumer Intelligence Needs To Be A Part of Every Marketing Strategy
By fully understanding their customer’s needs, businesses can explore opportunities for improvement and innovation. Companies can enhance product offerings or develop creative promotions.
With more positive customer experiences, companies can improve retention rates and better nurture a loyal customer base.
Customer data enrichment can also uncover insights into competitive preferences to improve business agility and quickly react to changes in the market. Geographic and behavioral data can unveil how customers may be interacting with competitors, helping companies improve strategic direction and decision-making.
Marketers can also quickly retaliate against competitor campaigns to keep their current customers from straying or employ tactics to convert customers from their competitors.
Learn More About Location-Based Marketing
Breadth and depth of data – not algorithm sophistication – is the most important factor in successful predictive modeling, which underpins nearly all AI applications. That’s because a large volume of data is required to train AI algorithms. Without sufficient data, you won’t see the maximum returns from your AI investment.
For examples of data enrichment at work, see the following case studies:
For a more detailed investigation of the role that data enrichment plays in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive modeling, see the following white papers:
Attempting to enrich customer data in-house is a tedious and expensive investment that may never provide the most recent and full picture of target audiences.
That’s why data analysts, researchers, and marketers leverage third-party consumer intelligence providers to gain access to massive global repositories of consumer data for faster, more accurate decision-making.
Among other qualities, your data enrichment service should:
For an in-depth checklist of how to evaluate a potential third-party data partner, download our Data Ecosystem Guide.
Mobilewalla is a leading consumer intelligence provider, boasting the most comprehensive consumer data repository in the digital ecosystem.
We aggregate data from multiple sources, then apply data cleansing techniques, fraud detection measures, and a combination of deterministic, artificial intelligence, and machine learning techniques to ensure high-accuracy consumer insights.
Data analysts, researchers, and marketers leverage our highly-accurate consumer data sets for richer, more robust customer profiles including information about their competitors’ customers and consumers.
With app usage, location, and behavior-based data, enterprises can build a complete picture of current and potential customers to connect with them when and where they are ready to engage.
Connect with our consumer intelligence experts by filling out the form to learn how enriching your data can help you better understand your highest-value customers.
